The foundation of the temple dates back to 1975 (B.E. 2518) when a Vipassana monk named Jumnean Seelasettho (Ajahn Jumnean) went to meditate under the cave. During his meditation, he witnessed tigers roaming around the cave.[2] This discovery led to naming the temple Wat Tham Suea. Another legend says that an actual huge tiger used to live and roam the cave.[3] The naming of the temple also comes to discoveries of a tiger paw prints on the cave walls, and also the bulge of the cave resembling a tiger's paw.[4]