Last week I spent 8 days in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, a city whose sheer existence has always been dependent on the gorges and valleys along the Ping River.
The Ping supplied a meandering thoroughfare across the mountainous barricade that surrounds the lush valleys; a waterway that allowed the ancient city of Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas, self sufficiency while carrying out business with its powerful neighbors: China, Burma and the farther kingdoms around the Gulf of Siam.
Interesting for me, was the realization that the Ping River has been the pathway alongside which commercial traffic prospered, connecting southern China with the extensive and lush areas of the Chao Phraya river basin, along whose shores thrive the metropolitan areas of Bangkok. Today, Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, an old dame still preserving her traditional charm and centuries-old culture.
During the 13th Century (AD), the feudal kingdom of Lanna (the Kingdom of a Million Fields) had its center in what they called Chiang Mai (First City); their dominion spread throughout most of northern Thailand, parts of Laos and Burma (now Myanmar) and a fraction of Southern China. Theravada Buddhism arose here, following the original teachings from the Nepalese Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, offering a resplendent legacy of cultural heritage to the areas comprised by the kingdom.
Thai Buddhist temples or wats, are the heart and symbol of villages, districts, cities and towns. Temples have often served as orphanages, schools, meeting halls and hospitals, as much as places of worship. Before the creation of school buildings, the education of children was held in temples.
Thai temples house an abbot who is responsible for the well-being of the community and people in difficulty always call for his advice. The abbot is often elderly with impeccable, reasonable and insightful wisdom. Monasteries are also home for unwanted dogs and cats who mysteriously find their way to the temple grounds.
Every temple or wat is accompanied by brilliant color and stunning architectural design. Exquisite and very large Buddha images of gold, marble, wood or jade greet visitors from various angles making for a rather flamboyant but always thrilling experience. The Buddha images have corporeal traits that are largely determined by convention; all however, have certain generalities including very long earlobes and a lotus bud on the head which symbolizes enlightenment. Some may be sitting, reclining or standing.
A temple is a large compound comprising several structures; generally, the one in the center will display Buddha images and an open area for worshippers to pray. Mural paintings relating the life of the Buddha cover the walls. On the exterior of this central structure one or many chedis, called stuppas in English, may be found, these are pointed, conical towers made of plaster, brick or stone and coated with gold, or brass. These stuppas are burial sites, generally containing the remains and relics of buried religious leaders. According to one of my guides, upon cremation, many Thais have their remains deposited into compartments on the sides of a chedi, identified by small, commemorative inscriptions attached to the outside walls.
Another small structure within a temple’s grounds is the bot where the monks are ordained; this place is not accessible to women but I hear there is a sacred Buddha image within.
The kuti are dwellings for monks. They can be private or shared. These rooms are small and empty as monks only meditate and sleep in their rooms. Often ordained monks have their own room while novices share.
A library building almost always forms part of the temple grounds and as all other structures is usually highly decorated with small, deeply colored glass mosaics. These reflecting glass tiles are believed to drive away evil spirits because on seeing their reflection they will be driven away. As a rule, a pair of nagas or long serpent-like dragons guards stairs and doorways to deflect evil spirits from temple buildings. Monks, monk novices and orphaned children learn in the library and meditate outdoors, under the shade of a thick bodhi tree, which is said to have been the tree under which the Buddha became “enlightened”. All temples have planted Bodhi trees in their grounds.
Books about Buddha teachings and doctrines are kept in the library, but there’s a wealth of other information as well; monks are more often than not, people with the greatest knowledge at any gathering.
Other structures include the monks’ common living facilities where teaching and meditation as well as housekeeping and administration of the temple are left to the monks who run them.
The temples of northern Thailand differ from others in the rest of the country because there is a profusion of mythical figures and creatures owing their origins to the folklore of nearby Burma and China. There are Singhas or protective lion statues; Himalayan Kinnari or beautiful female topped angels with winged bodies and large bird legs; and swan-like figures decorating gates or standing on poles in the front areas of central temple buildings.
Large, heavy Buddhist bells complete the grounds as they hang from massive wooden stands on the tiled courtyard. Bells were originally used to announce scheduled events during the course of the day; nowadays, they remain for general early wake-up calls or occasions when monks (using a wooden striker) call for special activities. Smaller bells hang suspended from the horizontal beams of temple halls, gently swaying in the breeze.
In front of the main Buddha image in every temple, there will be a variety of offerings such as lotus blossoms; bronze or copper money trees; incense and candles burning at different speeds, and also food. All these are contributions donated by worshippers to make merit for the future of their souls.
Thai Buddhist temples are an assault to the eyes; ornate, every now and then grandiose, but always stirring, forever lingering in the mind as an example of Thailand: a passionate - but not fanatical - religious country.
By Edie Wilcox – January 2006, Thailand
Friday
Buddhist Temples of Chaing Mai
Last week I spent 8 days in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, a city whose sheer existence has always been dependent on the gorges and valleys along the Ping River.
The Ping supplied a meandering thoroughfare across the mountainous barricade that surrounds the lush valleys; a waterway that allowed the ancient city of Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas, self sufficiency while carrying out business with its powerful neighbors: China, Burma and the farther kingdoms around the Gulf of Siam.
Interesting for me, was the realization that the Ping River has been the pathway alongside which commercial traffic prospered, connecting southern China with the extensive and lush areas of the Chao Phraya river basin, along whose shores thrive the metropolitan areas of Bangkok. Today, Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, an old dame still preserving her traditional charm and centuries-old culture.
During the 13th Century (AD), the feudal kingdom of Lanna (the Kingdom of a Million Fields) had its center in what they called Chiang Mai (First City); their dominion spread throughout most of northern Thailand, parts of Laos and Burma (now Myanmar) and a fraction of Southern China. Theravada Buddhism arose here, following the original teachings from the Nepalese Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, offering a resplendent legacy of cultural heritage to the areas comprised by the kingdom.
Thai Buddhist temples or wats, are the heart and symbol of villages, districts, cities and towns. Temples have often served as orphanages, schools, meeting halls and hospitals, as much as places of worship. Before the creation of school buildings, the education of children was held in temples.
Thai temples house an abbot who is responsible for the well-being of the community and people in difficulty always call for his advice. The abbot is often elderly with impeccable, reasonable and insightful wisdom. Monasteries are also home for unwanted dogs and cats who mysteriously find their way to the temple grounds.
Every temple or wat is accompanied by brilliant color and stunning architectural design. Exquisite and very large Buddha images of gold, marble, wood or jade greet visitors from various angles making for a rather flamboyant but always thrilling experience. The Buddha images have corporeal traits that are largely determined by convention; all however, have certain generalities including very long earlobes and a lotus bud on the head which symbolizes enlightenment. Some may be sitting, reclining or standing.
A temple is a large compound comprising several structures; generally, the one in the center will display Buddha images and an open area for worshippers to pray. Mural paintings relating the life of the Buddha cover the walls. On the exterior of this central structure one or many chedis, called stuppas in English, may be found, these are pointed, conical towers made of plaster, brick or stone and coated with gold, or brass. These stuppas are burial sites, generally containing the remains and relics of buried religious leaders. According to one of my guides, upon cremation, many Thais have their remains deposited into compartments on the sides of a chedi, identified by small, commemorative inscriptions attached to the outside walls.
Another small structure within a temple’s grounds is the bot where the monks are ordained; this place is not accessible to women but I hear there is a sacred Buddha image within.
The kuti are dwellings for monks. They can be private or shared. These rooms are small and empty as monks only meditate and sleep in their rooms. Often ordained monks have their own room while novices share.
A library building almost always forms part of the temple grounds and as all other structures is usually highly decorated with small, deeply colored glass mosaics. These reflecting glass tiles are believed to drive away evil spirits because on seeing their reflection they will be driven away. As a rule, a pair of nagas or long serpent-like dragons guards stairs and doorways to deflect evil spirits from temple buildings. Monks, monk novices and orphaned children learn in the library and meditate outdoors, under the shade of a thick bodhi tree, which is said to have been the tree under which the Buddha became “enlightened”. All temples have planted Bodhi trees in their grounds.
Books about Buddha teachings and doctrines are kept in the library, but there’s a wealth of other information as well; monks are more often than not, people with the greatest knowledge at any gathering.
Other structures include the monks’ common living facilities where teaching and meditation as well as housekeeping and administration of the temple are left to the monks who run them.
The temples of northern Thailand differ from others in the rest of the country because there is a profusion of mythical figures and creatures owing their origins to the folklore of nearby Burma and China. There are Singhas or protective lion statues; Himalayan Kinnari or beautiful female topped angels with winged bodies and large bird legs; and swan-like figures decorating gates or standing on poles in the front areas of central temple buildings.
Large, heavy Buddhist bells complete the grounds as they hang from massive wooden stands on the tiled courtyard. Bells were originally used to announce scheduled events during the course of the day; nowadays, they remain for general early wake-up calls or occasions when monks (using a wooden striker) call for special activities. Smaller bells hang suspended from the horizontal beams of temple halls, gently swaying in the breeze.
In front of the main Buddha image in every temple, there will be a variety of offerings such as lotus blossoms; bronze or copper money trees; incense and candles burning at different speeds, and also food. All these are contributions donated by worshippers to make merit for the future of their souls.
Thai Buddhist temples are an assault to the eyes; ornate, every now and then grandiose, but always stirring, forever lingering in the mind as an example of Thailand: a passionate - but not fanatical - religious country.
By Edie Wilcox – January 2006, Thailand
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