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This article is about a name for a Thai temple. For the Ethiopian dish, see Wat (food). For the Japanese pop duo, see WaT. For the Laibach album, see WAT. See also WAT (disambiguation).

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The entrance to the Phra Viharn Luang (meeting hall) at Wat Suthat, one of the most important Buddhist temples in Bangkok

A wat (derived from the Sanskrit word Vattaka) is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand or Laos. The word "wat" (Khmer វត្ត)(Thai วัด) (sometimes rendered "vat" when referring to Laos) means "school." Strictly speaking a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with monks' quarters , the temple proper, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha, and a structure for lessons. A Buddhist site without a minimum of three resident monks cannot correctly be described as a wat, although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. (As a transitive or intransitive verb, wat means to measure, to take measurements; compare templum, from which temple derives, having the same root as template.)

In Cambodia, a wat is used generally to refer to all kind of place of worship. Technically, wat generally refers to a Buddhist place of worship, but the technical term is វត្តពូទ្ធសាសនា (wat pootasasna). A church can be referred to either as វត្តយេស៊ូ (wat yeasu) or វីហារយេស៊ូ (vihear yeasu). Angkor Wat អង្ករវត្ត means city of temples.

In everyday language in Thailand, a wat is any place of worship except a mosque (Thai สุเหร่า su-rao; or มัสยิด Thai rendering of masjid; a mosque may also be described as โบสด์ของอิสลาม bot khong Is-a-lam). Thus wat cheen is a Chinese temple (either Buddhist or Taoist), wat khaek is a Hindu temple, and wat kris or wat krit or wat farang is a Christian church, though Thai โบสด์ (โบด bot) may be used descriptively as with mosque.

Structure

A typical Buddhist wat consists of the following buildings:

• chaidei or chedi (Khmer ចេតិយ), (Thai เจดีย์) (from Sanskrit: chaitya, temple) - usually conical or bell-shaped buildings, often containing relics of Buddha
• vihear,viharn or wihaan (Khmer វីហារ), (Thai วิหาร) (from Sanskrit: vihara and Pali vihaan ) - a meeting and prayer room
• mondop มณฑป (from Sanskrit: Mandapa) - a usually open, square building with four arches and a pyramidal roof, used to worship religious texts or objects
• sala (Khmer សាលា), (Thai ศาลา) (from Sanskrit: Shala - School, from an earlier meaning of shelter) - a pavilion for relaxation or miscellaneous activities
• bot โบสถ์ or ubosoth อุโบสถ์ (from Pali uposatha) - the holiest prayer room, also called the "ordination hall" as it is where new monks take their vows. Architecturally it is similar to the vihara; the main differences are the eight cornerstones placed around the bot to ward off evil. The bot is usually more decorated than the viharn.
• haw trai หอไตร - Tripitaka library where Buddhist scriptures are kept
• haw klawng หอกลอง - drum tower
• haw rakhang หอระฆัง - bell tower
• sala kan parian (Thai: ศาลาการเปรียญ, study hall) is a multipurpose hall in a wat. In the past this hall was only for monks to study in, as parian is a Pali word meaning 'educated monk' or 'monk student'.

The living quarters of the monks, including the กุฏิ (กุติ kuti or กุด kut - monk cells) are separated from the sacred buildings.

Examples

Some well-known wats include:

Cambodia

• Angkor Wat, near Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
• Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh

Laos

• Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos
• Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang

Thailand

• Wat Suthat, Bangkok Thailand
• Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple), Bangkok
• Wat Ratchanadda, Bangkok
• Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok
• Wat Arun, Bangkok
• Wat Bowonniwet, Bangkok
• Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
• Wat Aranyawiwake, Chiang Mai
• Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai
• Wat Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom
• Wat Phumin, Nan

Gallery

• 
  Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
• 
  Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
• 
  Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh
• 
  Two viharns and a chedi at Wat Phra That Chang Kham, Nan
• 
  Chedi and viharn at Wat Suan Tan, Nan
• Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos
  Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos