Wat Buppharam (Chiang Mai)
Wat Buppharam ( Thai : วัด บุปผาราม ) is a Buddhist temple ( wat ) in Chiang Mai , Thailand . It is located on the south side of Thapae Road, which runs eastward outside the Old City, about 530 meters from the east gate of the Old City. Its name means Eastern Temple as it was built in the east of the old Mueang Chiang Mai.
There are temples of the same name in Bangkok , Trat Province and Penang , Malaysia. The old name of Wat Suan Dok (roughly: flower garden ) on the western outskirts of Chiang Mai is also Wat Buppharam.
history
Wat Buppharam is closely related to the former royal house of Chiang Mai. It was founded in 1497 by King Phra Mueang Kaeo and built on the site of an earlier palace by his great-grandfather, King Tilokarat . When the Burmese took the city in 1561, monks of the Mon were settled in the temple. Therefore the temple is also known as "Wat Mon". In the 19th century, the princes of Chiang Mai, supported by the city's population, initiated the restoration of the temple. In 1819 King Thamma Langka had the smaller, white viharn restored, while the large viharn, which still dominates the image of the temple, was donated a few years later by King Kawilorot Suriyawong.
Some authors assume that the restoration or redesign of Wat Buppharam that took place in the 19th century was also financed by Burmese teak dealers.
The latest element of the temple is the “Dhamma Hall”, which was completed in 1996 in time for the 50th anniversary of the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej .
architecture
Ho Monthian Tham
The dominant feature of Wat Buppharam is the Ho Monthian Tham (Thai: หอ มณเฑียร ธรรม , roughly: Royal Hall of Dhamma ), which is unique in its shape in Chiang Mai. It was built by Abbot Phra Udom Kitti Mongkon on the site of an older wooden structure. It took ten years to build and was completed in 1996.
In contrast to the traditional prayer halls of Thai, but also Laotian architecture, which are based on a rectangular floor plan, which are mostly oriented to the east and whose roof on the sides is very close to the ground, this building was built on the plan of a cross. A kind of transept runs from east to west through the prayer hall, a tower rises above the hall and is reminiscent of the architecture of neighboring Burma. The architectural style and decoration are a good example of contemporary religious art in Thailand.
The basement is designed as a “center for the promotion and preservation of the Lanna culture”. There is a small museum and a library with textbooks here. The walls are painted in a contemporary style by the local artist Pornchai Jaima (พรชัย ใจ มา ) with motifs from the “Traditions of the Twelve Months”, and the ceiling is a cross-section of the traditional Thai world, as it was in the Traibhumikatha almost 700 years ago had been described.
Via a staircase facing north, the balustrades of which are guarded by Makaras and Nagas in Lanna style, the visitor enters the prayer hall on the upper floor. Here in the south wing there is a unique Buddha statue , which is called Phra Phuttha Naret Sakchai Phairi-Phinat ( พระพุทธ นเรศ ร์ สัก ชัย ไพรี sitzt ) and sits in the Bhumisparsa posture ( Bhumisparsa- Mudra - "gesture of invocation to the earth"). It is said to be the largest statue carved out of teak . Behind the statue is a wood carving that covers the whole wall. Here is the legend of the creation of the statue, namely it is said to have been created almost 400 years ago based on a vision of King Naresuan when he defeated the Burmese in 1604. In the southern wing of the prayer room there is another seated bronze Buddha statue, also in the Bhumisparsa posture. It's called Phra Phuttha Buppha Phimongkhon ( พระพุทธ บุพ พา ภิ มงคล ).
Above the windows of the north wing there is a kind of “artistic map”: the walls are painted with symbolic representations of temples and landscape features in gold, red, black and light blue. They represent a city map seen from the point of view of the beholder: to the north is the old town, enclosed by a square canal, with Wat Chedi Luang in the center, and Wat Chet Yot above it on the left. On the western wall is Wat Suan Dok in the center, in the background on the Doi Suthep mountain you can see Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (see photo). The eastern wall depicts the city's temples all the way down to Mae Nam Ping .
Little Wihan
The small Wihan (Thai: วิหาร หลัง เล็ก ) on the site of the temple, on the other hand, is built in the traditional Lanna style and forms a calm counterpoint to the sky-storming architecture of the larger hall, but like it is oriented to the north. It was built 300 years ago and contains a large brick Buddha statue clad in stucco. It was renovated towards the end of the 19th century. Much of what can be seen today probably came from this restoration.
Phra Chedi
The chedi of the temple, located in a garden, is a mixture of Mon- and Burmese architecture. It is over 400 years old and was renovated in 1958. In the past it is said to have also contained relics of the Buddha. Its base, guarded by four chinthe , Burmese lions, the counterpart to the Thai singha , is whitewashed in white, but the higher sections are adorned with a combination of gold leaf and glass mosaics. Its top is crowned by an Hti ( umbrella ).
Great Wihan
The Great Wihan (Thai: วิหาร หลัง ใหญ่ ) is over 200 years old. It is located directly west of the Little Viharn. Its main Buddha statue was made of brass about 480 years ago . Wall paintings tell the story of Prince Vessanatara in the last of the Buddhist birth stories ( Jataka ) . The remarkable entrance portals were decorated with fine wood carving in 1983, they show the mythological snow forest ( Himaphan forest) on the slopes of Mount Meru , where various mythological beings live.
Holy spring
The spring ( ทิพย์ - roughly: “Ambrosia spring”), which has now almost dried up and is surrounded by stones, is surrounded by a wall. It was used in the past to wash the Buddha relics. The water was also used for the baths of the Kings of Chiang Mai.
swell
- Information board on site
- Leaflet วัด บุปผาราม available in the temple itself (in Thai)
literature
- Michael Freeman: Lanna - Thailand's Northern Kingdom . River Books, Bangkok 2001, ISBN 0-50097602-3
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 47 ′ 16.6 ″ N , 98 ° 59 ′ 53.5 ″ E