Incredible ‘White Temple’ Of Chiang Rai – Wat Rong Khun

MessageToEagle.com – The incredible White Temple of Chiang Rai looks like a place taken straight out of a fairytale, but it’s real and is widely considered one of the most stunningly beautiful and impressive Buddhist temples in the world.

The White Temple Wat Rong Khun, better known as “the White Temple” is one of the most recognizable temples in Thailand. The temple outside the town of Chiang Rai attracts a large number of visitors.  It is open all year round and there is no charge for admission.

The white color makes the temple truly unique. The work that has been put into creation of the temple is incredible and every detail of Wat Rong Khun carries deep religious symbolism. The purpose of the symbols is that the visitor should reflect on the Buddhist teachings that show the way to escape from the worldly temptations, desires and greed and focus on the mind instead.

The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings.

The Wat Rong Khun was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a famous Thai visual artist. To date the temple is not finished. Eventually there will be nine buildings including an ubosot, a hall to enshrine Buddhist relics, a meditation hall, the monks living quarters and an art gallery.

The bridge of “the cycle of rebirth”

The ubosot, the main building of the white temple, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of the bridge is a circular area with hundreds of reaching hands that symbolize desire. This area represents human suffering and hell. The bridge towards the ubosot, called the bridge of “the cycle of rebirth” signifies the crossing over from the cycle of death and rebirth into a state free of suffering. It symbolizes the way to happiness by overcoming worldly things as temptations, greed and desire.

The “Gate of Heaven”

After crossing the bridge the visitor arrives at the “Gate of Heaven” guarded by two huge creatures that represent Death and Rahu, who decides over men’s fate. At the end of the bridge in front of the ubosot are several Buddha images in meditation.

The ubosot

The most important building of the Wat Rong Khun, the ubosot is an all white building with fragments of reflective glass in the plaster. The very ornate ubosot shows some design elements of classic Northern Thai temples like the three tiered roof and stylized Naga serpents on the bargeboards

The golden building

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A structure that stands out because of its color is the rest rooms building. Another very ornately decorated structure, this golden building represents the body, whereas the white ubosot represents the mind. The gold symbolizes how people focus on worldly desires and money. The golden building represents the idea to make merit and to focus on the mind, instead of material things and possession.

It is a truly remarkable place and well-worth visiting if you ever find yourself in Thailand

MessageToEagle.com

References:
Renown Travel – Wat Rong Khun – “The White Temple” of Chiang Rai

Wikipedia – Wat Rong Khun