Before you say, 'Oh, no, I feel the burnout coming on!', bear with me - it's just two temples and the second one has a very fun twist!
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| Captain America at Wat Pariwat |
According to Google, there are over 400 Buddhist temples in Bangkok (population 10.5 million), and 33,000 total in Thailand. Meanwhile New York City (population 8.5 million) is home to 2,000 formal churches. When walking around, it seems there is a temple at every corner, but considering a higher population density here, the presence of these religious buildings is not as great as in the USA.
So if you're still with me, I'll first show you images from the conventional, typical temple we visited.
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| Wat Maha Phruettharam Worawihan |
The white structures in the middle are called prang and derive from hindu architectural influence.
In the past I visited other, better known temples, like Wat Pho. If you're really keen, you can visit my blog from 2019 which has images from The Grand Palace and Wat Pho.
https://wordlywanderer.blogspot.com/2019/07/tuesday-june-18th-to-friday-june-28th.html
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| Wat Maha Phruettharam Worawihan |
The temples many times occupy large campuses and are comprised of many buildings. No doubt they include residences for the monks, ordination hall, cloisters for meditation, crematoria and other structures that I don't know about.
The name 'wat' means 'enclosure', for the wall that separates the space from the secular world. Typically there are two walls - the monks reside in the space between the outer and the inner wall. In the photo above, the buildings in the background with the blue decoration on the gable are outside the inner wall and appeared to be administrative and probably residential.
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| Ordination Hall with noted murals |
The interior of the buildings open to the public (remove shoes first) are blessedly dark, giving relief from the heat, but difficult to photograph in my experience. There is generally a representation of Buddha, often very glittery and always serene. Generally, one cannot get close to the Buddha statuary inside - much like an altar in a church.
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| Four Headed Buddha Statue in the Grounds |
The grounds also generally have interesting statuary and spaces, which I am often drawn to more than the interior. Photography is easier and can be accessed at closer quarters. As you may have detected, I tend to be drawn to details.
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| Face of Wooden Puppet-like Statue at Wat Maha Phruettharam Worawihan |
This little character had lost his/her nose and top lip. For some reason, I found the expression charming in spite of the damage (or perhaps because of).
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| Wooden Yaksha Face at Wat Maha Phruettharam Worawihan |
On the other hand, this guy was not enticing. This character is commonly seen in temples and the Grand Palace. The Yaksha is actually regarded as benevolent - a guardian who chases away bad spirits. If I'm the one who feels the need to run away, does that suggest something I don't know about myself?
Just in case you want to learn more about this temple, before we move on the next, and quite different one, here is a link that explains a lot more about it.
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| Exterior of Wat Pariwat |
The following week, we visited Wat Pariwat, which Sarah found in her online search for interesting things to do. From the outside, it looked very similar to the previous temple - same shaped roofs, orange and yellow colors, large campus, many buildings. The one pictured above is the finished ordination hall.
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| Doors and Interior Wat Pariwat |
The interior also has similar elements - dark, vibrant Buddha statue etc.
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| Statuary Outside Wat Pariwat |
But, in my opinion, that's where the similarities ended. It didn't take long to find enormous and non-traditional beauty in the statuary and bas-relief around the one finished structure here. There are thousands of images rendered in three dimensions from clay, combining classic Thai glass and tile mosaic technique.
It also helped that the name is much easier to pronounce!
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| Bas Relief Detail - Who do You Recognize? |
This was quite a bit different from other temples I've seen in Thailand. You will recognize Pinocchio, with his somewhat nonchalant shrug, and Mickey Mouse - but he has breasts...and no legs! Characters we recognize, but as so often is the case here are 'Same, same, but different!' I love the way the angel-type character between Pinocchio and Mickey has his protective wings around them, and the way Mickey's hand just rests on his leg, affectionately.
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| Batman breaks chains surrounding a giant |
In addition to Captain America, as shown in the first photo of this blog, we also found Batman, Superman, Tutankhamen, Pikachu, and Popeye. There are many more according to Google, that we didn't find.
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| Maybe Superman is holding the Entire Structure up? |
Google says that these characters were included by the monks of this temple, in hope of drawing the young people to it. There were many photographers, and I understand it is a favorite of intsagrammers. It apparently began when one of the original buildings included English soccer star David Beckham as part of the bas relief near Buddha. Apparently one of the monks was a soccer fan and they discovered other fans arriving to see the sculpture. That section now closed to the public, not part of the usual access - although apparently they will open it if asked.
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| Artists working on a second hall at Wat Pariwat |
It is a work in progress. We saw a smaller building when entering he inner wall and inside there is a second building of similar size to the ordination hall that is covered in drapes and scaffolding. We stuck our head under to look. It was remarkable to see how each little detail is created out of white clay rolled and shaped by hand. It is expected to take at least another decade to complete. There were signs saying 'Do Not Touch', and you can se why....how easily the mosaic glass and tiles could fall off. I wonder how it will stand up to the elements over time.
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| Monitor Lizard Man? |
In addition to the characters we recognize, there were many examples of human/animal hybrids that I found to have enormous beauty.
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| 'Cow Man'? |
Cow man and his companions seemed very serene. You can see Batman climbing up the wall to the left.
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| Is This a Thai Bat Man? |
Others had that scary look, like the 'yaksha' from the other temple - this fellow was a bit disconcerting.
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| A Happy Dragon/Human Interaction? |
Sometimes the human and the animal looked as if there was a great deal of affection between them. The image above was sweet - both the man and the dragon/serpent looked very happy in their closeness. Could this be the result of Buddhist compassion in action?
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| A collection of different characters. |
You can see the full extent of the man and his dragon here - In fact, the man has a serpent body - so perhaps that explains the comfort level between them.
This photo also shows you how there were so many different levels to look at. You can see how the lower levels are used for detailed statuary - it's where many of the cartoon and superhero characters were found. Then on the next level, there were generally larger statues.
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| Ja Ja Binks? |
One of the larger ones reminded me of Ja Ja Binks rom Star Wars - although this one looks a little more worried than Ja Ja ever did.
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| Perhaps he was in a Star Wars Bar? |
Another statue offering an orb also had a somewhat Star Wars look.
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| The Gargoyles of Wat Pariwat |
When I lifted my eyes to the roofline, my enchantment continued. Usually these roof edges of temples have sharp pointy 'keep the evil energy away' curved shapes. Why should I be surprised that it's not what I found here!
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| A Magnificent Dragon |
The detail on this little fellow so far off the ground is amazing.
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| Was this Lovely Butterfly Created with a Beard? |
The detail from this 'gargoyle' may suggest the fate of these beautiful creations in the future. The tropical elements are not kind to white structures and I don't believe pressure washing would help without damage. I was pleased to see it while it is still 'fresh'.
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| A Lotus Pond Decoration |
You know I could go on and on. I could tell you about the nearby open enclosure near the Chao Praya River that was selling incense, candles, popcorn, food, fish food, gold flake to put on statues etc. We visited on a religious holiday, so it was quite busy. I even saw a monk giving a talk to a small gathering of people - the nearest thing to a sermon I've ever seen here. But I will leave you with these lovely images.
Perhaps this blog should have been named - 'A Tale of Two Temples! LOL!
I love that these temples are so open and expressing a sincere invitation to share with the outside world. I may be off base, but the traditional British monisterial system does not encourage worship from outsiders? A religion that protects, loves, shows the bond between human and animal AND welcomes me...well, that's my cup of tea! Additionally, the brilliant colors and element of fantasy are intriguing and more than a dash, beguiling. Gargoyles and fairies are my weaknesses. I will take help wherever it is offered! Thank you for sharing. Love traveling with you from afar!
ReplyDeleteIt never feels as if the temples endeavor to proselytize - but I agree, the visual massaging has power. One does have to dress appropriately - covered shoulders and legs, but generally one is free to wander in and out. Glad you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI went to that link you provided about Wat Pariwat (A cure for temple fatigue LOL) - shirtless Obama taking a selfie was my favorite
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