Sunday, May 15, 2011

WAT PHO- RECLINING BUDDHA

I am a Tuesdays child so the Reclining Buddha

is the symbolic one for the day of my birth.

This was the first day of our tour. It was ungodly hot and crowded. The temple and booths were remarkable. I was so impressed with the beauty and artistic pride that goes into every detail no matter how small.

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You know those stories you hear about thiefs stealing poples shoes from the temples. Well they are true ,day 1 Greg's shoes get stolen. His feet were blistered from having to walk on the hot pavement back to the bus shoeless.
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Wat Pho (
Thai: วัดโพธิ์, IPA: [wát pʰoː]), is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Ratchaworamahawihan (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร IPA: [wát pʰráʔ tɕʰêttupʰon wíʔmon maŋkʰalaːraːm râːttɕʰawɔːráʔmahǎːwíʔhǎːn]). The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

History
Prior to the temple's founding, the site was a centre of education for traditional Thai medicine, and statues were created showing
yoga positions.
During the
Rama III restoration, plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed around the temple. These received recognition in the Memory of the World Programme on 21 February 2008, according to Thailand's Government Public Relations Department. Adjacent to the building housing the Reclining Buddha is a small raised garden, the centrepiece being a bodhi tree which is a scion (cutting) of the original tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment. The temple was created as a restoration of an earlier temple on the same site, Wat Phodharam, with the work beginning in 1788. The temple was restored and extended in the reign of King Rama III, and was restored again in 1982. In 1962 a school for traditional medicine and massage was established.
Description
Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest
wats in Bangkok (with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai พระพุทธไสยาสน์). The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Soi Chetuphon running east–west. The northern walled compound is where the reclining Buddha and massage school are found. The southern walled compound, Tukgawee, is a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence and a school.

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