The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho is a must-see and worth visiting
Having visited and seen many reclining Buddhas throughout Thailand, old or new, I found out that the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho is the most beautiful, and all of the parts are precisely measured.
King Rama III, who reigned in Bangkok between 1924 and 1951 AD, ordered the reclining Buddha to be built as a way of making the temple the center of Buddhism. Furthermore, it symbolized the peace and prosperity of his reign.
Peace, because there is no more war, especially with Burma (Myanma), as Burma was colonized by the British in 1800AD.
Prosperity because of trade between Thailand and China in his reign, as at that time,
The King was dubbed “Chao Sua” (Chinese Milionaire) himself.
The reclining Buddha is 15 meters high and 46 meters long at the feet. The inner core of the reclining Buddha is made of more than 80,000 bricks, before being covered with cement and then coated with gold-leaf.
Here, the reclining Buddha was installed in a big Thai-style building. To get inside and have a close look,
They all have to take off their shoes first.So when you get into the building’s entrance, on your left hand is the head part of the reclining Buddha. Yes, exactly the beautiful golden face of the reclining Buddha is shining brightly 15 meters high above.
After that, continue walking to the Buddha’s feet. There is another surprise. The Buddha’s feet show a really beautiful masterpiece of mother-of-pearl inlaid on the 3*5 meter Buddha’s feet, there are 108 lucky symbols based on Hindu belief.
The symbols include the Deva and Angel, mythical animals, and five insignias of kingship. Sumeru Mountain, the home of the Gods, the auspicious elephant and horse, and so on. The big wheel at the middle, called the Chakra, symbolically charecterizes the Buddha. If you want to take a photo with the reclining Buddha, here from the Buddha’s feet, you can get a total length of 46 meters.
Further walking to follow the sound of a gung-ging, gung-ging coming out loudly. That sound is because the worshippers or tourists put or threw small coins into the metal containers (monks’ almbowls).
There are altogether 108 monk-almbowls which line up in a row, each of which represents the lucky symbol at the Buddha’s feet.
To try your luck as a local does, just make a donation by putting your 20 baht in the donation box, then take a small container full of small coins. After that, put the coins in the monk-almbowls, one coin in each bowl, till you have finished with 108 monk-almbowls. Then let’s see how many coins are left in your hand or if you used up your coins before finishing 108 bowls. Those signify luck or unluck.
Anyway, not a serious one, at the very least, you have already received good fortune by making a donation to the temple.
