Wat Chet Yot
Encyclopedia
Wat Chet Yot is a Buddhist temple (Wat
) in Chiang Mai
in northern Thailand
. It is a centre of pilgrimage
for those born in the year of the snake.
), north of the intersection of Huai Kaeo road and Nimmanhemin road.
after he had sent monks to Bagan
in Burma to study the design of the Mahabodhi temple there
, itself a copy of the Mahabodhi Temple
of Bodh Gaya in northern India
, the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
, attained enlightenment
.
According to the Jinakālamālī chronicle, in 1455 CE the king planted a bodhi tree
on the spot and in the year 1476 CE "had established a large sanctuary
in this monastery", probably for the celebration ceremony commemorating 2000 years of Buddhism. The following year the 8th Buddhist World Council was held at Wat Chet Yot to renew the Tripitaka
(the Pali Canon
).
(also called Maha Chedi), does indeed somewhat resemble the Mahabodhi temple, clearly having Indian influences. Crowning the flat roof
of the rectangular windowless building are seven spire
s (In Thai: chet yot) which gives the temple its name: a pyramid
-like spire with a square base set back from the centre surrounded by four smaller similar spires, and, set atop the two smaller annexes of the main building, two bell-shaped chedis
.
The interior of the building contains a barrel vault
ed corridor which leads to a Buddha statue at its end. Right and left of the Buddha statue narrow stairs lead up to the roof. In days past a bodhi tree grew on top of the roof but which was removed in 1910 CE to prevent the structure from collapse. Women should not climb up to the roof as only men are allowed to enter this part of the temple.
The exterior façades of the building feature 70, partially strongly weathered, stucco
relief
s of Thewada (Deva
s), divine beings, the faces of whom have allegedly been modelled after relatives of King Tilokarat.
style (also called: Prasat style): all are bell shaped chedis set upon bases, with alcove
s on four sides containing Buddha statues. The largest of the chedis contains the ashes of King Tilokarat.
In the northeastern corner of the temple compound one finds a small ubosot featuring an exquisitely carved wooden gable
surrounded by double Bai Sema
, boundary stones which designate the sacred area of a temple.
A pond and a square mondop are located at the southern end of the temple grounds. The mondop features a statue of the Buddha being sheltered by the nāga
Mucalinda
.
Several Buddha statues showing different mudra
(symbolic hand gestures) are found along the western part of the compound with the explanations of the gestures provided in English on information plaques.
Thai Temple Art and Architecture
This article on Thai temple art and architecture discusses Buddhist temples in Thailand. A typical Thai Wat, which is loosely translated as monastery or temple, has an enclosing wall that divides it from the secular world.-Wat architecture :The architecture of a Wat has seen many changes in...
) in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
in northern Thailand
Northern Thailand
Thailand's northern region is geographically characterised by multiple mountain ranges which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar and Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them...
. It is a centre of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
for those born in the year of the snake.
Location
Wat Chet Yot is located northwest of the city centre of Chiang Mai along the Super Highway Chiang Mai - Lampang (Highway 11Thai highway network
The Thai highway network follows the left-hand traffic rule of the road. The network is the twin responsibility of the Department of Highways , and the Department of Rural Roads , under the oversight of the Transportation ministry of Thailand...
), north of the intersection of Huai Kaeo road and Nimmanhemin road.
Construction history
King Tilokarat commissioned the construction of the temple in 1455 CECommon Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
after he had sent monks to Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
in Burma to study the design of the Mahabodhi temple there
Mahabodhi Temple, Bagan
The Mahabodhi Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Bagan, Burma. It was built in the mid-13th century during the reign of King Htilominlo, and is modelled after the Mahabodhi Temple, which is located in Bihar, India. The temple is built in an architectural style typical during the Gupta period,...
, itself a copy of the Mahabodhi Temple
Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple is a Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya is located about from Patna, Bihar state, India. Next to the temple, to its western side, is the holy Bodhi tree...
of Bodh Gaya in northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
, attained enlightenment
Enlightenment in Buddhism
The English term enlightenment has commonly been used in the western world to translate several Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese and Japanese terms and concepts, especially bodhi, prajna, kensho, satori and buddhahood.-Insight:...
.
According to the Jinakālamālī chronicle, in 1455 CE the king planted a bodhi tree
Bodhi tree
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...
on the spot and in the year 1476 CE "had established a large sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
in this monastery", probably for the celebration ceremony commemorating 2000 years of Buddhism. The following year the 8th Buddhist World Council was held at Wat Chet Yot to renew the Tripitaka
Tripiṭaka
' is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a , a and an .-The three categories:Tripitaka is the three main categories of texts that make up the...
(the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
).
Temple structures
The design of the central sanctuary, the Maha Pho wihanVihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
(also called Maha Chedi), does indeed somewhat resemble the Mahabodhi temple, clearly having Indian influences. Crowning the flat roof
Flat roof
A flat roof is a type of covering of a building. In contrast to the sloped form of a roof, a flat roof is horizontal or nearly horizontal. Materials that cover flat roofs typically allow the water to run off freely from a very slight inclination....
of the rectangular windowless building are seven spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s (In Thai: chet yot) which gives the temple its name: a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
-like spire with a square base set back from the centre surrounded by four smaller similar spires, and, set atop the two smaller annexes of the main building, two bell-shaped chedis
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
.
The interior of the building contains a barrel vault
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
ed corridor which leads to a Buddha statue at its end. Right and left of the Buddha statue narrow stairs lead up to the roof. In days past a bodhi tree grew on top of the roof but which was removed in 1910 CE to prevent the structure from collapse. Women should not climb up to the roof as only men are allowed to enter this part of the temple.
The exterior façades of the building feature 70, partially strongly weathered, stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s of Thewada (Deva
Deva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....
s), divine beings, the faces of whom have allegedly been modelled after relatives of King Tilokarat.
Further buildings
The expansive temple grounds contain several more chedis (and remains of chedis) in LannaLanna
The Kingdom of Lanna was a kingdom centered in present-day northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The cultural development of the people of Lanna, the Tai Yuan people, had begun long before as successive Tai Yuan kingdoms preceded Lanna...
style (also called: Prasat style): all are bell shaped chedis set upon bases, with alcove
Alcove
Alcove , a vault) is an architectural term for a recess in a room, usually screened off by pillars, balustrades or drapery.In geography and geology, the term Alcove is used for a wind-eroded depression in the side of a cliff of a homogenous rock type, famous from sandstones of the Colorado Plateau...
s on four sides containing Buddha statues. The largest of the chedis contains the ashes of King Tilokarat.
In the northeastern corner of the temple compound one finds a small ubosot featuring an exquisitely carved wooden gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
surrounded by double Bai Sema
Bai Sema
Bai Sema are the boundary stones which designate the sacred area for a phra ubosot within a Thai Buddhist temple .-History:...
, boundary stones which designate the sacred area of a temple.
A pond and a square mondop are located at the southern end of the temple grounds. The mondop features a statue of the Buddha being sheltered by the nāga
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...
Mucalinda
Mucalinda
Mucalinda, Muchalinda or Mucilinda is the name of a naga , who protected the Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment....
.
Several Buddha statues showing different mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
(symbolic hand gestures) are found along the western part of the compound with the explanations of the gestures provided in English on information plaques.