Photo by Media lib – Wikimedia

Top 6 facts about Wat Rong Khun, Thailand


 

From a distance, one is drawn to wonder what lays in this bizarre-looking white temple. Know by the locals as Wat Rong Khun, the temple is located about five km south of Chiang Rai City.

This temple was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a visual artist and painter born and bred in Chiang Rai.

He uses his unconventional approach to traditional temple architecture.

He fused elements from his imagination with traditional Buddhist teachings about heaven, hell, karma and earthly sins.

A walk in the temple and you will see art ad features with Buddhist symbolism. This ranges from the layout, architecture, including the ornate reliefs and mirror decorations.

Entry into the main chapel in Wat Rong Khun is through the front. You will have to cross a narrow bridge over a pool featuring begging hands representing suffering souls in hell.

This temple is a privately owned art exhibit created in the style of a Buddhist Temple. It opened its doors to the public in 1997.

Here are more facts about the Wat Rong Khun Temple in Thailand.

1. The colour of the Wat Rong Khun symbolizes purity

Photo by Ddalbiez – Wikimedia

Wat Rong Khun is an exceptional temple that stands out through the white colour. The artist also made use of pieces of glass in the plaster that makes it sparkle in the sun.

In the Buddhist religion, the white colour implies the purity of the Buddha, subsequently, glass denotes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, in Buddhist teachings.

This is one unique feature of this temple. Several traditional Buddhist temples are always colourful. They also always have similar architecture and decorations.

The Wat Rong Khun’s architecture is far from the traditional Buddhist concepts. Its colour is the first concept that stands out. The roof and walls bear traditional Thai architecture.

It is privately owned and the construction began two decades ago. Its unique style and colour made it attractive and famous among tourists.  

2. The entire temple is symbolic

Photo by Chainwit – Wikimedia

As a work of art, the Wat Rong Khun temple is a beautiful masterpiece. There is more to this temple than its unique architecture.

The artist, Chalemchai Kosipipat, used his art to tell a much deeper meaning of the temple.

He has used his creativity to tell of the cycle of life and death by including heaven and nirvana. To get to heaven, one needs to overcome the cycles of life and death.  

The colour of the temple symbolizes purity while the glass gives a message of reflecting on one’s wisdom.

All the details and the structures in the temple such as the bridge of the cycle of rebirth and the Gate of Heaven have meaning.

They encourage its visitors to reflect on the Buddhist teachings. The teachings show the way to escape from worldly temptations, desires and greed.

3. The architecture of the Wat Rong Khun is mixed

Photo by JJ Harrison – Wikimedia

The Wat Rong Khun architecture is not what a traditional colourful Buddhist temple would look like.

What’s unique about this one is the designer and artist deliberately incorporated different elements. He picked different styles from different times and put them together to create this beauty.

Chalemchai Kosipipat combined traditional Thai and Hindi architecture as well as included elaborate ornamentation for the facades and exterior elements.

The design of this temple is described as being extensive. It gives a sense of 20th-century avant-garde as well as create a dramatic atmosphere to enhance the spiritual experience of the visitors.

Just at the entrance of the temple are a pond and a narrow white bridge leading to the main building. The pond is well decorated and features several religious images.

There are two statues on either side of the pond that guard the religious images. The statues known as kinnaras is half-man and half-bird creatures from Thai mythology believed to protect people.

4. The art in the Wat Rong Khun Temple tell life lessons

This temple has art scattered all over the complex. The art was inspired by Buddhist beliefs and teachings. They also focus on the problems of modern society.

Some of the art features the traditional mythological figures of Buddhism, while others are from the modern culture.

The art pieces are surreal and tend to explain the ordinary and tainted aspects of life. They focus more on the experiences to be felt and not the traditional figures of stunning beauty.

There are sculptures of devils in strong red and yellow colours. These are used to warn people against smoking or drinking alcohol.

One of the sculptures has a bottle of whiskey on top of a head skull, while the other has a no smoking sign engulfed by flames.

Inside the temple, you will see two Buddha images floating on a lotus pedestal. They are set against richly painted murals in different hues of gold and other colours.

5. Construction of the Wat Rong Khun temple was never completed

Photo by Ddalbiez – Wikimedia

The Wat Rong Khun is very similar to Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. These two unique architecture masterpieces have never been completed.

Chalermchai looked at the idea of building the Wat and had a laid out great grand plan for its design and construction.

He constructed the main chapel in 1998, but since finer details like murals and other decorations needed to be included, it took him more than 22 years to work on it.

When the temple will be fully complete, there will be a total of nine structures featuring sweeping reliefs and mirrors.

Chalermchai agreed to work on the temple to restore it. It badly needed preservation. However, the work had to be stopped due to a lack of funds.

The artist, like Antonio Gaudi, used his funds to renovate the temple. He intended to make the temple a centre of learning and meditation.

He considers the temple to be an offering to Buddha and believes the project will give him immortal life.

6. Visitors need to be decently dressed when visiting Wat Rong Khun

Visiting a Buddhist temple requires one to be dressed decently. Although the dress code at Wat Rong Khun is not as strict as the Grand Palace, one needs to be covered.

Respectable clothing that covers shoulders and legs are required. Shoes are not allowed inside; you will take them off before entering the temple.

The temple is open all year round and the best time to visit is between December and February. During this time the sky is usually clear, with no rain.

Opening hours are between 8 am to 5 pm. Thai nationals enter for free and other nationalities will be required to pay a small entrance fee.

 

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