Travel

Wat Pho – The Temple of Reclining Buddha in Bangkok

- By Anamika Mishra

Wat Pho in Bangkok has a longest reclining buddha statue in the world which is 46 mtrs long. It is situated inside the Grand Palace.

Wat Pho - The Temple of Reclining Buddha in Bangkok — Wat Pho – The Temple of Reclining Buddha in Bangkok

This is one of the most beautiful Buddha temples I have ever seen. My main motive to planning a solo trip to Bangkok was to explore the temples and learn meditation from the monks. Wat Pho is a must visit place in Bangkok. It is also known as the temple of reclining buddha and its official names is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan.

I said it is inside the Grand Palace because you can walk from here and main motive is to suggest you first see the grand palace and then walk to this temple to enjoy the beauty. You need at least 4-5 hours to explore every nook and corner of this temple and the palace. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

Let us talk about the reclining Buddha statue which is the main highlight of the temple, although there are other complexes as well with over 1000 buddha statues in it. The statue of reclining Buddha looks surreal as its 15 metres tall and 46 metres long, making it the longest in the world. The Buddha’s feet are 5 metres long and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl illustrations of auspicious laksanas (characteristics) of the Buddha. The number 108 is significant, referring to the 108 positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection.

Like all other temples, you need to put your shoes off outside the temple. I recommend you to take a bowl of coins at the entrance. You need to drop the coins in 108 bronze bowls that you will find right behind the statue. Though the money here goes towards helping the monks renovate and preserve the temple, it is strongly believed that you make a wish and start dropping the pennies and continue till the last bowl, your wish will come true and it brings good luck in your life. For this penny ritual, watch the vlog.

One thing you need to make sure is to wear full clothes, means no shorts or sleeveless outfits are allowed inside the temple.

Wat Pho was the first public university in Thailand, specialising in religion, science and literature. It is now more well-known as a centre for traditional massage and medicine. After a walk around the temple, there’s nothing quite like a relaxing foot or head and shoulder massage. If you’ve never tried a traditional Thai massage, you should get it done in Wat Pho as I have already mentioned it is the birth place of traditional Thai Massage.

Here are some more photos of this temple that are surely going to make you make-up your mind to visit this place at least in your life.