Advertisement
Published: December 18th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Wat Phra Yai, commonly called “The Big Buddha,” is probably the most photographed sight in Ko Samui. It is on the top of every “Must See” list, and seems to be popular with Thais as well as with tourists.
The temple is located on the small island Ko Phan, but, no worries, there is a causeway you can walk across to get to it. In fact, if you hadn’t looked at a map you might not even realize it was on an island. Entering the temple grounds is more like coming into a county fair than a religious site, but maybe that’s not all bad.
There are coffee shops, and art galleries, and T-shirt stalls, and an ice cream stand, and a store selling hand-made soap, and, well, you get the picture. There is no ignoring, however, the big gleaming Buddha gazing beatifically over it all.
Wat Phra Yai is built on the site of what was once part of another temple – Plai Laem - a bit further down the road, and it was used as a cemetery for infants and children who died before the age of ten.
The Buddha here is beautiful. He is
sitting in the mara posture, which represents steadfastness in the face of temptation. The steps to get up to the base of the Buddha are flanked with naga, mythical creatures in the form of dragons, sometimes with many heads. Naga are thought to connect heaven and earth, and are common on stairways in Buddhist temples.
Not all the images here are strictly Buddhist. At the bottom of the steps is a statue of Phra Phrom, sometimes called the four-faced Buddha, but actually a depiction of the Hindu god Brahma. Each face represents a different aspect of Brahma, and each face offers different blessings. There are also depictions of the Hindu god Rama – he’s the one with green skin, carrying a bow and arrow - as well as of the Hindu god Hanuman, the monkey faced one. Apparently the depiction of Hindu gods in Buddhist temples is quite common in Thailand, and that the Buddha is described in several important Hindu texts. Who knew?
Around the base of the Buddha there are a number of small statues, most of them of Buddha in various postures. There were, however, several smaller statues of a man
in military uniform. That seemed odd to me, but later I found out that the statues were of King Chulalongkorn, also known as Rama V. Chulalongkorn is an interesting guy; in the book “Anna and the King of Siam,” and later in the movie “The King and I,” Chulalongkorn is one of the children Anna was hired to teach. He is much beloved by the Thai people for his abolition of slavery and the system of corvee – the practice of unpaid labor owed to the state, or to a wealthy landowner.
After the strenuous climb up the 150 steps, I was in need of some sustenance. A lady had a small cart promising the best pancakes. I asked if they realy were the best, and she replied “Yes! 100%!” At that point, she was probably right.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.301s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 38; qc: 134; dbt: 0.156s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Thailand.
So many Buddha's so little time.