Revisited Wat Banrai BE2557 ~ Thep Wittayakom Shrine (Part 1).

The sacred Shrine of Thep Wittayakom with magnificent handcrafted design at Wat Banrai celebrates the very core of Buddhism in Nakhon Ratchasima. It's taken 3 years and a virtual army of artists and Buddhist faithful but at last Asia's largest ceramic mosaic shrine is finally complete. Towering over the Nakhon Ratchasima countryside, the 42 metre high, 4 storey Thep Wittayakom Shrine is designed to educate people about Buddhist teachings through the universal language of arts of architecture, paintings, and sculptures.

 The photo taken at front side with Guardian Naga and the bridge. The whole Shrine is surrounded by water, the shrine relates the Tripitaka, Buddhism's sacred texts, in an artistic way that's easy to understand.

 Another Naga sculpture on the lake and another photo is main Ubosot of Wat Banrai.

 Close view of the Naga (each 19 heads) with back side view.

 Here we cross from the human world to the world of dhamma (Shrine Thep Wittayakom).

 The main entrance with small pieces ceramic mosaic and the giant Elephant head at top. Ceramic has its own unique charm. The beauty lies in how the small, glossy pieces are laid next to one another in such a way that the resulting sculptures look special and gentle under the sun.

 The 4 lintels with dedicated to the keepers of the world. The Indra arch represents the powerful god, the Phra Yom arch is named for the god of justice who decides who one can go to heaven. The Phra Piroon arch honours the god of water, abundance and tranquillity and the Phra Kuvane arch (Tao Wessuwan), represents the god of fortune who protects Buddhism and the earth.

 The Naga coil around the shrine and the tails of both naga meet and coil three times to cover the ever-glowing wishing crystal, which symbolises the "3 practices" - sila (virtue), samadhi (concentration) and panya (discernment).

 Another expansion building.

 The back side entrance of the Shrine Thep Wittayakom.

 The pillars around the building support the Erawan Elephant roof and are each illustrated with one of 523 previous lives of Lord Buddha. The mural on the exterior wall of the building presents 10 Jataka tales and was painted on ceramic before being fired at high temperatures.

 The photo taken with one of the furious sculpture.

 Inside the Ground floor with beautiful Murals.

 The beautiful 6 murals have been meticulously painted by six artists, with the lotus symbolising Lord Buddha. In the hall, the Wishing Bodhi tree represents the meaning of Buddha - the enlightened, awakened and brightened one - and people are invited to make a wish. Here the visitors learn about the life of Lord Buddha from his birth to his Parinirvana (death).

 Walking thru the corridor to roof floor with dhamma display.

 The roof enshrines the 7 metre tall Phra Leela Buddha image in walking posture and the 5 metre tall metal statue of Luang Phor Koon Parisutho, which symbolises the Lord Buddha teaching dhamma to the monk so that he can in turn teach Buddhists.

 The spectacular view from the roof for the whole temple and beyond.

Here is the basement of the Shrine Thep Wittayakom.
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See more amulets from LP Koon - Wat Banrai at:
http://thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/search/label/LP%20Koon 
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See more other Thai amulets at:
http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/ 

Luang Phor Koon Passed Away BE2558.

Luang Phor Koon was rushed to an intensive care unit (Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital) on Friday morning after his heart stopped beating and nurses detected a weak pulse, the abbot was rushed to the hospital. But, Luang Phor Koon’s health condition worsened on Saturday morning.

Revered abbot Luang Phor Koon passed away at 11.45am on Saturday 16th May BE2558, according to the statement of Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital. He was 92 years old. 

During my revisited to Wat Banrai in year BE2557.
In his will, which he made in mid BE2543, the late abbot of Wat BanRai in Nakhon Ratchasima's Dan Khun Thot district, asked that his body be donated to Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Medicine within 24 hours. His body will be used for medical study for three years. After his body is returned, the abbot wants a simple funeral and he prohibits his disciples from seeking a royal cremation. His remains are to be placed in the Mekong River.
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See more amulets from LP Koon - Wat Banrai at:
http://thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/search/label/LP%20Koon
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See more other Thai amulets at:
http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/ 

Wat Tham Sua (Tiger Cave Temple) at KanchanaBuri - Thailand.

Wat Tham Sua (Tiger Cave Temple) is visible from far away, the temple features an impressive Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue and chedi on the top of a hill. Behind the chedi is the Chinese pagoda of the adjacent Wat Tham Khao Noi.

 

If you have never been here before, then we would very much like it if you spend your next holiday here in Thailand. I went here in early morning and don't have a lot visitor yet. These pictures were taken this morning at Wat Tham Sua (means "tiger cave temple") in Kanchanaburi. Here we were see the “gigantic” seated Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue and the views that can be seen from the top.

 At the bottom side of the hill Wat Tham Sua is located the car parks and beside have the building Hall and small Wiharn with veneration statues of top monks.

From the car park, a staircase leads up to the top to see the giant seated Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue high above us and encouraged us to climb the many steps to the top. This was a bit like the climb to Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai as the handrail was the back of the Phayanak Naga snake.

 Here is the gigantic Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue, seated in the posture of giving blessings, is covered with gold mosaic and protected by an unusual shell-like structure.

 More close view for the Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue.

 The semi shell-like structure building and cover the Phra Cinnaraj Buddha statue.

 Beside is the huge Chedi building, 69 meters high and 29 meters wide and is hollow. Another side the the temple wiharn.

 From the hill top platform, we were see the rice fields in the foreground.  It is from here that you get the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. It was definitely worth the long climb to the top.

 Inside the wiharn, the veneration of main Phra Buddha statues and beautiful Mural painting and decoration.

 Here is the cave of temple Wat Tham Sua, and the guardian at front. But its caves are now closed to the public.

At the past, dating from 1971, when a monk named Pasarigo used the hilltop caves for meditation and now temple Wat Tham Sua emerged till became tourist attractions.
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See more Thai amulets for rent at:
http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/