Thursday, November 26, 2015

Wat Phra Kaew In Chiang Rai ~ The Religious Art Of Lanna History ~ Saengkaew Museum (Part 2).

If you are in ChiangRai, dont miss visiting SaengKaew Museum at Wat Phra Kaew - ChiangRai. This sacred SaengKaew Musuem was built in 1995 in the contemporary northern style, the museum contains numerous interesting objects, especially of the typical northern culture Religious Art of Lanna history. Preserved here also are the belongings of two respected late monks: Phra Buddhiwongwiwat and Somdet Phra Buddha Chinawong. The former was late abbot of the temple and the Provincial monks’ Governor of Chiang Rai and the latter was the abbot of Wat Benjamabopitr, Bangkok and the monks’ Governor of the whole northern Thailand. Both of them had made a lot of contributions to the development of Buddhism in ChiangRai.
 The Northern style of the SaengKaew Museum is house of storage Lanna Religious Art. Here the main entrance and entry is free of charge. It operates seven days a week from 9.00 to 17.00 o’clock.
 The photo taken at main altar of  Saeng Kaew Museum, the sacred Phra Buddha Sri ChiangRai, the style of Buddha Chiang Saen, this bronze image, covered with gold leaf, is seated in the position of Calling the Earth to Witness. Designed by Acharn Saner Nindej, it was commissioned in 2001 as the presiding Buddha image in the Hong Luang SaengKaew, the museum of Wat Phra Kaew. At back side is Tung Kradang. The sacred Tung Kradang in this museum depict the history of the Emerald Buddha, according to Lanna chronicles and include the creation of the Jade Buddha of Chiang to commemorate the history of the temple.
 The shell of "Green Turtle", "LongHead Red Turtle" and "Asian Forest Tortoise".
 The sacred variety stone statues of Phra Buddha.
 The close look for the Phra Buddha Sri ChiangRai, the style of Buddha Chiang Saen.
 The sacred Prasat Abode. The Prasat is where the Buddha statue image, heavenly beings or royalty may be enthroned. The roof is the representation of Mount Sineru at the center of the universe.
 The old GongGob. This magnificent bronze drum is known as frog drum or rain drum. It is now believed by most independent scholars to have originated in northern Vietnam, Dong Son Culture, in the fifth century BC.The original drums were used in ritual ceremonies.
 The PhraThat of Relic, a reliquary designed to contain and exhibit the remains and relics of saints. This is a philatory, a transparent reliquary.
 The huge collection of Old Lanna Phra Buddha statues.
 The metal bronze of Lanna Phra Buddha statue.
 The sacred Phra Chao Tan Jai. The people of Lanna believe that Phra Chao Tan Jai will facilitate a person’s wishes in a timely manner.
 Many more Old Lanna Phra Buddha statues included, Phra U-Thong, Phra Buddha Sukhothai, Phra Buddha ChiangSean and others.
The sacred Phra Bua Khem, one manifestation of Phra Upakut, representing one of the Lord Buddha’s disciples in meditation on the ocean floor. The base is usually decorated with shells, crab and fish and the head is covered with lotus leaves. There are 9 small raised points on the body: one on the forehead, two on the shoulders, two on the knees, two on the hip and two on either the wrist or the elbow, representing the original remains of the Lord Buddha and his disciples which were enshrined in holy reliquaries. The name Bua Khem, meaning “head of the pin”, refers to these small raised points. Burmese believe that veneration of this image will help to guide them on the right path and bring luck and prosperity.
 The sacred collection of old antique Phra Buddha statue.
 The Phra Chao Ha Phra-Ong, the sacred seed.
 The antique Alm Bowl, Roller-ing and other stuff.
 The old Mantra book.
 The altar with antique Phra Buddha statues.
 The Heed Tham. Religious texts and books are preserved in wooden chests. Often carved and lacquered, they were used to store the libraries in the temples of Lanna.
The sacred Phra Buddha Ratnakorn Navuti Wassanusornmongkhol.
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See amulets from Wat Phra Kaew - ChiangRai at:
 http://thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.my/search/label/Wat%20Phra%20Kaew%20%28ChiangRai%29  
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See more Thai amulets at: 
 http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/  

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Wat Phra Kaew In Chiang Rai ~ The Original Home Of The Translucent Green Emerald Buddha (Part 1).

My second stop was ChiangRai. It's only a short ride from ChiangMai, easily done by car during the day. In this part 1, we sharing the temple photos and part 2 will sharing the Museum of Wat Phra Kaew. 
Wat Phra Kaew is one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist temples in ChiangRai and unclear when the temple was founded. The temple was originally called Wat PaYeah, meaning the Temple in the Golden Bamboo Forest, as it was surrounded by a dense yellow bamboo grove locally known as Yeah or Yah. In year 1434 the temple’s octagonal Chedi (Pagoda) was struck by lightning and it fell apart to reveal a Buddha covered with stucco inside. The Buddha was then placed in the abbot's residence, who later noticed that stucco on the nose had flaked off, revealing a green figure inside. The abbot removed all the stucco and found a Buddha image made of a green semi-precious stone, which became known as Phra Kaew Morakot or the Emerald Buddha. "Emerald" here simply means "green coloured" in Thai. The temple has been thus called Wat Phra Kaew after this holy Buddha image ever since.
One of the temple main gate. The Wat Phra Kaew is a Royal Temple in Chiang Rai and one of the oldest in the city. Although the exact year the Wat was founded is not known, it goes back at least to the end of the 14th century.
The orchid planted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, on 12 Feb 2001.
The main Ubosot of Wat Phra Kaew, ChiangRai. House of Phra Buddha statue ~ Phra Jao Lan Thong image.
The stunning and glitter image of Naga image as Guardian in front of Ubosot.
The one of the largest and most beautiful Buddha images ~ Phra Jao Lan Thong in Thailand is housed in the Ubosot at Wat Phra Kaew, ChiangRai. The image is made of brass and copper and is believed to be 700 years old. The image was originally housed at Wat Phra Chao Lan Thong in Chiang Rai, then moved to Wat Ngam Muang, and then to Wat Phra Kaew in 1961 (BE 2504). Thus it is now called Phra Jao Lan Thong.
The past abbot statue venerated in shrine.
The octagonal Chedi (Pagoda) at Wat Phra Kaew. At the rear, behind Uposatha hall is the Chedi inside which the Emerald Buddha was found in 1434. This typical Lanna style pagoda had been subsequently renovated, the last renovation was in 1992-1993.
The small shrine for Phra Buddha images and King MengRai.
At present Phra Yok Chiang Rai is housed in Haw Phra Kaew (Jewel Buddha Chamber).  The teak wooden chamber, 8 metres in width and 12 metres in length, was built in ancient Chiang Saen style.  Its model was created by a renowned artist Thawan Datchanee. At front side also located the pond for fishes and turtles.
The Photo taken with Emerald Buddha Phra Kaew Marakot. In 1990, a new Phra Kaew Marakot image was commissioned and carved in China out of Canadian jade in honor of Her Royal Highness Somdej Phrasrinkharintra, the Princess Mother's ninetieth birthday. The image is an intentionally close but not exact replica of the Phra Kaew Marakot in Bangkok; it is 48.3cm wide across the lap and at 65.9cm high, it is just 0.1 cm shorter than the original. The new image is called Phra Yok Chiang Rai (Chiang Rai Jade Buddha) and is housed in Haw Phra Yok. A dedication ceremony was held in Bangkok on 20 September 1991 (BE 2534) and the image was installed with a grand procession at Wat Phra Kaew, Chiang Rai on 19 October of the same year.
According to legend by Ratna Phimwong written in Pali by Phra Bhrompanya in 1729 AD, the Emerald Buddha was sculpted by gods to present to Venerable Nagsen Thera (500 BE), who stayed in Asokaram of Pataliputra (now Kumhar in Patna, India).  Subsequently the image was moved from place to place before being presently housed in Bangkok as follows:
1.      Sri Lanka
2.      Cambodia
3.      Angor Wat in Cambodia.
4.      Sri Ayudhaya, old capital of Thailand
5.      Lawo or the present Lopburi province
6.      Vajiraprakarn or the present Kampaeng Phet province
7.      Chiang Rai for 45 years from 1391 to 1436
8.      Lampang for 32 years from 1436 to 1468
9.      Chiang Mai for 85 years from 1468 to 1553
10.     Luang Prabang and Viantiane of Lao for 225 years from 1553 to 1778.
And finally in 1778, during King Taksin of the Thonburi period, when King Rama I of Bangkok was still a general, he captured Vientiane and brought the Emerald Buddha back to Thailand. With the establishment of Bangkok as the capital, the Emerald Buddha became the palladium of Thailand and has been ever since. The image was moved from Thonburi to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok on 22 March 1784.  The image has been regarded as the most sacred object in Thailand.
***source by watphrakaew-chiangrai.com
The side view with elegance.
The mural traditional paintings on the walls of Haw Phra Yok depict the legend of the Emerald Buddha, whereas the temporary paintings depict the history of Phra Yok Chiang Rai.
The seven days Phra Buddha images.
The fishes and turtles pond.
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See amulets from Wat Phra Kaew - ChiangRai at:
 http://thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.my/search/label/Wat%20Phra%20Kaew%20%28ChiangRai%29 
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See more Thai amulets at: 
 http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/  

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Visiting The King Mengrai Great Memorial - Chiang Rai Of Thailand.

It is believed by the locals that the King Mengrai monument should be the first place to visit when coming to Chiang Rai to show respect to King Mengrai the founder of Chiang Rai, before travelling anywhere else.
King Mangrai (1238–1317), also known as King MengRai, was the 25th King of Ngoen Yang (1261-1296) and the first King of Chiang Mai (1296-1317), capital of the Lanna Kingdom (1296–1558). King Mangrai was born on October 2, 1238 in Ngoen Yang (present day Chiang Saen) Thailand on the Mekong River, a son of the local ruler King Lao Meng. In 1259, King Mangrai succeeded his father to become the first independent king of the unified Tai city states in northern Lanna and what is now northern Laos. Seeing the Tai states were in danger, King Mangrai quickly expanded his kingdom by conquering Muang Lai, Chiang Kham and Chiang Khong and initiating alliances with other states. In 1262, he founded the city of Chiang Rai as his new capital in the Kok River basin. He also seems to have been operating around this time in the area of Fang in the Upper Kok Valley. 
Construction of Chiang Mai ("New City") began in 1296 and it has been the capital of the northern provinces more or less ever since.
The photo taken with statue King MengRai, the bronze materials of The King Mengrai statue.
Another view for the statue King MengRai with beautiful background design 'Tung Kradang'. A wooden or metal banner commissioned as an offering to the Lord Buddha.
Another close view with Tung Kradang at back side.
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See more amulets from King MengRai at:
http://thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.my/search/label/King%20MangRai 
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See more Thai amulets at: 
http://www.thaiamulets-dhammapath.blogspot.com/