Candidate of the week: Wat Phra That Lampang Luang
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Built on a small hill in the historic northern province of Lampang, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is thought to be one of the oldest surviving temples in the Kingdom made from wood.
A masterpiece of Lanna art and culture, its gates are embellished with intricate stuccowork and it contains within its grounds some splendid examples of the architecture of this civilisation.
Viharn Luang, the main viharn (the structure where important Buddha statues are enshrined and where people come to pray), was erected in 1476 and today houses the Phra Chao Lan Thong image. Nearby, Viharn Phra Buddha gives pride of place to a majestic, 700-year-old Buddha statue and its wooden walls are decorated with wonderful golden patterns.
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On the other side of the compound is Viharn Nam Taem with its fading but still impressive Lanna-style murals; depicting the last 10 incarnations of the Lord Buddha, these paintings are believed to be some 500 years old.
In a museum at the rear of the complex is a well-maintained collection of ancient sacred objects including a much-revered Buddha image carved from jade called Phra Kaeo.
Unlike most temples in close proximity to major population centres in this country, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang has not been “improved” or renovated to conform with modern Thai ideas on aesthetics. The grounds are still covered with sand, a material which has numerous symbolic meanings including as a metaphor for the moat-like ocean surrounding Mount Sumeru, the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology, which could be represented here by the main stupa of the temple.
Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com