Wat Rong Khunor known by tourist as “The White Temple” of Chiang Rai
All
Structures in this temple are symbolic. Every detail of the temple carries meaning and encourages the visitor to reflect on the Buddhist teachings that show the way to escape from the worldly temptations, desires and greed and focus on the mind instead.
There are a lot of attractions in this temple which I would like to give you some details. The first structure and its symbolism is The bridge of “the cycle of rebirth”, over there (ชี้).
The ubosot, the main building of the white temple, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of the bridge is a circular area with hundreds of reaching hands that symbolize desire. This area represents human suffering and hell. The bridge towards the ubosot, called the bridge of “the cycle of rebirth” signifies the crossing over from the cycle of death and rebirth into a state free of suffering. It symbolizes the way to happiness by overcoming worldly things as temptations, greed and desire. Next to the lake stand two very elegant Kinnaree, a creature from Buddhist mythology, half human, half bird.
Second symbolism is The “Gate of Heaven”.
After crossing the bridge the visitor arrives at the “Gate of Heaven” guarded by two huge creatures that represent Death and Rahu, who decides over men’s fate. At the end of the bridge in front of the ubosot are several Buddha images in meditation.
The highlight of the temple is the ubosot.
The most important building of the Wat Rong Khun, the ubosot is an all white building with fragments of reflective glass in the plaster. The very ornate ubosot shows some design elements of classic Northern Thai temples like the three tiered roof and stylized Naga serpents on the bargeboards.
Whereas the murals of many old temples depict scenes from Buddhist stories, the walls of the white temple contain colorful murals that depict modern representations of good and evil, contemporary figures like Batman, Spiderman and Elvis, villains and superheroes from movies and comics and even spaceships.
On the back wall of the ubosot is a golden mural of the Buddha, a few images of the Buddha in front of it.
The last attraction is The golden building.
A structure that stands out because of its color is the rest rooms building. Another very ornately decorated structure, this golden building represents the body, whereas the white ubosot represents the mind. The gold symbolizes how people focus on worldly desires and money. The golden building represents the idea to make merit and to focus on the mind, instead of material things and possession.