The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Construction on this temple started in 1785, only a couple of years after construction began on the Grand Palace itself. The Emerald Buddha Temple was being built on the same grounds as the Grand Palace at the same time. This temple is different then other temples because it does not house monks.  Rather, it has only pagodas, statues and holy buildings.

There is a very long history that goes with this particular Buddha. It is said that the Emerald Buddha was made in India around 43BC (only about 400 years after Buddha had left his earthly body).

It was then taken by a prince of the Siamese (remember the movie “The King and I” with Yul Brynner? I might be showing my age a bit here, but Brynner was the King of the Siam Empire which is now know as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Viet Nam and parts of Burma) regime, then taken by the Haw, then taken back when King Rama the 1st retook it and brought it to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, eventually bringing the Emerald Buddha to the Grand Palace, where his grandson King Rama the 3rd built the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Believe it or not, the Buddha is not made from emerald...it is made from Jade. Early on, a Buddhist monk mistakenly said it was made of emerald, and that mistake stuck.

You cannot take pictures inside the temple, which is unfortunate, because it is a very moving site. The Emerald Buddha sits on a platform about thirty or so feet above the temple floor. I was deeply moved by the sacredness inside the temple. The Buddha itself is dressed in a golden outfit of real gold. The Buddha has three different sets of gold clothing, which are changed by the King of Thailand, himself, in a ceremony at the changing of the country's three seasons: hot, rainy and cool. Most Thais and other Asians were in deep prayer. As a tourist, I tried to be quiet and take in all that the temple had to offer.

Because I couldn't take pictures inside the temple, below is a picture I pulled up from the web:

Following are some pictures of temples Liz and I visited in northern Thailand, after we completed our four-day trek in the mountains visiting the Hill People Tribe.

The entrance to a temple in Chaing Rai

The same temple, with a closer look at the in-depth ornate art and design...all hand made.

Here's the ceiling of the temple. Lots of temples have these murals on the ceiling or on the walls. In many cases, the murals on the walls tell the whole story of Siddhartha and The Buddha.

This is one of three altars at this temple.

Next week: Angor Wat

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