Incredible White Temple in Thailand
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Thailand is an amazing place, where spirituality is still practiced by a large percentage of the population. This has resulted in an abundance of spiritual places that are unique to the country. One such place is called Wat Rong Khun (White temple) in Northern Thailand. Unlike the other temples in Thailand, Wat Rong Khun is new.
In fact, the temple is not 100% complete and is estimated to be completed in the year 2070. However, the parts of the building which are completed are open to the public. The details of the buildings are stunning. Every detail of the temple has a significant meaning to it, and was well thought out by the creator to match his vision of building a ‘house for the Buddha’. What a total work of love, devotion and supreme faith in Lord Buddha. Inspiring to say the least.
The most beautiful thing about this temple is the motivation of its creator, a famous Thai artist, Charlermchai Kositpipat. His dedication to Lord Buddha, the Dharma, and his King (to whom he dedicates the temple) led him to spend the rest of his life constructing this temple and creating Buddhist art. His hope is that one day, Wat Rong Khun will be an international center for Buddhist studies and meditation retreats. Let’s help him accomplish this….beautiful motivation.
I am very happy to hear this. What a wonderful motivation. And what a wonderful country Thailand is. I have lived there before and I really liked it. It is one of the places that I would be happy live at long term…. Do go and visit this incredible place…very beautiful and unique..Visit Thailand full stop..such a unique place.
Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai
Wat Rong Khun is located about 5 kilometers (approximately 15 minutes drive) to the south of Chiang Rai, in the Northernmost province of Thailand. The Rong Khun temple, or simply known as The White Temple, is designed by Thailand’s famous artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat.
After 20 years of learning the Doctrine of Lord Buddha, Chalermchai decided to dedicate his life to create a temple that would one day be a heritage to the world. He began work on Rong Khun temple in 1997 with the money he accumulated over 20 years from selling his paintings.
The temple is built in white to represent Buddha’s purity while the white glass symbolizes Buddha’s wisdom that shines brightly all over the earth and the universe.
The entrance to the temple is through a bridge, with two large pits covered with sculptures of hands of people on either side, symbolizing the hell realm.
Further up from the bridge, a huge pond housing white fishes and small fountains of water signifies the Si Tandon, the river that partitions heaven and the world below.
Beautiful white colored fishes swimming in the pond. Nice.
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| Hands reaching out from the pits of ‘hell’. Realistic. | Sculptures of Buddhas meditating at the end of the bridge |
Walking from the entrance up to the end of the bridge is very unique, as one would have experienced the complete journey from hell to heaven. After crossing the bridge, you’ll reach the ubosot (assembly hall). Just like the outside of the temple, the front hall is covered in white and the walls are covered with stories about the travels of Lord Buddha and incidents in his life.
On the roof, there are four kinds of animals; the elephant represent the earth; the naga stands for water; the swan’s wings for wind; and the lion’s mane for fire.
Upon entering the temple, the surrounding color changes from pure white to flaming gold. The altar at the center is filled with sculptures of Buddhas in various poses of meditation.
The mural inside the temple represents a mixture of traditional Buddhist art and contemporary scenes. Images of Spiderman, Superman and many other famous characters can be seen. Very unique!
To the left of the temple is a Golden Toilet which gives out a secret message to people that beauty is in the mind and can be conceived for all objects.
Here are some other pictures of the temple. Notice the exquisite workmanship of the building – one can tell that the artist took a lot of time, effort and dedication to produce such magnificent sculptures.
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Wat Rong Khun better known as the White Temple, is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai province, Thailand. The gold symbolizes how people focus on worldly desires and money. The white building represents the idea to make merit and to focus on the mind. It is owned by a succesful Thai businessman who opened it to visitors in 1997. Awesome….This temple stands out through the white colour and use of pieces of glass that sparkle in the sun. The white colour signifies the purity of Buddha while the glass symbolizes Buddha’s wisdom. Located 3 hour drive from Chiang Mai built to honour and pay tribute to sacred Buddhist figures. Over time, temples grew in prominence and is one of the famous temples to visit in Thailand. I have visited years back its simple stunning temple which truly love the design and architecture .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
I’m touched to learn the pure intentions of the owner while building this temple. Thanks Rinpoche for sharing these pictures.
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Wat Rong Khun known to many locals and tourist as the White Temple, in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand . This temple’s unique design mixing contemporary and classic style makes it one of Thailand’s most unusual and visually striking man-made attractions. This illuminated shrine is a nonpareil masterpiece that breaks with traditional Buddhist temple design. It is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary religious structures in Thailand. A mixture of traditional Buddhist beliefs with modern art that has attracted thousands visitors yearly . Amazingly it stands out through the white colour and the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, sparkling in the sun. Reading this post again just reminds me of my trip there few years back.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
The White Temple of Thailand also known as Wat Rong Khun, which is outside Chiang Rai city. It is one of the most recognizable temple, attracting thousands of locals and tourist yearly. It is beautiful temple where everything in white colour, even the fishes reared in the ponds also white in colour. Well this temple is very unique as it stands out through the white colour. With the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, looks sparkling in the sun. The white colour signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings.
I have visited this amazing White Temple a few years back. Simply amazing. This bizarre-looking white temple located is the brainchild of Chiang Rai-born visual artist and painter Chalermchai Kositpipat. The temple is filled with Buddhist symbolisms, beautiful layout, architecture, all the way to the ornate reliefs and mirror decorations. Worthy visiting.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
What an amazingly beautiful white temple! It’s something like Disneyland or Fairytale kinda of castle looking design. Very artistic. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for sharing these beautiful pictures of white temple in thailand. ??
Wow, Wat Rong Khun is very beautiful. The whole building is in fact built with specific message to be shared to the visitors. So much thoughts being put in constructing the temple. I like the idea of mural in the temple that represents a mixture of traditional Buddhist art and contemporary scenes. It’s appreciating arts in addition to Buddhism knowledge. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article.
When I first saw the image of this temple in KL, I was shocked and stun by it exquisite designs. I was awe admiring the beauty. It so inspiring to know the story behind this magnificent Wat Rong Khun, and the motivation of the creator, Mr. Charlermchai Kositpipat. Wat Rong Khun indeed was very unique.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srfbwNnFOlg
Amazing looking at those beautiful pictures of the white temples …it so white and beautiful. Beautiful and incredible the Wat Rong Khun, better known as “the White Temple” is one of Chiang Rai’s best visited attractions. The temple is Chiang Mai’s most beautiful temple and is one of the most recognizable temples in Thailand. Wat Rong Khun is a unique temple that stands out through the white colour. The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
The hands reaching out from Hell are great. I was only reading yesterday about St. Augustine I think who propagated doctrine about the nine circles of Hell which Dante wrote of. The Catholic church has prayers and masses I think for the souls in Hell. Jesus I think has some teachings about a rich man in Hell begging for water. Australian immigration detainees appear to be experiencing Hell on Manus Is, PNG where it is reported they now have to beg for water in a very humid climate.
Thailand has many famous temples and this White Temple is amazing. It’s so beautiful and artistically done up by this famous Thai artist, Charlermchai Kositpipat. Not only is he artistic but he is devoting his life to building this temple to benefit others.
Thank you Rinpoche for showing us Wat Rong Khun here.
Even though it is way long before its final completion in 2070, the already completed portion of this temple is already very amazing for me with the detailed workmanship.
The building itself is amazing, and the idea behind this building is beautiful, for a man is willing to dedicate his whole life for the building of this temple with a pure goal of benefiting many more people with Buddhism in the future.
This is truly an inspiring and beautiful place to look out for.
I would love to visit this temple, the beer bottle temple (Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew) as well as Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Bangkok has so many Wats around, scattered from the CBD to the outskirts of Bangkok, the spirituality is definitely evident. I like that the culture has been preserved through their history and the faith and acceptance of the Thais to religion especially Buddhism is very strong. There are so many little shrines that are all around, and each having different deities and Buddhas inside; from Ganesha to Buddha, from Tara to Brahma. Brilliant; such an all-accepting country.
thailand adalah satu negara yang penuh dengan sausana semua agama , agama buddha telah berada di negara ini melebihi satu ribu tahun, oleh itu berjenis kraf tangan dan bentuk bangunan pun mengada mengikut masa dan suasana yang tidak sama,Wat Rong Khun telah di reka oleh Chalermchai Kositpipat, seorang artist thai yang terkenal, saya amat hormat orang ini kerana dia telah menggunakan masa dia sendiri untuk kebajikan orang lain.
Very nice. I wish to visit this temple some day.
This is a very beautiful temple in Thailand. I wish I was there. Every single part of the pictures of the temples seem to have a deeper meaning to it. I just do not understand the pictures with the cartoon and movie characters. This is really a great offering up to the Buddhas as its beauty would capture the eyes of men and women in this world and radiate blessings that will open the karmic seeds in peoples minds that will result in them being a better person and end up with the person becoming enlightened.
Even though its just a part of the uncompleted Wat Rong Khun (White Temple). The pictures that is shown is so beautiful and very artistic. I understand the person who has created this Temple is an artist called Chalermchai Kositpipat after his learning of the 20 years of Dharma. He has used his own savings for the Temple. This also reminds me of the Thai Chetawan Temple in Jalan Gasing which started with just one main Temple, the Abbots house and monks quarters although they have a lot of land but no funds to extend and improve. But through the years sponsors began to come in and work on expansion are still continuing. It will be the same for the Wat Rong Khun in Thailand. I will not forget the Thai Chetawan Temple as I started my Dharma from this temple.
Very beautiful, a fantastic example of the artistic beauty us naked apes are capable of, Rinpoche. However, an open space to gather, some learned monks and nuns, and a sincere devotion to awakening should be all that’s needed. The money used to build this temple could have been put to compassionate use alleviating the sufferings of so many people, in so many ways.