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Wat Chedi Luang

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actonsteve
actonsteve
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Editor Pick

Chiang Mai: Wat Chedi Luang

  • March 11, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by SeenThat from Tel Aviv, Israel
Chiang Mai: Wat Chedi Luang

What gives a talisman its power? The last is undeniable in the case of the Emerald Buddha; for centuries people died in attempts to defend or capture it. Is it an immemorial origin half buried in the fog of legends? Is it strange events leading to its disappearance and even stranger ones related to its re-apparition? Or maybe it is due to the rare materials used for its construction. Certainly the power is not related to its physical size, since the Emerald Buddha is tiny.

A talisman does not exist in a vacuum; it is part of a given culture and must thus be closely related to its symbols, history and beliefs in order to be considered valuable. Thus its power lies in its capability to represent vast and important parts of the culture that created it. The Emerald Buddha tests positive in each one of these points and is thus the most revered Buddha figure in Thailand; magical powers are attributed to it, including the very survival of the Chakri Dynasty. As such, it is probably the most important talisman in the modern world.

Anybody aware of Buddha's teaching would be surprised - and disappointed - from the worshipping of its image in Thailand. People revere an image and not his teachings. This is partially the result of Buddhism having been introduced into a deeply animist culture. Animism has survived hidden within Buddhism; the Emerald Buddha is an excellent testimony of that.

The Chiang Mai's Chapter

The actual Chiang Mai was the former capital of the the Lanna Kingdom and as such it hosted a similar amount of temples.

One of them, almost at the geographical centre of Chiang Mai's Old City is Wat Chedi Luang, where the Emerald Buddha found a residence between 1468 and 1553AC.

The temple is along the central Thanon Ratchamanka and is very easy to spot, despite its damaged and diminished chedi: this is the most accessible of all the locations along this quest.

The Emerald Buddha was brought here from Lampang, after a long and unpredicted delay there in its way here from Chiang Rai.

From Chiang Mai, the Laoians took it, and kept it first in Luang Prabang, their northern principality, and later in Vientiane, the central one. A couple of centuries later, the last one paid a dear price for the statue - it was burned to the ground - when it was brought back to Thailand.

Reaching the Temple

Considered as the second biggest city in the kingdom and as the biggest in the north, Chiang Mai is very accessible. A flight from Bangkok costs a little more than fifty dollars and tickets can be bought directly at the terminal a few minutes before the flight.

Night buses, specially the VIP class, are a good value and leave from Mo Chit, the northern terminal in Bangkok. Bus number three arrives there from Khaosan Road. It is better to buy the ticket during the day; otherwise the desired bus and place may be full.

Once in Chiang Mai, the Chedi is close to the main concentration of hotels and guesthouses around the Tha Pae Gate of the Old City. Cross the gate and advance along the main avenue Thanon Ratchadamnoen until reaching the junction with Thanon Phra Pokklao - the main north to south avenue within the old city. Go one block south (left) and turn west (right) to Thanon Ratchamanka. The temple is half a block later at the right side.

A Special Spot

Every one of the historical locations of the Emerald Buddha is special in certain way; usually signs of worshipping can be seen even long after the image was taken away.

This is the point were Chiang Mai is different: the Wat Chedi Luang shows presently only a fraction of its original splendour; it was never completely restored from the damage caused by the disastrous 1545's earthquake. Some speculate that the weakened city after the natural disaster facilitated the task of the Laotian invaders eight years later.

Its partially refurbished Chedi is very unlike the Thai habits, especially considering that the same temple keeps the Inthakin, the city's pillar; hence, we should watch out for a complete restoration process in the future which will restore the old glory to the Old City.

Replica

The temple features a green glass replica of the Emerald Buddha. Religious protocol requires such an item to be different in size from the original. Consequently, this one is quite oversized.

From journal Indiana Jones and the Emerald Buddha

Editor Pick

Wat Chedi Luang and the Thai Massage School

  • January 1, 2002
  • Rated 3 of 5 by actonsteve from London, United Kingdom
Wat Chedi Luang and the Thai Massage School

There is so much gold in Thailand. Most of it decorates temples or statues of the Buddha and seems to glitter in the tropical sun. Whenever I think back to Thailand I think of the brightly coloured temples and great statues of the Buddha covered in a king's ransome of gilt and mother-of-pearl. To see this for yourself you must come to the most historic of Chiang Mai's Wat's- Wat Chedi Luang. Here monks swish past a gigantic ziggurat-like chedi embossed with elephant and dragon statues. There can be no more exotic sight in Thailand....

This is in easy walking distance of Wat Phra Singh and the Thae Pae Gate or any tuk tuk driver in Chiang Mai. It is situated inside a walled compound and was built in 1545 and consists of a massive brownstone ziggurat with steps leading up to a temple (see photo). A set of stairs is on each of the four sides flanked by monstrous white marble naga's (dragons). A platform circumnavigates the top of the temple housing stone elephants each with limbs or trunks missing. At the top of the ziggurat is a temple with an alcove housing the Buddha whose bright gilt could be seen from below. At the back of the temple is an open-air viharn containing about five Buddha's. These were some of the most accessible and impressive I have seen - seated, reclining, cloaked in gold and jewels - with enigmatic arched eyebrows and tight hair (see photo)

I combined the Wat with a visit to the Thai massage school. I had recently returned from a 2 day trek to see the hilltribes and my toes and knee were aching. Others at my guesthouse had suggested the Beer Massage school on the Thae Pae Gate. This was my first experience of massage and for 200 bahts worth a try. Upstairs twenty mats were laid out under a whirring fan. A young smiling Thai girl takes off your shoes and gently massages your feet with aromatic oil. After half an hour all aches and pains leave your feet and I felt it was money well spent. And if you think that they are laughing at you during this. They probably are - they find foreigners very funny.

From journal Chiang Mai: Shangri-La in the Thai North

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