Pavilion of the Enlightened, The Ancient Siam

Pavilion of the Enlightened, The Ancient Siam

Mahayana Buddhist respects a wide spectrum of ethical and spiritual values.

Religious teaching and training has developed many different strategies for communicating with the faithful. The story of 500 Enlightened.

Monks shows that people different backgrounds with different codes of conduct and different merits could all become enlightened and reach Nirvana

Reference

- The Ancient Siam

The Tiger King's Palance, Pherchaburi

The Tiger King's Palance, Pherchaburi

The teaching hall at Wat Yai Suwannaram, or normally Known as the Tiger King's Palace, was once situated on the grounds of Ayautthaya Grand Palace. In the reign of Tiger King, this palace was dismantled and reconstructed at Wat Yai Suwannaram. The new palace was dedicated to somdej Phra Suwanna Muni (or Somdej Chao Tangmo), the supreme patriarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom who came from Phetchaburi.

Reference
- The Ancient Siam

The Stupa of Phra Maha That, Chaiya, Surat Thani

The Stupa of Phra Maha That, Chaiya, Surat Thani

The Phra Maha That is one of the most sacred and important monasteries in the south of Thailand. The structure of the stupa of Phra Maha That is similar to the Chandi Pawana Chedi in Indonesia.

The main Tower standing in the center is a round chedi serving as the upper story of a relic chamber or an image house. Kirti Mukha mask motifs can be seen above the chamber similar to those found in Java.

Reference
- The Ancient Siam

The Pallava Group of Images, Phaugnga

The Pallava Group of Images, Phaugnga

The images of the three Hindu deities, God Vishnu, Shiva and Lakshmi were carved out of stone by Pallava sculptors living in southern India around the 13 to 14 centuries B.E. Nobody knows where the images come from. However, from the jewellery and hairstyles, we can presume that the statues are of Indian origin.

The Three images are now kept at the Nakhon Sri Thammarat regional branch of the National Museum

Reference
- The Ancient Siam
- http://www.amulet1.com/showimg.php?img=topic&id=882

Trimurti

Trimurti

The name Trimurti is derived from the word 'tri' meaning three and 'murti' meaning form. According to Hinduism, the name refers to the concept of three Gods, namely Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who are personifications of three cosmic functions including creation, maintenance and destruction respectively. The concept reflects the truth of impermanece (rising, existing and ceasing).

Varied legends are told about the origin of Trimurti. Mostly, it is believed that Trimurti is a combination form of three prominent deities called Dattatreya. The name is divided into 2 words; 'datta' meaning given and 'atreya' referred to the sage Atri, his physical father. Datthtrya thus is the reincarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva whose father is the sage Atri. There is also a legend referring Thrimurti as the reincarnation of Narayana.

Reference
- The Ancient Siam
- http://www.thebestinsure.com/images/column_1270609564/%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B4%20%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%86%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A3%20%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8B%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%8C.jpg

Chedi Chet Yod, the Seven-Spired Pagoda. Chiang Mai

Chedi Chet Yod, the Seven-Spired Pagoda. Chiang Mai

Chedi Chet Yod is situated at Wat Photaran Mahawihan, a monastery known as Wat Chedi Chet Yod in Chiang Mai.

The main body of the chedi is a cave like rectangular hall. On the roof stand five chedi towers on suqare bases which are all modeled after the great tower at the Bodh Gaya. Two other round-shaped chedi stands on bases decorated with stucco motifs

The monument was initially built in the time of King Tilokarat, The King of Lanna in 1455 A.D.

Reference
- The ancient siam
- http://www.encyclopediathai.org/sunthai/north/cmai/images/wcm_7yot6.jpg
- http://www.thailovetrip.com/admin/photo/108.png

The Chedi of Cham Thewi, Lamphun

The Chedi of Cham Thewi, Lamphun

The Chedi of Cham Thewi or the pyramid tower of Wat Ku Kud was constructed in the Hariphumchaya period.

The chedi is a square tower of which five cubes of graded size are placed one on the top of the other and the largest one is at the bottom of the chedi  similar to Buddhagaya in India. Around the Chedi are levels of arches holding a total of 60 Buddha statues. Ashes of the queen are enshrined within the Chedi.

The statues are Buddhist images in various style. Most of them belong to the Dvaravati and U-Thong school and date back to the 14 and 15 century B.E.

Reference
- The Ancient Siam
- http://www.ancientcitygroup.net/useruploads/images/historical_timeline/012_2.jpg