Vietnam: Da Nang, Marble Mountain Temple

All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. The subtle, lyric and poetical ambience of pagodas, grottoes, trees, bushes, sounds the mixed of pagoda bells and murmuring waves and the mysterious legends of sea makes the mountains a fairy land for tourists for ages.

Almost two hundred years ago, King Minh Mang came here. He named the mountain, grottoes and pagodas. Nobody knows why names such as Ngu Hanh Son, Huyen Khong, Hoa Liem, Lang Hu, Tang Chan, Van Nguyet, Thien Long put King deep in thought, despite of dwelling on to national development, the King kept in his mind the picturesque landscape of the mountains as the pride of the beautiful southern land.

Cultural and historical stamps can be seen on every pagoda and tower built in the 19th century, and on Champa sculptures of the 14th and 15th century. There are written-on-stone poets of the Le and Tran Dynasty, a grave of Capital Tran Quang Khai’s mother, a temple worshiping Ngoc Lan princess (Minh Mang King’s younger sister) and such evolutionary relics as Da Chong tunnel, Ba Tho cave, Kim Son mount, Am Phu cave, etc… All are persuasive evidences to the legendary Marble Mountain and the land endowed with the people of great talent.

The Marble Mountains, also referred to as Ngu Hanh Son or Mountains of the Five Elements, consist of five marble mountains: Thuy Son (water) which is the highest, Moc Son (wood), Kim Son (metal), Tho Son (soil), and Hoa Son (fire). Like other landscapes, these mountains have many different mysterious legends. The poetical ambience plus echoes of my mysterious legends gives mountains their own characters that it is difficult to find on other places. In ancient oriental philosophy; metal, wood, water, fire, earth were five elements that created the universe. Five is the paramount important number in thinking and lives. The coincidence of the five peaks: metal, wood, water, fire, earth still keeps them mysterious.

Among these, Thuy Son has been exploited as a popular tourist resort because of its alluring beauty. Stone steps carved into the mountain lead to the Tam Thai Pagoda where Phat Di Lac is worshipped. At the back of the pagoda is Huyen Khong Cave. In the past, the pagoda paid tribute to Hindu and Buddhist gods and is now dedicated to Cham deities. Huyen Khong Cave was the base for Vietnamese revolutionaries during wartime.

The natural grottoes and pagodas on the mountains combine both heaven-endowed and man-made to create the harmonious beauty. The feature the attractive characters that keep tourists surprised and emotional on the way traveling.

Moreover, the Marble Mountains are famous for traditional stone engraving activities. In Dong Hai Village close to Thuy Son, 600 families chisel stone producing statues, jewelry, and art work. Stone from the Marble Mountains has been exported to many countries.

China: Liaoning Province 辽宁, Anshan Jade Buddha Temple 鞍山玉佛苑

Anshan Jade Buddha 鞍山玉佛苑 is the largest jade Buddha statue in the world. It is located in a large temple complex of 22,104 square metres situated beside Dongshan Scenic Reserve within 219 park of Anshan City in Liaoning province, China.

The statue was sculpted from a piece of jade 7.95 meters high, 6.88 meters wide, 4.10 meters thick, weighing 260.76 tons. The front of the stone has been carved with an image of Sakyamuni(aka. Gautama) Buddha. The different shades of colours reflected on the jade made this sculpture truly a treasure!

On the back of the stone Guanyin (aka. Avalokitesvara) Buddha has been carved. The jade stone was found on 22 July 1960 in Xiuyan County, known as "hometown of jade" (Xiuyan jade is not really jade, but serpentine). It was declared a treasure of the State and listed as a protected property by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Anshan city government commissioned the carving which took a team of 120 sculptures 18 months to complete. The temple complex was opened on the 3rd of September 1996. The building that houses the Jade Buddha statue is 33 metres tall, representing the 33 layers of heaven in Buddhism. It claims to be one of the tallest buildings of ancient Chinese architectural style in China.

Cambodia: Siem Reap, Bayon Temple

Bayon temple is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main current conservatory body, the JSA, has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat.

The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII himself. Others have said that the faces belong to the bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara. The two hypotheses need not be regarded as mutually exclusive. Angkor scholar George Coedès has theorized that Jayavarman stood squarely in the tradition of the Khmer monarchs in thinking of himself as a "devaraja" (god-king), the salient difference being that while his predecessors were Hindus and regarded themselves as consubstantial with Shiva and his symbol the lingam, Jayavarman as a Buddhist identified himself with the Buddha and the bodhisattva.

Regardless Bodhisattva or not, this site is definitely worth visiting!

Thailand: Wat Sri Chum, Sukhothai

Buddha can speak? Well, that's what this temple is famous for besides the enormous and impressive Phra Achana Buddha image.

It turns out because of echo in the tunnels, anyone who speaks within the compound will make it seem like Buddha is speaking. It's mentioned in the lineage of King Narasuan the great when before the war, the soldiers will gather in front of the mondop. Thus, it seems like the Buddha is giving the commands rather than the King, hoping to build up the confident and team spirit of the warriors before the fight.

The mondop is 32m long and 15m high, with walls 3m thick. There is a passageway in the left inner wall leading to the top of the Buddha. On the ceiling of the passageway are fifty engraved slate slabs illustrating Jataka scenes. The passageway is now closed as many people had fell of the top a number of times. Perhaps they had violated the rule that a person should never be taller than the head of a Buddha.

It is a good example of Sukhothai sculpture in the bhumisparsa mudra and is built of stucco over brick. It is said to be once gilded all over during the Sukhothai Period.

“ Achana “ name of calmly image of Buddha , means “ fearlessness “
bhumisparsa mudra - earth witness mudra

Thailand: Wat Lan Khuat , Si Saket

I’ve read about this temple on Tuesday Straits Times, Life section and decided to check it out myself. Wat Lan Khuat which literally means temple of a million bottles. Ironically, it was not built by any kind of bottles but beer bottles. What interest me is the eco-friendliness and the analogy that even an ordinary beer bottle can be use to build a holy place for the monks.

It is a bizarre, yet entirely serious Buddhist temple complex. From what I’ve read, the monks started collecting bottles and decorate as their shelters in 1984, and more and more people got involved in collecting bottles for the initiative, until a sufficient number was collected to build the temple (more than a million of course).

That explains everyone or objects has a purpose in this world, even those which seems to be detrimental. There are always both sides in everything. Even the clock that stops gets it right twice a day…

Thailand: Wat Bang Phil Yai Klang, Samut Prakan

Everyone thinks that the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand is at Wat Pho, Bangkok. However, after doing some research the longest reclining Buddha in Thailand is at Bang Phil, Wat Bang Phil Yai Klang. It was constructed around 1824 and originally called Wat Klang before changing to Wat Rat Sattha Tham and eventually Wat Bang Phli Yai Klang.

This is really a difficult temple to find but it’s all worth it. What’s amazing about this reclining Buddha is not just the size. I know size matters ;) but it is in fact you can enter the reclining Buddha through the back and unravels 4 storeys of wall murals depicting Buddha’s life story, the various realms of existence and even a simple story of how Avalokitesvas saves the sentient beings. It makes me reflect the bad deeds I’ve done and need to be avoided. Also, the compassion we must have for one another.

The surprise reveals when you slowly navigate the wide long pathway from the first floor leading up to a narrow room that houses a human heart covered with gold foil. It’s believed to be the heart of Buddha. It's taken from Colombo, Sri Lanka together with Lord Buddha’s relic, in 1987, which of course is the star piece adorned by everyone...

Thailand: Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom

After the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council, two monk Sona and Uttara were sent to Suvannabhumi (Land of the golden) for missionary activities.^ The massive orange-glazed stupa of Phra Pathom Chedi could be the place where Buddhism was first introduced into southeast asia.

The first glimpse of towering Phra Pathom Chedi is overpowering. It is one of the largest in the world and in Thailand, by far the most holy of all Buddhist structures. Reaching to sky for just half an inch less than 380 feet, the dome shines like pure gold in the sunlight. The highly glazed tiles covering the dome are golden brown in color and were brought from China.

At the four point of the compass in the outer courtyard are four Viharns (halls) containing image of Buddha in various postures. The Eastern Viharn shows the image of Buddha beneath a delicately painted. Pho tree which cover the entire wall behind the image and is very unusual. The inter room is a Royal Chapel containing an altar where the King pays homage. The Southern Vihara shows the images of Buddha protected by a serpent. The Western Viharn contains image of Buddha in a reclining position, just before his death, surrounded by disciples, and an inner room contains yet another reclining image. The Northern Viharn, directly in front of the entrance and across from the frame building where the guides are located, contains a standing image of Buddha. The ashes of King Vajiravudh are buried at the base of this image.

The Chedi, from the base, is a breath-taking sight. The first original structure, on this same site and now inside the Chedi, was built. It is believed by indianized Mon people and resembled the Indian Stupa of the third century era of King Asoke. During his reign, the first Buddhist Saints were sent to spread Buddhism in the Kingdom of Suwannaphum, the first capital of that Kingdom being located on the site of present-day Nakhon Pathom. Later, when the area came under Khmer control, the Stupa was repaired and over-built with a Brahmin Prang, 130 feet high. During the region of King Mongkut(Rama IV) in the middle 1800's, it was again over built in its present Chedi-style structure. A repair of the original Stupa stands south of the present Chedi.

While still a Buddhist monk, King Mongkut had made a pilgrimage to Nakhon Pathom to visit the old ruined Prang. When he came upon the old structure he was deeply impressed with the realization that this was the spot where Buddhism was first taught in Thailand. He thought undoubtedly there must be a Buddha's relic inside and he decided to have the Prang rebuilt. When he became King, he immediately ordered reparation commenced and the work started in 1853. He passed away before his dream of restoration came true but Kings following him carried on the program.

Source: ^Translated by Wilhelm Geiger, Mahavamsa : The great chronicle of Ceylon', Pali Text Society, 1912, Page 82 and 86