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Wat

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For other uses, see Wat (disambiguation).
Upper left: Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Upper right: Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos
Lower Left: Weihan Manduan Temple, Meng Haai, Yunnan, China
Lower Right: Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand

A wat (Template:Lang-km wōat; Template:Lang-lo vat; Template:Lang-th, RTGS: wat, pronounced [wát]; Template:Lang-khb; Template:Lang-nod) is a type of Buddhist temple and Brahminical temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan and Thailand. The word wat is a thai word that was borrowed from Sanskrit vāṭa (Devanāgarī: वाट), meaning 'enclosure'.[1][2] The term has varying meanings in each region, sometimes referring to a specific type of government-recognised or large temple, other times referring to any Buddhist or Brahminical temple.

Overview

Wat Mahathat, Luang Prabang

Strictly speaking, a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with vihara (quarters for bhikkhus), a temple, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha and a facility for lessons. A site without a minimum of three resident bhikkhus cannot correctly be described as a wat although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. As a transitive or intransitive verb, wat means to measure, to take measurements; compare templum, from which temple derives, having the same root as template.

In Cambodia, a wat is any place of worship. "Wat" generally refers to a Buddhist place of worship, but the precise term is វត្តពុទ្ធសាសនា wat putthasasana. Angkor Wat អង្គរវត្ត means 'city of temples'.

In everyday language in Thailand, a "wat" is any place of worship except a mosque (Template:Lang-th; RTGS: surao; or Template:Lang-th; RTGS: matsayit) or a synagogue (Template:Lang-th; RTGS: surao yio). Thus, a wat chin (วัดจีน) or san chao (ศาลเจ้า) is a Chinese temple (either Buddhist or Taoist), wat khaek (วัดแขก) or thewasathan (เทวสถาน) is a Hindu temple and bot khrit (โบสถ์คริสต์) or wat farang (วัดฝรั่ง) is a Christian church, though Thai โบสถ์ (RTGS: bot) may be used descriptively as with mosques.

Types

The facade of Phra Wihan Luang (meeting hall), Wat Suthat, Bangkok

According to Thai law, there are two types of Thai Buddhist temples:

  • Wats (วัด; wat) are temples which have been endorsed by the state and have been granted wisungkhammasima (วิสุงคามสีมา), or the land for establishing central hall, by the king. These temples are divided into:[3]
    • Royal temples (Template:Lang-th; RTGS: phra aram luang ): established or patronised by the king or his family members.
    • Public temples (Template:Lang-th; RTGS: wat rat ): established by private citizens. Despite the term "private", private temples are open to the public and are sites of public religious activities.
  • Samnak song (Template:Lang-th): are temples without state endorsement and wisungkhamasima.

Structure

Main article: Thai temple art and architecture
Preah chaedai (royal stupa) Kuntha Bopha was built by using Khmer architectural style during the Angkor period in the form of temple shrine, Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
The main chedi in Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakhon Si Thammarat
Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos
Wat Chaiyamangkalaram, George Town, Malaysia

A typical Buddhist wat consists of the following buildings:

Almost all Buddhist temples in Cambodia were built in Khmer architectural style. Most temples were finely decorated with a spiked tower (bosbok) (Template:Lang-km)(some temples have three or five spiked towers; some have none) on the rooftop along with pediments, naga heads, and chovear (Template:Lang-km) (a decorative ridge-piece that is placed at each topmost edge of the roof, just above the tip of each pediment). Below the edge of the roof and at the top of external columns, garuda or kinnari figures are depicted supporting the roof. There are a pair of guardian lions and one head or several (three, five, seven, or nine). naga sculptures are beside each entrance of the temple. Inside the main temple (vihara) and the multipurpose hall (lunch hall), mural paintings depict the life of Gautama Buddha and his previous life.

The roofs of Thai temples are often adorned with chofas.

Examples

Some well-known wats include:

Cambodia

At the end of 2017, there were 4,872 wats with 69,199 Buddhist monks supporting Buddhism in Cambodia.[5] By 2019, it was illustrated that 97.1 percent of the Cambodian population was Buddhist[6], making Cambodia to be one of heaviest Buddhist nations in the world.

Laos

Malaysia

Despite having only 3.8 percent Buddhists in Kelantan, the northern Malaysian state of Kelantan has numerous Thai wats.[7]

Singapore

Thailand

Main article: List of Buddhist temples in Thailand

As of 2016 Thailand had 39,883 wats. Three hundred-ten were royal wats, the remainder were private (public). There were 298,580 Thai Buddhist monks, 264,442 of the Maha Nikaya order and 34,138 of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order. There were 59,587 Buddhist novice monks.[8]

Wat Pah Nanachat (Bung Wai International Forest Monastery), established in 1975 by Ajahn Chah as a training community for non-Thais and foreigners, the primary language of instruction is English.

Cambodia

Laos

  • Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang
    Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang
  • Wat Sisaket
    Wat Sisaket

Thailand

  • Two wihans and a chedi at Wat Phra That Chang Kham, Nan
    Two wihans and a chedi at Wat Phra That Chang Kham, Nan
  • Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok
    Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok
  • Wat Phra Kaew
    Wat Phra Kaew
  • Wat Ratchadatdaram
    Wat Ratchadatdaram
  • Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
    Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
  • Mondop and Chedi of Wat Arun
    Mondop and Chedi of Wat Arun
  • Wat Niwet Thammaprawat, Ayutthaya
    Wat Niwet Thammaprawat, Ayutthaya

See also

Look up wat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ "wat". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  2. ^ "wat". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  3. ^ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา,ประกาศกระทรวงธรรมการ แผนกกรมสังฆการี เรื่อง จัดระเบียบพระอารามหลวง, เล่ม ๓๒, ตอน ๐ ก, ๓ ตุลาคม พ.ศ.๒๔๕๘, หน้า ๒๘๔
  4. ^ "sala". Spoken Sanskrit Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  5. ^ 26th annual Buddhist monk summit of Cambodia in Chaktomuk conference hall, Phnom Penh, December, 2017.
  6. ^ "Percentage distribution of population by religion, area, and province, Cambodia, 2008-2019 (General population census of Cambodia in 2019)" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics. 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Thai temples that can be found in The State of Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia". Malaysian Internet Resources. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Educational Statistics 2016". Ministry of Education Thailand (MOE). p. 14. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
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