US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a short visit to Wat Pho Royal Monastery in Bangkok as he began his three-day tour of Southeast Asia. Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is named after a monastery in India where Buddha is believed to have lived. Prior to the temples founding, the site was a centre of education for traditional Thai medicine, and statues were created showing yoga positions. An enormous Buddha image from Ayuthayas Wat Phra Si Sanphet was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767; King Rama I (1782-1809 A.D.) incorporated its fragments to build a temple to enlarge and renovate the complex. The complex underwent many changes in the next 260 years. Under King Rama III (1824-1851 A.D.), plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed around the temple. These received recognition in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO on February 21, 2008. Adjacent to the building housing the Reclining Buddha is in a small raised garden, the centrepiece being a bodhi tree which is propagated from the original tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 07:03:14 +0000
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