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Wat Bowonniwet Vihara

Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand

Summary

Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand

Field	Value
name	Wat Bowaniwet Wihan
image	พระอุโบสถ วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร1.jpg
image_size	300px
caption	The Chapel of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara
map_type	Thailand Bangkok
map_caption	Location within Bangkok
coordinates
religious_affiliation	Theravada Buddhism
sect	Dhammayuttika Nikaya
country	Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand
website

Wat Bowaniwet Wihan Ratchaworawihan (; , ) is a major Buddhist temple (wat) in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. Being the residence of Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana, the late Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, it is the final resting place of two former kings of Chakri Dynasty: King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). The temple was established in 1824 by Mahasakti Pol Sep, viceroy during the reign of King Rama III (r. 1824–51).

The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya order of Thai Theravada Buddhism, it is the shrine-hall of Phra Phuttha Chinnasi (พระพุทธชินสีห์), a statue of the Buddha which dates to around 1357. Bowonniwet has been a major temple of patronage for the ruling Chakri dynasty. It is where many royal princes and kings studied and served their monkhood, including King Bhumibol and his son, the present king Vajiralongkorn.

Architecture

The golden chedi at the wats shrine carries the relics and ashes of Thai royals. The two viharas are closed to public. The T-shaped bot holds a magnificent Sukhothai-period Buddha, cast in 1257 CE to celebrate freedom from the Khmers.

The murals on the bots interior walls were traditionally light and limited in their subject matter and style. They were painted to appear three-dimensional. Monk artist Khrua In Khong introduced Western style in the murals depicting Buddhist subjects.

Royal patronage and history

In 1836, Prince Bhikkhu Mongkut (ordination name: Vajirañāṇo) arrived at the temple and became its first abbot, founding the Thammayut Nikkaya order. He stayed at the temple for 27 years before acceding the throne of Siam as King Rama IV.

His great-grandson, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX; ordination name: Bhumibalo), was ordained a monk at Wat Phra Kaew, and resided in Bowonniwet for 15 days in 1956. Bhumibol's mentor, Somdet Phra Yanasangworn, eventually became abbot of the temple, and later the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. In 1978, King Bhumibol's son, King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X; ordination name: Vajirālankaraṇo), was also ordained and spent 15 days at Bowonniwet. Several of his sons from his second wife, Yuvadhida Polpraserth, later did the same.

In October 1976, exiled dictator and former Prime Minister, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, returned to Thailand as a novice monk to enter Bowonniwet. This sparked large public demonstrations and a bloody crackdown that became known as the Thammasat University massacre or the "6 October Event".

List of abbots

No.	Portrait	Name	Tenure from	Tenure until
1	[[File:Mongkut in the Sangha.jpeg	100px]]		1836	1851
2	[[File:Pavaresh Variyalongkorn.jpg	100px]]		1851	1892
3	[[File:Photo of Vajirananavaroros, King Prajadhipok Museum (cropped).jpg	100px]]		1892	1921
4	[[File:Somdet Krom Luang Wachirayannawong in 3 November 1956 (cropped).jpg	100px]]		1921	1958
5	[[File:Phra Brahmamuni (Pin Thammaprathip Suvaco) in 1956.jpg	100px]]		1958	1961
6	[[File:Somdet Phra Yannasangwon in 2010.jpg	100px]]		1961	2013
7	[[File:สมเด็จพระวันรัต.jpg	100px]]		2015	2022
8			2023	-

Gallery

File:พระพุทธชินสีห์.jpg|The statues of Phra Phuttha Chinnasi (front) and Phra Suwannakhet (back) in the main shrine hall. The ashes of King Rama IX are kept under the base of the statues File:พระบรมราชานุสาวรีย์พระบาทสมเด็จพระจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัววัดบวร.jpg|Statue of King Rama IV in a niche at Wat Bowonniwet File:BKK Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Ubosot.jpg|Ubosoth File:ตำหนักเพ็ชร วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร Tamnak Phet (Diamond Residence) in Wat Bowonniwet 01.jpg|Phra Tamnak Phet (Royal Diamond Residence) File:WatBovonPutthaBat050621.jpg|Buddha's footprint in Wat Bowonniwet, Bangkok

Notes

References

DhammaThai.org A Guide to Meditation Centres in Thailand: Wat Bovornives Vihara, last retrieved 15 September 2006

References

"Wat Bowonniwet Vihara".
Liedtke 2011, p. 57
Macdonald 2009, p. 108
Hoskin 2006, p.38
Williams, p. 57
''วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร'', กรุงเทพฯ:มหามกุฏราชวิทยาลัย, 2546, หน้า 13-32

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

buddhist-temples-in-bangkok phra-nakhon-district 19th-century-buddhist-temples-in-thailand 1830s-in-siam thai-dhammayut-buddhist-temples registered-ancient-monuments-in-bangkok

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