Wat Chet Yot description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai (Topic)

Wat Chet Yot description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Wat Chet Yot.

Photo and description

Wat Chet Yot (otherwise - Chedi Yod) is a very cozy and, perhaps, the greenest temple in Chiang Mai. It has a Chinese, Laotian, Indian and, of course, Thai influence, which gives it a special, elegant look.

The temple was built in 1453 and is dedicated to the Eighth Meeting of Buddhists around the world. Its name comes from the number “seven” - the number of spiers on the main chedi (stupa). The temple was founded by King Tilokarat, whose ashes are kept in one of the small chedi on the territory.

The architecture of Vata Chet Yot is copied from one of the most important Buddhist Mahabodhi temples in the city of Bodhgaya in northern India, where Buddha attained enlightenment. The seven spiers are a symbol of the seven weeks of meditation in which he subsequently stayed.

The base of the central seven-spire chedi is decorated with 70 chic bas-reliefs, which are recognized as masterpieces of art in the Lannes style. Only men are allowed to climb to the second level of the chedi and look at the temple from a height and only on special holidays.

In 1455, the founder-king of the temple planted the sacred Bodhi tree on its territory. Subsequently, a whole alley of sacred trees appeared in Wat Chet Yot, with which several Buddhist rituals are associated.

It is considered a blessing to catch a leaf of the Bodhi tree, which itself fell from the branches under the influence of wind and time. Such a sheet is dried or laminated (in a modern way) and stored on the altar. It is strictly forbidden to pluck the leaves.

The second good tradition is to create supports for the massive branches of ancient Bodhi trees. You need to find or buy on the territory of the temple a strong stick with a bifurcated end (usually painted white), write your wish on it and prop up one of the Bodhi branches with it.

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Topic: Wat Chet Yot description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai.