A temple for all ages

The Main entrance leads to the sanctuary.

Wat Boromracha Kanchanapisek Anusorn is no ordinary temple. Undertaken 12 years ago to commemorate His Majesty the King's 50th anniversary on the throne, the huge com¬plex has only just been completed. It aims to attract not only novices and Chinese Buddhists, but the younger generation as well.

The appeal for youths, its designers are confident, lies in the venerable art it incorporates.

The magnificently decorated wat in Nonthaburi's Bang Bua Thong district features engravings on the doors, walls, roofs and floors of a form that dates back six centuries.

"This temple can't be any less luxurious, since it's meant to hon¬our the King," says Phra Kanajanjin Dhamma Punya Jariyaporn, vice patriarch of the Chinese Buddhist Sect and the abbot of Wat Mangkornkamalavas in Bangkok's Chinatown - the original home of the sect.

Donations to the Chinatown temple covered the cost of the new wat. The figure hasn't been dis¬closed, but the abbot insists it was less than Bt1 billion.

Conceived by the abbot, the temple was a collaboration between a Chinese architect and artists and two Thai architects and an artistic consultant who adapted the plans to the Thai environment.

This is the new home for the monks whose numbers had outpaced the capacity of the Yaowarat temple, and a place where everyone can study Chinese Buddhism, which bridges the divide between Thailand's Mahayana and Theravada sects.

In the first months since its opening, Wat Boromracha Kanchanapisek Anusorn has attracted dozens of dedicated pho¬tographers. They have lots to keep them busy.

The main edifice, with its broad stairway, will remind many visitors of the central structure in Beijing's Forbidden City, and architect Sutee Jintananarumit admits it was an inspiration. He visited Beijing more than 20 years ago

Facing southwest, the temple is most beautiful at sunset, when the light plays against the reflective ornamentation, setting it aglow like a Ming palace.

Sutee believes the faithful will flock to the temple to see the much-respected abbot and worship at a temple that bears such a noble name, while younger people will come to see the unique architecture and, in doing so, will absorb the spiritual meaning behind the art.

Beyond a wall of granite imported from China, the primary entrance leads to the main hall, where there are three Buddha statues, each 18 tonnes of brass mod¬elled by Chinese artists, along with 18 statues of Buddhist saints, and murals featuring 24 dancing apsara and 500 other saints.

On the second floor are the Jathulokabal shrine hall, the bell tower, the changing hall and the Burapajarn Hall.

The Uposatha hall, with an Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva image, is on the third floor, and the fourth floor has the Meun Buddhasukkhavadi Buddhakaset Hall.

It is characteristic of Chinese temples to have numerous gods under one roof and, says the abbot, "a rare chance for worshippers to make merit among many deities at the same time".

Burmese teakwood was shipped to China for sculptors to render the statue of a 10,000handed Guan Yin - the Goddess of Mercy - that stands on temple's third floor. The giant drum and four-tonne brass bell surrounding it were also handmade in China.

Photographers have also found ample subject matter in the granite wall laden with carvings, stone columns filled with calligraphy and colourful paintings in the classic Chinese style of old.

The calligraphy inside the tem¬ple was done by eight artists who are working on the longterm ren¬ovations at Beijing's Forbidden City.

While praising the abilities of Thai craftsmen, the abbot says only experienced artists could execute some details, so about 60 craftsmen were flown in from China. The mythical animals on the roof are also among their work.

"Experienced Chinese artists understand the true meaning of these details," concurs artistic con¬sultant Wongsawat Wongprasert, who conducted research in China to ensure accuracy.

Examples of this kind of art are increasingly hard to find in China, says the abbot. Religious structures and icons were routinely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and the fine arts suppressed, and, as is the case around the world, young people today have less interest in conventional art.

"These pieces handmade by experienced Chinese artists could be the last," says the abbot. "The art is dying with this generation."

Sirin Wattanasukchai

THE NATION