Thailand: Half buried Buddha, Wat Phra Thong, Phuket

The Buddhist temple of Wat Phra Thong, the ‘Temple of the Golden Buddha’ can be found in the Thalang District of Phuket Island. This unusual temple is named for the golden (or gilded) Buddha image that is buried within the temple precincts so that only the head and shoulders are visible above ground.

According to legend, a local buffalo boy attempted to tether one of his charges to an outcrop he thought was a tree stump, but which proved to be the ushnisha or top-knot of a buried Buddha image. For this – albeit unintentional – heresy, both the boy and the buffalo died. It was later revealed to the boy’s father in a dream that his son had in fact been transported to nirvana rather than being punished, and when the local lord heard this story he ordered the image dug up and suitably installed in a temple.

However, despite the Thalang villagers’ best efforts, the image could not be fully excavated, and remained buried from the shoulders down. Consequently a roof was erected to shelter the exposed head and shoulders, making the image and surrounding temple a place of great veneration for both local Thais and Chinese migrants.

Today the temple is among the most venerated of Buddhist sites not just in Phuket, but in all southern Thailand.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia