Wat Phra Yai, known in English as the Big Buddha Temple, is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

on Ko Phan (also spelled Koh Fan or Koh Faan), a small island offshore from the northeastern area of

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui), often locally shortened to Samui (, ), is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Mu Ko Samui, Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted munic ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, connected to that island by a short

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

north of

Samui International Airport Samui International Airport () , also known as Ko Samui Airport or Koh Samui Airport, is a privately owned international airport on the island of Ko Samui (Koh Samui) in Thailand. It is located in the island’s Bo Phut subdistrict. The airpor ...

. As its name indicates, it is home to a giant, gold-painted Buddha statue. Since being built in 1972, it has become one of Ko Samui's main tourist attractions and a major landmark.

The statues

The Buddha statue depicts Buddha in a state of calm and purity and resolve, having overcome temptation and fear sent at him by

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

, Lord of Illusion. Known as the Mara posture, the left hand rests palm open and up in the statue's lap, the right hand facing down over the right knee, almost to the ground. There is a second, smaller Buddha statue, depicting the

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

of the Future and a collection of bells around the temple's rear side. The temple design has elements of animism, Brahminism and Buddhism in its architecture. As in many Thai temples,

nāga In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

statues line the staircase. There is a bazaar within the temple grounds selling tourist items as well as amulets and other Buddhist items. There are many restaurants and shops around the temple in the area known as Big Buddha Beach (Bang Rak).

Location and access

The Buddha is near a beachtown called Bang Rak, now often called Big Buddha Beach. It is northwest from Chaweng and east from Bophut. The temple is located on Thai highway 4171, which is a side route off of Highway 4169, the main route around the island.

Gallery

File:Buddhist temple in Ko Samui.jpg, Details of Big Buddha statue at Ko Samui island, Thailand File:Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai).jpg File:Von big budda Panorama1.jpg, View from Big Buddha Beach

References

{{authority control Colossal Buddha statues in Thailand Buddhist temples in Surat Thani province Tourist attractions in Surat Thani province

The statues

Location and access

Gallery

See also

References