Eye in the Sky: temples in Ubon

Showing posts with label temples in Ubon. Show all posts

Monday, July 9, 2012

Exteriors of Wat Nong Bua - Temples in Ubon Ratchathani

My favorite temple in Ubon Ratchathani would have to be Wat Nong Bua, aka Wat Phrathat Nong Bua, for obvious reasons. The temple is simply stunning! It stands out from the coterie of temples in this border city.

It's also a bit far from the backpacker area of Muang District, located on Thammawithi Road, a few blocks from the commercial street of Chayangkun Road. But if you think that this was built because of an available space, it actually has a little more story than the rest. The pagoda was, in fact, built among lush timber forest to mark the 25th century of Buddhism in the year 1957. Giant trees have so far dwindled due to the urbanization of Ubon.

The temple (the city guide calls it "pagoda"which I find odd) is semi-pyramidal in shape, with a square-base, 17 meters wide and 56 meters high. It houses a relic of Buddha's footprint inside. The "pagoda' has 4 doors, each one has their separate golden Buddhas facing each entrance. It is also surrounded by another four smaller pagodas situated at the four corners of the boundary wall. Prior to its renovation, it used to be concrete-finish, now it gleams in white and gold. Beautiful and bright. It's said to have been patterned after the Mahabodhi stupa of Bodh Gaya, India. There is no entrance fees here.

In the temple complex, you find other temples, one of which is a beautifully designed "wiharn" with 8 peach-colored posts right in front of this prayer hall. A semi-circular glass panel stands at the top of the temple gable, making it seem more modern than most I've seen in Ubon. During my visit, another "wiharn" - a prayer hall for the laity - was being renovated. Nearby stood a colorful Bell Tower.

In this post, we only feature the exteriors found around Wat Nong Bua. The dazzling interiors are on feature next.

To get there: The temple is 3 kilometers from downtown Ubon, about 500 meters or so from Chayangkun Road (past the BKS Station). A nearby market is called Nong Bua Market as well, on your stroll to and out of the area.

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One of the four entrances of the main temple. I don't even think that the concept of an ubosot applies here because not much room is provided inside for the ordination ceremonies.

This is the main temple prior to the renovation. It exuded a lot of character back then. This photo is courtesy of wikipedia's jpatokal.

The yellow roofed building could be the wiharn.

Details on the wall

Bell Tower

Another hallway is being renovated.

Yellow green colored orchid

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Wat Luang at the Riverside - Temples in Ubon Ratchathani

Wat Luang is easily reached because it is located at the banks of the Moon River, right in the heart of the Muang District of Ubon Ratchathani. I have mentioned Wat Luang in a previous post, but here are the images from this temple. A local who was doing her jogging told me that this temple was actually one of the earliest built in the city, but others have claimed as the more significant temple. It has a typical Isan Temple architecture, i.e. these temples are very high, but narrow (among humans, "tall and thin"). The ubosot (the ordination hall) is mostly closed for the laity so I wasn't able to see how it looks inside. The wiharn at the simpler building has the beautiful gleaming Buddha, with a photo of the King when he did his monkhood. This Buddha sits at the center of a spacious, relatively empty hallway. It is beautifully framed by lacquered wood at its back.

The ground is like a park. It has gardens, other Buddhas, a recurring statue of an old monk (probably the Ecclesiastical founder of the city), a Ganesha-like dark image sitting atop a marble pedestal under the canopy of a tree; a drum tower; and more wiharns filled with different Buddha images and other Buddhist deities.

Like most other temples, it has very few visitors during my visit. After a stroll around this temple, you could either sit on a bench facing the Moon River (just outside the temple) or head to the nearby market for a look around.

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Temple gable decked in red and gold, elephants, leaves, and a praying image.

Naga guards the stairs leading to the ubosot.

Looks like Ganesh.

Just a beautiful corner

A busy wiharn (above and below)

Buddha image at the wiharn

Drum Tower

Friday, July 6, 2012

Wat Pah Nana Chat: Temple in a Forest - Temples in Ubon Ratchathani

There is something dreamy about a temple in the middle of a forest, right?

That's what exactly drew me into visiting this temple, located in Ban Bung Wai some 14 kilometers from downtown Ubon, via Warin Chamrap (through Highway 226). This monastery was established by the late Ajahn Chah in 1975 to train non-Thais in the monastic life. This monastery is the 19th branch of Wat Nong Pa Phong where foreign monks practice Vipassana meditation. Most of them speak fluent Thai and pray in Pali. This particular branch observe strict practices, thus monks here are considered quite honorable among Buddhists. According to their site: "The monastery aims at providing English-speaking people the opportunity to train and practice the ancient lifestyle that the Buddha taught his monks in the forests over 2500 years ago."

My travelogue here is read in a separate post and has details of the "difficult" way of getting there on local commuter transportation. Otherwise, it's a long way via a taxi (though it's supposedly only 14 to15 kilometers away from the city). That travelogue is in this link: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/02/ubon-ratchathani-sleepless-and-hectic.html for information and details.

It was mostly a solitary walk from the highway; this place is quite remote. Upon finding the gate, I saw notices that prohibits photography, among other things so I had to secretly take some photos - I got very few, actually because I felt guilty. Otherwise, I'd have none to share here. Fortunately, Wat Pah Nana Chat has a website where I was able to secure some photos of the monastery with "photo reuse" noted. Now here's what's interesting. Most of the photos posted in their website is from someone called "eye sky" (how's that for a coincidence?) and if I wasn't in some alternate world, I could swear that was me - so how come I didn't know I got these fabulous photos? :)

Please visit their website here: http://www.watpahnanachat.org/

In line with this, we would like to acknowledge the aforementioned website for the "re-use" of some of their photos. Thank you very much. It is our aim to help disseminate information about such an amazing place in Ubon.

Upon my arrival "into the woods", I saw the foreign monks - called "postulants in white robes" aka pahkows or anagarikas, sweeping the grounds, wearing white garments. They were scattered throughout the forest grounds. It was "sweeping time". I proceeded to the new Dhamma Hall, took my shoes off, then sat on the floor, my back against one of those cylindrical white posts, facing the shrine. At the center of the shrine was a Buddha statue called "Phra Buddha Karuna", glistening beautifully against glass panels, the backdrop of tall green trees dramatically framing the statue.

Realizing I wasn't happy with the few photos I got (no flash, hurried), I finally tried to ask permission to take photographs, but one friendly monk said it was regulations, but he informed me that I could visit their website and use their photos as long as there is due attribution or acknowledgment. So there. :)

There's not a lot of things you can do here other than meditate, and observe the few structures in this forest. There are posters nailed on trees with sayings from their founder Ajahn Chah. I must have sat there for 30 minutes before finally deciding to leave and head back to the city. This was one of my favorite moments in Ubon Ratchathani, particularly because it was hard to get there and get out of there.

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