Wat Traimit — Temple of the Golden Buddha in Bangkok

Overview of Wat Traimit

The statue of the Golden Buddha was discovered during construction work on the temple grounds – during transportation, part of the gypsum coating broke off, revealing to the world a priceless creation under a layer of plaster – a sculpture made of pure gold. It is assumed that the coating was added to protect the statue from marauding Burmese invaders during the siege at the end of the Sukhothai period or during the Ayutthaya period. Wat Traimit Temple dates back to the beginning of the 13th century, and the statue of the Golden Buddha itself is located in an impressive four-story marble building.

Designed in the elegant Sukhothai style, the Buddha images were created in four basic poses: sitting, standing, walking and lying down. The statue of the Golden Buddha shows his position after enlightenment. The Golden Buddha is sitting in the lotus position, with his right hand touching the ground. This gesture – Bhumisparsha mudra – symbolizes unshakable strength and truth, perception of reality without distortion caused by the influence of the forces of Mara (Mara in Buddhism is a tempting demon). Thus, the Buddha called the earth to witness the truth revealed to him after meditating under the Bodhi tree.

The left hand rests on the knee with the palm up — this is Varada mudra, symbolizing compassion and forgiveness, the bestowal of mercy and liberation from earthly worries. according to the canons of Buddhist iconography, the spiritual teacher is depicted with elongated earlobes, legs and hands have fingers of the same length, on the top of the enlightened ushnish is the crown of the Buddha, a symbol of achieved enlightenment.