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Thitirat Pongprajuc (Nuch)

RELS 2020-001-F16
The White Temple: Wat Rong Khun
Thailand is the home of countless temples. According to a 2016 report of Thai National
Office of Buddhism, there are 39,883 temples in the country.1 The appearance of interior and
exterior design of Thai temples are mainly in white, red, and gold color. However, there is a
white temple named Wat Rong Khun that has a unique contemporary design. This makes the
temple so-called one of Thailands most unusual and visually striking man-made attractions.

Wat Rong Khun is a Buddhist temple and better known among foreigners as the White
Temple located in Chiang Rai province. The White Temple was constructed from the devotion of
Chalermchai Kositpipat, a national artist. Before Kositpipat started renovating Wat Rong Khun
in 1997, the temple was decadent.2 A renovation project is an act of faith of Kositpipat who has
invested more than 1.2 million dollars of his own money to construct the temple.3 According to
Kositpipat, money and possessions are insignificant. They are not mine but are only make-

Buddhism Information. Annual Report, Bangkok: Thai National Office of Buddhism. 2016, 6.
Nahabedian, Danial. Wat Rong Khun - The White Temple in Chiang Rai. Canvas of Light ~ Photography. 2014,
accessed December 12, 2016.
3
Barooah, Jahnabi. Thai Buddhist Temple, Wat Rong Khun, Built With Images Of Superman, Neo From The
Matrix (PHOTOS). The Huffington Post. April 26, 2012, accessed December 13, 2016.
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beliefs. Merits belong to me; therefore, money is of no value to me. Money is valuable only as a
way to make merit for the further journey of the soul.4 Kositpipat devoted his life in
constructing the White Temple to be one of the remarkable architecture of the modern Buddhism
in Thailand.
The structures of the White Temple are rich with symbolism derived from the Buddhist
tradition. Kositpipat constructed all building of Wat Rong Khun in white because he symbolized
the white color as the purity of the Buddha. However, he painted the restroom building in the
gold color because, for Kositpipat, gold color represented desire. The exterior of the White
Temple that stands out including the bridge of the cycle of rebirth, the gate of heaven and
Ubosot.
The bridge of cycle of the rebirth is built over a small lake in front of Ubosot. Around the
bridge, there is a circle which is full of hundreds of sculpted hands reaching up from hell. The
outreaching hands refer to the unrestrained desire of beings who are reborn in Samsara. These
beings are overwhelmed with grief, greed, temptation, and desire. Moreover, there are sixteen
demons along the bridge referring to sixteen causes of sorrow that make humans mind full of
Akuslmol or evil passion. To escape from the cycle of rebirth, beings have to cross the bridge to
Ubosot. Crossing the bridge symbolizes learning Dharma of the Buddha. Ubosot symbolizes the
Awakening or Nirvana. For some lay people, Ubosot may refer to heaven. Because achieving
Nirvana is difficult, so lay people may wish to be born in higher realms in the next life.
Before reaching the gate of heaven, there are two canine teeth of Mara that have the
frightening appearance to make people hesitate to leave worldly pleasures and head towards
Nirvana, the true and endless happiness. At the gate of heaven, there are Rahu, the one who

Nahabedian, Wat Rong Khun - The White Temple in Chiang Rai, accessed December 12, 2016.

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controls beings fate, and Death, the one who controls beings life, guard the entrance of Ubosot.
Rahu and Death are protecting Ubosot from any iniquity the world.
Moreover, he decorated the elements of Ubosot with mosaics of mirrors. When the
mirrors sparkle in the sun, they represent the Buddhas teaching that pervades in Thailand.5 The
entrance of Ubosot has four sculpted lotuses denotes the four stages of enlightenment in
Theravada Buddhism including Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami, and Arahat. 6 The roof of
Ubosot has four types of sculpted animals which are elephants, Naga serpents, swans, and lions
symbolizing the four classic elements. The elephants symbolize soil or earth. Naga serpents refer
to water. Swans refer to wind, and lions refer to fire or energy. The artist put these four animals
at the roof of Ubosot because he wanted them to protect Buddhism.7 Moreover, the stairs
entering to Ubosot have three steps that symbolize the three characteristics of all phenomena
which are impermanence (anicca), dissatisfactoriness (dukkha), and no-self (anatta).
Inside Ubosot, there are two Buddha statues, and there is a large painting of the Buddha.
All of them are in meditating position and facing the East which is facing towards Neranchara
River where the Buddha attained the Awakening. The background color of the three sides of
Ubosot walls is yellow which symbolizes the prosperity of Buddhism in Thailand. The opposite
side of the Buddha statues is the painting of Maras face in shades of red. The reason for painting
the Buddha and Mara on the opposite site is presenting the battle between the Buddha and Mara.
There are several cartoon characters and heroes painted on the wall. Kositpipat also recorded
significant situations that occurred in the 21st century, the time period when this painting was
done. For example, there are the painting of the 9/11 terrorist attack at twin towers. The painting

Wat Rong Khun or White Temple. Chiang Mai Specialist. 2015. accessed December 12, 2016.
Wat Pong Khun official website. accessed December 14, 2016. http://watrongkhun.org/.
7
Wat Pong Khun official website. accessed December 14, 2016.
5
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of George W. Bush and Osama bin Ladin inside Maras eyes. Kositpipat gave the reason of this
particular painting, I want everyone to know that our world is being destroyed by those who
craved to build weapons that kill, thereby ruining the environment because nothing is ever
enough.8 The artist seems to present that the materialism is one of the causes that makes human
wicked.
Because of the beautifulness and uniqueness of the White Temple, it has attracted many
foreign tourists to visit the temple. Due to the differences of the culture and religious beliefs,
some of them behaved disrespectfully. Some foreigners dressed revealing clothes, did not take
shoes off before entering Ubosot, took pictures inside Ubosot where the photo is not allowed.
Some of them got in the small lake in front of Ubosot and destroyed sculptures around the
temple. Therefore, the temple has announced a policy requiring guides for foreigners. However,
the policy has not strongly enforced.9 On October 1, 2016, the White Temple has started
collecting admission fee from foreign visitors for fifty Thai Bath or about one dollar and fifty
cents. The fee collection is implemented only for visiting the Ubosot and the art exhibition.10
This became a controversial issue because the religious place should not have had collected any
admission fee from the visitors.
The member of the White temple responded to this issue that the construction of the
temple is still ongoing, so the fee collection will be spent on the construction project and

Cooper, Arnie Thailand's White Temple a sanctuary for Buddha and Hello Kitty, Los Angeles Times, April
11, 2015, accessed December 14, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-d-thailand-temple-20150412-story.html.
9
Thailand's White Temple - Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand for Children, accessed December 15, 2016,
http://www.thailandforchildren.com/chiang-mai-family-travel/chiang-rai/white-temple-wat-rong-khun-thailand.
10
Cheevasittiyanon, Kitti 50 Baht Fee for Foreign Visitors Commences at Wat Rong Khun Temple (White
Temple), Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper, October 2, 2016, accessed December 14, 2016,
http://www.chiangraitimes.com/50-baht-fee-for-foreign-visitors-commences-at-wat-rong-khun-temple-whitetemple.html.
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utilities.11 The underlying reason could be the White Temple is considered as a tourism location
for the foreigners, so collecting admission fee from people who do not have the religious purpose
of visiting the temple could be acceptable. Moreover, it may help the temple handle the arrival of
foreign visitors.
In conclusion, due to the outstanding art and architecture, Wat Rong Khun or the White
Temple became one of the most well-known temples of the country. The symbolism of each
element of all buildings and sculptures are significantly meaningful in Buddhist traditions. The
numbers of visitors including Thai Buddhists and foreign tourists indicates that Wat Rong Khun
became the modern remarkable temple of Thailand. This has fulfilled Chalermchai Kositpipats
dream of making merit by constructing the temple in his own artistic style, and he hopes that this
project will give him immortal life. 12

Cheevasittiyanon, 50 Baht Fee for Foreign Visitors Commences at Wat Rong Khun Temple (White Temple),
accessed December 14, 2016.
12
Barooah, Thai Buddhist Temple, Wat Rong Khun, Built With Images Of Superman, Neo From The Matrix
(PHOTOS). The Huffington Post, accessed December 13, 2016.
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Bibliography
Barooah, Jahnabi. "Thai Buddhist Temple, Wat Rong Khun, Built With Images Of Superman,
Neo From The Matrix (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. April 26, 2012. Accessed
December 13, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/thai-buddhist-temple-watrong-khun_n_1447032.html.
Buddhism Information. Annual Report, Bangkok: Thai National Office of Buddhism. 2016.
Cheevasittiyanon, Kitti. 50 Baht Fee for Foreign Visitors Commences at Wat Rong Khun
Temple (White Temple) Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper. October 2,
2016. Accessed December 14, 2016. http://www.chiangraitimes.com/50-baht-fee-forforeign-visitors-commences-at-wat-rong-khun-temple-white-temple.html.
Cooper, Arnie. Thailand's White Temple a sanctuary for Buddha and Hello Kitty. Los
Angeles Times. April 11, 2015. Accessed December 14, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/
travel/la-tr-d-thailand-temple-20150412-story.html.
Nahabedian, Danial. Wat Rong Khun - The White Temple in Chiang Rai. Canvas of Light ~
Photography. 2014. Accessed December 12, 2016. http://www.canvas-of-light.com/
2010/12/the-white-temple-thailand/.
Thailand's White Temple - Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai. Thailand for Children. Accessed
December 13, 2016. http://www.thailandforchildren.com/chiang-mai-family-travel/chiangrai/white-temple-wat-rong-khun-thailand.
Wat Rong Khun official website. accessed December 14, 2016. http://watrongkhun.org/.
Wat Rong Khun or White Temple." Chiang Mai Specialist. 2015. Accessed December 12,
2016. http://chiangmaispecialist.com/wat-rong-khun-white-temple/.