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 Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

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, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, 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 Tra ...

north of

Samui International Airport Samui International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานสมุย) , also known as Ko Samui Airport or Koh Samui Airport, is a privately owned airport on the island of Ko Samui (Koh Samui) in Thailand. The airport is roughly 2&nbs ...

. 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, 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: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

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 The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) 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 Buddhist temples in Surat Thani Province Tourist attractions in Surat Thani province

The statues

Location and access

Gallery

See also

References