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Wat
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A wat (derived from the Sanskrit word Vattaka) is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, Lanna or Laos. The word "wat" ( sometimes rendered "vat" when referring to Laos) means "school." Strictly speaking a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with monks' quarters, the temple proper, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha, and a structure for lessons.
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Encyclopedia
A wat (derived from the Sanskrit word Vattaka) is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, Lanna or Laos. The word "wat" ( sometimes rendered "vat" when referring to Laos) means "school." Strictly speaking a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with monks' quarters, the temple proper, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha, and a structure for lessons. A Buddhist site without a minimum of three resident monks cannot correctly be described as a wat, although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. (As a transitive or intransitive verb, wat means to measure, to take measurements; compare templum, from which temple derives, having the same root as template.)
In Cambodia, a wat is used to refer to all kinds of places of worship. Technically, wat generally refers to a Buddhist place of worship, but the technical term is (wat pootasasna). A Christian church can be referred to either as (wat yeasu) or (vihear yeasu). Angkor Wat means city of temples.
In everyday language in Thailand, a wat is any place of worship except a mosque (Thai - su-rao; or - Thai rendering of masjid; a mosque may also be described as - bot khong Is-a-lam). Thus wat cheen is a Chinese temple (either Buddhist or Taoist), wat khaek is a Hindu temple, and wat kris or wat krit or wat farang is a Christian church, though Thai ( bot) may be used descriptively as with mosque.
Structure
A typical Buddhist wat consists of the following buildings:
- chaidei or chedi (Khmer ), (Lanna: phrathat), (Thai ) (from Sanskrit: chaitya, temple) - usually conical or bell-shaped buildings, often containing relics of Buddha
- vihear (Khmer ), (Lanna: wihan), viharn or wihaan (Thai ) from Sanskrit: vihara and Pali vihaan ) - a meeting and prayer room
- mondop (Lanna: mondop), (Thai ) (from Sanskrit: Mandapa) - a usually open, square building with four arches and a pyramidal roof, used to worship religious texts or objects
- sala (Khmer ????), (Lanna: sala), (Thai ) (from Sanskrit: Shala - School, from an earlier meaning of shelter) - a pavilion for relaxation or miscellaneous activities
- bot (Lanna: bot), or ubosoth (from Pali uposatha) - the holiest prayer room, also called the "ordination hall" as it is where new monks take their vows. Architecturally it is similar to the vihara; the main differences are the eight cornerstones placed around the bot to ward off evil. The bot is usually more decorated than the viharn.
- bibiloteca (Lanna: hotham), (Thai ) - Tripitaka library where Buddhist scriptures are kept
- drum tower (Lanna: hokong), (Thai )
- bell tower (Lanna: hoding), (Thai )
- multipurpose hall (Lanna: sala), (Thai: , study hall) is a building in a wat. In the past this hall was only for monks to study in, as parian is a Pali word meaning 'educated monk' or 'monk student'.
The living quarters of the monks, including the (Lanna), (Thai kuti or kut - monk cells) are separated from the sacred buildings.
Examples
Some well-known wats include:
Cambodia
Laos
Thailand
Lanna (Northern Thailand)
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