Thailand: Front door pediment with Dharmachakra (Wheel of the Law), Wat Rampoeng Tapotharam, Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

The Dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र; Pāli: Dhammacakka; Tibetan: འཀོར་ལོ། (chos kyi 'khor lo); Chinese: 法輪; pinyin: fălún), lit. 'Wheel of Dharma' or 'Wheel of Law' is a symbol that has represented dharma, the Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment, since the early period of Indian Buddhism. A similar symbol is also in use in Jainism. It is one of the Ashtamangala symbols.

In 1487 the King Tilokarat, 9th of the Mangrai monarchs, died, leaving the throne to his grandson, King Yot Chiang Rai (1487-95). According to the Yonok Chronicle, during Yot Chiang Rai’s reign, an itinerant monk was wandering through the forest area between Chiang Mai City and Doi Suthep when he saw miraculous rays of light emanating from the ground beneath a large, old tree. On learning of this, King Yot Chiang Rai was curious, and set out on elephant back to investigate, vowing: ‘if there are sacred relics to be found, and I am fortunate enough to become a patron of Buddhism, then let the elephant stop where the relics are buried’.

In time the elephant did stop, and a container ‘in Chiang Saen style’ was unearthed, containing a tooth thought to be that of the Buddha. Yot Chiang Rai venerated the relic and held a great religious celebration at which the tooth ‘shone with a radiance like the moon at the start of the lunar month’. It was then placed in a gold reliquary, and installed in a chedi that was constructed at the place where it had been found. This marked the foundation of Wat Rampoeng Tapotharam.

In 1974, Phrakhru Pipatkanapibarn, the abbot of Wat Muang Mang in Chiang Mai’s Haiya District, decided to establish a meditation centre at Wat Rampoeng. It has remained an internationally recognised meditation centre ever since.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia