Photo Gallery

Wat Xieng Thong Seated Buddha Pavilion

Pavilions serve a variety of purposes in monasteries. Many have utilitarian functions: as places to eat or socialize or as shelters from the tropical sun or and torrential rains. They also serve religious purposes, sometimes to protect the monastery drum, often to offer shelter to a Buddha figure. The Buddha pavilions of Wat Xieng Thong and Wat Sene are particularly striking.

The Seated Buddha Pavilion is of modern construction and has recently been refurbished. It harmonizes well with the rest of the ensemble of the monastery. Its double-layer roof is supported by four square stenciled lotus-capped columns with naga brackets. The underside of the roof also is stenciled. The life-sized seated statue is in the Bhumisparsha (touching the earth, or calling the earth to witness) mudra.

Text by Robert D. Fiala, Concordia University, Nebraska, USA