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Wat Si Chum

Wat Si Chum [ the temple of the bodhi tree ] is a 13th Century temple. The buddha image is covered in stucco and is seated inside a square brick Mandala building with a tapering wall structure which opens in the center of the top.
The roof of the mondop has disintegrated, exposing an enormous seated stucco Buddha over 11 metres in width called Phra Achana. The mondop is 32 metres square, 15 metres high and the walls are 3 metres thick.
A passageway in the inner left wall leads to a stairway to the roof. On the ceiling of the passageway are more than fifty engraved slate slabs, dating back to the mid 14th century, illustrating scenes from the Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha’s previous lives.
It is believed that the ritual of circumambulation ( or climbing of the stairs ) was a symbolic ascent to Buddhahood.
What to look for at Wat Si Chum:
The seated Buddha image inside the Mandapa.
The Inner stairway [ when opened ] where once slate plaques depicting the Jakarta Tales illustrated the ceiling.
The Mandapa building and its exterior stucco decoration.
The Assembly Hall with its columns in ruins and the seated image of Buddha in a smaller mandapa, north of the main Mandapa.
The moat surrounding the entire temple.
 

WatSiChum/WatSiChum_01b_small.jpg

The Assembly Hall with its columns in ruins and the seated image of Buddha in a smaller mandapa, north of the main Mandapa.

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