Bangkok's Wat Po Gets UNESCO Recognition

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Wat Po gets Unesco recognition

By The Nation

The prestigious Unesco Memory of the World award has been granted to Wat Po for its canons (religious texts) and ancient wisdom depicted and carved on 1,140 marble plates set in decorative frames.

The worldrenowned Buddhist temple - whose full name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram and is known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha - was nominated three years ago by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in the AsiaPacific region.

The award was recognised officially at a Manchester ceremony on May 27, Khunying Maenmas Chawalit, a senior local Unesco official, said yesterday.

The contents of the temple's 1,140 plates are divided into five categories - history, Buddhist teachings and tales, literature, culture, and general topics - including traditional wisdom on subjects such as applied yoga practice and herbal remedies.

The canons and their contents, recorded and created before and during the Ayutthaya period, were archived initially in scripture at the initiative of King Rama I - founder of the ruling Chakri Dynasty and Rattanakosin Kingdom, from 1782.

The year 1932 marked the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of modern day Thailand.

-- The Nation 2011-06-16