Wat Pho, Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon District, Thailand.
Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple complex of white and gold buildings with steep tiered roofs in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, split by Chetuphon Road into two walled compounds. Three tall spires rise above the rooflines, and a lower hall has a red double door framed by white and gold columns, flanked by red niches holding standing golden figures. Inside a hall with a dark ceiling lies a 46 m reclining Buddha covered in gold, its head at the left with clustered curls and one arm bent toward the head.
Wat Pho existed before Bangkok became the capital; it was built in the Ayutthaya period, possibly under King Phetracha (1688–1703), and named Wat Photaram. In 1788 Rama I drained the marshy site and rebuilt it over seven years, bringing Buddha images from Ayutthaya and Sukhothai; it was renamed in 1801. Rama III enlarged it from 1832 to 1848, adding the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha and the inscribed walls.
The name Wat Pho is a contraction of Wat Photaram, referring to the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The temple's walls carry marble inscriptions on medicine, astrology and massage, written by about 50 court scholars and monks under Rama III; UNESCO registered them in its Memory of the World Programme in 2008.
The complex is split by Chetuphon Road: the northern walled compound holds the bot, the four directional viharns and the hall of the reclining Buddha, while the southern compound is monks' quarters and a school. Shoulders and knees must be covered. Two pavilions at the eastern edge are used for massage practice.
The temple grounds house one of Thailand's oldest massage schools, where visitors can receive traditional treatments based on centuries-old techniques. The diagrams carved into the walls show pressure points and healing methods that once served to train monks and the public.
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