Strictly speaking, a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with vihara, a temple, an edifice housing a large image ofBuddha and a facility for lessons. A site without a minimum of three resident bhikkhus cannot correctly be described as a wat although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. As a transitive or intransitive verb, ' means to measure, to take measurements; compare ', from which ' derives, having the same root as '. In Cambodia, a wat is any place of worship. "Wat" generally refers to a Buddhist place of worship, but the precise term is វត្តពុទ្ធសាសនា wat putthasasana. A Christian church can be referred as វិហារយេស៊ូ vihear Yesaou or "Jesus vihear". Angkor Wat អង្គរវត្ត means 'city of temples'. In everyday language in Thailand, a "wat" is any place of worship except a mosque or a synagogue. Thus, a wat chin or san chao is a Chinese temple, wat khaek or thewasathan is a Hindu temple and bot khrit or wat farang is a Christian church, though Thai โบสถ์ may be used descriptively as with mosques.
Wats are temples which have been endorsed by the state and have been granted wisungkhammasima, or the land for establishing central hall, by the king. These temples are divided into:
* Royal temples : established or patronised by the king or his family members.
* Public temples : established by private citizens. Despite the term "private", private temples are open to the public and are sites of public religious activities.
Samnak song : are temples without state endorsement and wisungkhamasima.
Structure
A typical Buddhist wat consists of the following buildings:
Bell tower
Bot or ubosot or sim : the holiest prayer room, also called the "ordination hall" as it is where new monks take their vows. Architecturally it is similar to the vihara. The main difference is the eight cornerstones placed around the bot to ward off evil. The bot is usually more decorated than the wihan. In Cambodia nowadays, this type of building is considered to be Vihear. It was previously called Ubaosathakea or Rorng Ubaosoth.
Chaedai or Chedi from Sanskrit: chaitya, temple or that : It is also known as a stupa. Usually conical or bell-shaped buildings, but many Cambodian stupas are constructed in the style of temple shrine. They often contain relics of Buddha. The urns containing the ashes of the cremated dead are kept here and serve as memorials for those ancestors.
Kod, Kut, Kutti, Kuti or Kati : the living quarters of monks separated from the sacred buildings.
Mondop : usually an open, square building with four arches and a pyramidal roof, used to worship religious texts or objects.
Pond : is rectangular in shape and sometimes decorated with lotus flowers, the emblematic flower of Buddhism. In addition, some wats illustrate the figure of Buddha being sheltered by a seven headed naga, named Mucalinda, in the middle of the pond. The pond itself is called Mucalinda Pond.
Sala, cognate of Hindi शाल, meaning hall, large room or shed. A pavilion for relaxation and miscellaneous activities. In Cambodia, the sala also serves as the Buddhist educational center in a wat, but not every wat has one. It can be found outside the wat proper.
* Oupadthan Sala or Sala Bonn or Sala Wat : a hall for people gathering together to make a donation or for ceremonies.
* Sala Baley or Sala Putthikakseksa : literally means 'Pali school' or 'Buddhist educational school', is the place to teach Buddhist Dharma and other subjects in both Pali and Khmer languages. Sala Baley is divided into three levels. They are: Buddhist elementary school ; Buddhist high school ; and Buddhist university. Beside Buddhist Dharma, Buddhist university includes subjects such as philosophy, science, information technology, Sanskrit, and other foreign languages. These schools may be constructed outside the wat and laypersons are also permitted to study there.
* Sala Chhann, Sala Bat, or Ho Chan : cafeteria for monks.
* Sala Chhatean, Sala Klang Yan or Sala Rong Tham : is usually smaller than other halls and can be built outside the wat, especially along the roads or even in the center of villages. It is used to celebrate Buddhist events as well as for dining and relaxation.
* Sala Song : the room where monks receive holy water blessings.
* Sala Thormmasaphear or Thormmasala, Sala Fang Tham : Dharma assembly pavilion, however some assume this hall to be Sala Bonn.
* Sala Tha Nam : pier pavilion.
Vihear or wihan from Sanskrit: vihara: a meeting and prayer room.
Wachak Kod or Watcha Kudi or than : toilet.
Almost all Buddhist temples in Cambodia were built in Khmer architectural style. Most temples were finely decorated with a spiked tower on the rooftop along with pediments, naga heads, and chovear . Below the edge of the roof and at the top of external columns, garuda or kinnari figures are depicted supporting the roof. There are a pair of guardian lions and one head or several. naga sculptures are beside each entrance of the temple. Inside the main temple and the multipurpose hall, mural paintings depict the life of Gautama Buddha and his previous life. The roofs of Thai temples are often adorned with chofas.
Examples
Some well-known wats include:
Cambodia
At the end of 2017, there were 4,872 wats with 69,199 Buddhist monks supporting Buddhism in Cambodia. it was estimated that 96.9 percent of the Cambodian population was Buddhist.
Despite being only 3.8 percent Buddhist, the northern Malaysian state of Kelantan has numerous Thai wats.
Thailand
Thailand had 39,883 wats. Three hundred-ten were royal wats, the remainder were private. There were 298,580 Thai Buddhist monks, 264,442 of the Maha Nikaya order and 34,138 of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order. There were 59,587 Buddhist novice monks.
