Pha That Luang

“The golden stupa a whole city looks up to at dusk”

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Photo: Stefan Fussan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Scenes

A carved naga guarding the stairway of Pha That Luang — The naga that guards the stupa's stairJakub Hałun · CC BY-SA 4.0

A long line of people holding silver alms bowls before the golden stupa during the That Luang festival — The That Luang festival — a whole country's offerings gather beneath the stupaJialiang Gao (peace-on-earth.org) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Meaning

Between the palms the golden stupa takes the setting sun and burns, and the small spires around it rise into the sky like a fence of light.

The national stupa of Laos, held by tradition to enshrine a breastbone relic of the Buddha. Its present form is said to have been raised in 1566 by King Setthathirath as he moved the Lan Xang capital to Vientiane, over older traditions of a stupa reaching back to the age of Ashoka. Thirty lesser spires ring the 45-meter golden tower, and each November full moon the That Luang festival draws pilgrims from across the country. The stupa is carved into the national emblem of Laos itself.

Roads through this light

The Mekong — Teachings the River Carried

“The golden stupa a whole nation looks up to, held to hold a relic of the Buddha”

Field notes

Location: Vientiane · Laos · N18.0° · E102.6°
Best time: Dusk, when the gold deepens, and the That Luang festival at the November full moon
Getting there: A ten-minute drive from central Vientiane.
Etiquette: Hats are removed and quiet is kept in the cloister and around the stupa.

Sources

· Encyclopaedia Britannica
· Tourism Laos (official)

Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.