When Rama III had stone tablets pertaining to religion,
science, and literature inscribed and placed around the
complex, Wat Pho was inaugurated as Thailand���s first
university. It remains the national headquarters for teaching
and preserving Thai medicine and massage, which has
been practiced in the temple since the 17th century. In
an open air hall, therapists follow instructions to treat
therapeutic points and energy paths which are identified
on sixty engraved plaques mounted on the walls inside
the temple.
But the core of Wat Pho and object of pilgrimage is the
Reclining Buddha, a stunning gold leafed figure more than
150 feet long and nearly fifty feet high. Thailand���s largest
HYLAND
