Wat Sri Suphan - Chiang Mai Silver Temple
Many of the temples around Chiang Mai hold regular daily or weekly 'monk chat' sessions. These give you an opportunity to talk to a Buddhist monk about pretty much anything and gives the monks an opportunity to practise their English. The sessions are free, though donations are very welcome. Among the better places to try this is Wat Sri Suphan - the Silver Temple. Not only are the surroundings especially beautiful but, being hidden down a side alley just south of the Old City, it is not as busy as the chats at the more famous temples.
Wat Sri Suphan is also known as the Silver Temple because of its impressive hand crafted silver decoration. The temple is completely covered in silver, from the walls to the roof and display some detailed silver carvings of Buddhism legends. Even the statues of Buddha are covered in silver. Wat Sri Suphan was originally built around 1500 to serve as the main temple for a silversmith village. While over the years parts of the temple were repaired with silver from the local village the process of completely covering the temple in silver only began in 2008. The inside of the temple is even more interesting with silver decoration, mirrors and bright colours mixed together. However due to old Buddhist rules women are not allowed to enter the inside of the temple and must remain outside. The area around Wat Sri Suphan has lots of small silver studios and you can see real artists at work within the grounds of the temple. You can also buy or commission works of silver from these artists. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings the temple holds a monk chat where visitors can ask questions about Buddhism and meditate with the monks. The monk chats start from 17:30 till 19:00 and then until 21:00 there is a group talk and meditation for everyone. The monk chats are free but donations are welcomed.
Wat Sri Suphan is also known as the Silver Temple because of its impressive hand crafted silver decoration. The temple is completely covered in silver, from the walls to the roof and display some detailed silver carvings of Buddhism legends. Even the statues of Buddha are covered in silver. Wat Sri Suphan was originally built around 1500 to serve as the main temple for a silversmith village. While over the years parts of the temple were repaired with silver from the local village the process of completely covering the temple in silver only began in 2008. The inside of the temple is even more interesting with silver decoration, mirrors and bright colours mixed together. However due to old Buddhist rules women are not allowed to enter the inside of the temple and must remain outside. The area around Wat Sri Suphan has lots of small silver studios and you can see real artists at work within the grounds of the temple. You can also buy or commission works of silver from these artists. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings the temple holds a monk chat where visitors can ask questions about Buddhism and meditate with the monks. The monk chats start from 17:30 till 19:00 and then until 21:00 there is a group talk and meditation for everyone. The monk chats are free but donations are welcomed.
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