Bottle Temple in Thailand

Wat Pa Maha Kaew Temple is the only temple in the world build out of glass bottles and bottle caps. It all began in 1984 when the Buddhist monks started gathering bottles to decorate their shelters. The lovely bottle art-work they created attracted more and more visitors that began donating bottles, until there were enough to build an entire building.

Thai monks have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct their Buddhist temple and its located in Siasaket province, about 370 miles northeast of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. There are approximately 1.5 millionglass bottles incorporated in the temple complex, that includes glass shelters, crematorium and even glass toilets.

The bottles make for a surprisingly easy to maintain building material, they let the light in and they don’t fade. The monks are still collecting glass bottles to build even more structures at Wat Pa Maha Kaew.

Buddhist temple built 1.5million recycled beer bottles

Built using more than a million beer bottles, this incredible temple in the north-east of Thailand is a novel way to recycle any empties. The resident Buddhist monks at the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew complex encourage local authorities to deposit any used bottles at the temple which they then use to build new structures. Having already built the a temple and even shelters, the monks who live in the town of Khun Han really have got into the spirit of recycling.

Buddhist temple Glass houses: There are 20 buildings made of bottles in the complex
Sometimes known as Wat Lan Kuad, or Temple Of A Million Bottles, the temple uses the discarded bottles to construct everything from the crematorium to the toilets. Altogether there are about 1.5million recycled bottles in the temple, and the monks at there are intending to recycling even more. 'The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make,' says Abbot San Kataboonyo.Buddhist temple

Buddhist temple Room with an interior view: The visitors' toilets are a unique spectacle
'They kept this up until they had nearly one million recycled bottles ready to construct their pagodas and temple. 'Even though drinking is a sin in Buddhism, this still seems like a positive use of beer and lager bottles.' Representing the cleansing of the human mind, the beer-bottle-temple is now on an approved list of eco-friendly sightseeing tours in South-East Asia.

Most Amazing Temples in The World

Here’s a list of most amazing temples in the world. Besides it’s used for religious ritual, these temples is also a very amazing architecture that interested to be visited. Some of them are popular tourist destinations in the world. So, Let’s take a look at those 5 most amazing temples around the world.

5. The Temple of Heaven, China

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing, in Xuanwu District. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The Temple of Heaven

4. Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar

The Shwedagon Pagoda also known as the Golden Pagoda, is a 98-metre (approx. 321.5 feet) gilded stupa located in Yangon, Burma. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within, namely the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Konagamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight hairs of Gautama, the historical Buddha.

Shwedagon Pagoda

3. Prambanan, Indonesia

Prambanan is the ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province.

The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

Prambanan Temple

2. Wat Rong Khun, Thailand

Wat Rong Khun is a contemporary unconventional buddhist and Hindu temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat. Construction began in 1997.

Nowadays, Wat Rong Khun is still being constructed. When completed, the construction project of Wat Rong Khun will consist of nine buildings: the ubosot, the hall containing Lord Buddha’s relics, the hall containing Buddha images, the preaching hall, the contemplation hall, the monk’s cell, the door façade of the Buddhavasa, the art gallery, and the toilets.

Wat Rong Khun

1. Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Bhutan

The Tiger’s Nest also called Paro Taktsang and locally known as the Taktsang Dzong is a prominent monastery in the upper Paro valley, Bhutan, built in 1692. It was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three months in the 8th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan and he is considered the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen taktsang or “tiger lair” caves in which he meditated.

The temple that devoted to Padmasambhava (also known as Gu-ru mTshan-brgyad Lhakhang, “The Temple of the Guru with Eight Names”) is an elegant structure built around the cave in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye; it has become the cultural icon of Bhutan. A popular festival, known as the Tsechu, held in honour of Padmasambhava, is celebrated in the Paro valley sometime during March or April.

Tiger's Nest Monastery

Hanging Temple

Statue Inside the temple

Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan, 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of Hunyuan County, and 65 kilometers (40 miles) from downtown Datong City. Since it hangs on the west cliff of Jinxia Gorge more than 50 meters above the ground, it is called Hanging Monastery.Hanging Monastery, built in 491, has survived more than 1400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

How could a building like this withstand the winds and storms of so many years? Hanging Monastery is an architectural wonder. A unique mechanical theory was applied to building the framework. Crossbeams were half-inserted into the rock as the foundation, while the rock in back became its support. Seen from below, Hanging Monastery appears to be a tumble-down castle in the air. Inside, Hanging Monastery provides the same scene as other temples.

Construction experts from countries including Britain, Germany, and Italy, come to see the monastery. In their words, Hanging Monastery, which mixes mechanics, aesthetics, and Buddhism, is rare. The monastery and everything it symbolizes embodies a great cultural achievement of Chinese people.The second attraction of Hanging Monastery is that it includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Inside the monastery, the sculptures of Sakyamuni, Confucius and Laotzu appear together, which is unusual. There are 40 halls and cabinets, which contain about 80 sculptures made of copper, iron, terracotta, and stone. The features are vividly carved.

Why build a monastery like this? Location is the first reason; building a monastery on the cliff could shield it from floods. In addition, the mountain peak protects it from rain and snow; and the mountain around it also diminishes damage from long-time sunshine. The second reason is that the builders followed a principle in Taoism: no noises, including those from rooster crowing and dog baying; so from the upper ground, all noises drop away.

Amazing Golden Temple at Vellore

Golden Temple ….. we think Amritsar.. But Vellore has "mahalaksmi temple" worth 600 crore INR Under final stages of finishing. No doubt Indian History is repeating itself.. & india is gaining back that classic era of supremacy slowly but steadily.

A Mahalakshmi temple called 'Sripuram' and made of more than a tonne of pure gold will glitter and gleam under the sun on August 24 when it is unveiled for consecration by the Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls himself Narayani Amma. Devotees hail the temple as 'one of the wonders of the world' and say that it is the only temple covered fully with gold. More than 400 gold and coppersmiths from the Thirupath Thirumala Devasthanam are said to have worked for six years to craft the Rs 600-crore gold temple located on 55,000 sq ft of land on a 100-acre salubrious stretch in Malaikodi, about 6 km from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent manner." First the coppersmiths set to work creating a copper base on the temple structure with engravings and etchings before the gold, beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The sanctum sanctorum will hold the deity of Mahalakshmi made of stone granite, but covered with gold kavacham (adornments). "The Sripuram or Spiritual Park is Amma's dedication to the world and mankind," said P Murali, a trustee of the Peetam, adding that the temple has more gold than the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Messages by 'Amma' have been laid out along the path to the temple with messages from the Gita, Bible and Quran. "When one enters the Sripuram, their focus is just on the magnificent temple. But when they leave, they cannot do so without taking some messages and gaining some wisdom," according to a booklet detailing the 'services' rendered by the Peetam. "In this quagmire of materialism, Sripuram rises as an inspiration to man to find the divinity within him," adds a brochure. Murali said arrangements were being made to hire personnel to throw a security cover around the temple. "But the gold sheets have been laid out in such a manner that it would cost more to rip it off than purchase the gold," said a top Vellore district official.