Editing Wat Pho (section)

{{Short description|Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name                  = Wat Pho
| native_name           = วัดโพธิ์
| image                 = พระพุทธไสยาสวัดพระเชตุพน.jpg
| image_upright         = 
| alt                   = 
| caption               = The Reclining Buddha
| map_type              = Thailand Bangkok
| map_size              = 
| map_alt               = 
| map_caption           = Location in Bangkok
| location              = 
| coordinates           = {{coord|13|44|47|N|100|29|37|E|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Buddhism]]
| sect                  = [[Theravāda]]
| leadership            = [[:th:สมเด็จพระมหาธีราจารย์ (ปสฤทธ์ เขมงฺกโร)|Somdet Phra Mahathirachan]] (abbot)
| country               = Thailand
| functional_status     = 
| website               = [http://www.watpho.com/?lang=en www.watpho.com]
| founded_by            = Unknown<br />[[King Rama I]] (re-establishment)
| year_completed        = 16th century<br />1801 (re-establishment)<ref name="watpho">{{cite web |url=http://www.watpho.com/history_of_watpho.php?lang=en |title=History of Wat Pho |work=Wat Pho official site}}</ref>
}}

'''Wat Pho''' ({{langx|th|วัดโพธิ์}}, {{IPA|th|wát pʰōː|pron|Wat Pho (pronunciation short).ogg}}), also spelled '''Wat Po''', is a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temple complex in the [[Phra Nakhon|Phra Nakhon District]], [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]]. It is on [[Rattanakosin Island]], directly south of the [[Grand Palace, Bangkok|Grand Palace]].{{sfn|Liedtke|2011|page=56}} Known also as the '''Temple of the Reclining Buddha''', its official name is '''Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan'''<!-- Use officially designated spelling --><ref name="watpho" /> ({{langx|th|วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร}}; {{IPA|th|wát pʰráʔ tɕʰê:t.tù.pʰon wíʔ.mon.maŋ.kʰlaː.raːm râːt.tɕʰá.wɔː.ráʔ.má.hǎː.wíʔ.hǎːn|pron}}).<ref>{{cite web|title=พระนอนวัดโพธิ์ |trans-title=The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho |date=2012-12-27 |access-date=2013-01-13 |publisher=[[Royal Institute of Thailand]] |url=http://www.royin.go.th/th/knowledge/detail.php?ID=5269 |quote=วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลาราม (อ่านว่า พฺระ-เชด-ตุ-พน-วิ-มน-มัง-คฺลา-ราม) ["วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลาราม (pronounced: wat-phra-chet-tu-phon-wi-mon-mang-khla-ram)"]  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017010112/http://www.royin.go.th/th/knowledge/detail.php?ID=5269 |archive-date=2013-10-17 }}</ref> The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, ''Wat Photaram'' ({{Langx|th|วัดโพธาราม}}; {{RTGS|''Wat Photharam''}}).{{sfn|Byrne Bracken|2010|page=82}}

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/thai_article/2508_buddhist_temples/buddhist_temples.html|date=25 Jul 2008|journal=Thaiways Magazine|volume=25|issue=8|title=About the Royal Buddhist Temples|access-date=2019-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071920/http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/thai_article/2508_buddhist_temples/buddhist_temples.html|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref>{{sfn|Matics|1979|pp=1–2}} It is associated with King [[Rama I]] who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thaibuddhist.com/the-ashes-of-the-thai-kings/ |title=The Ashes of the Thai Kings |work=Buddhism in Thailand }}</ref> The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by [[Rama III]]. The temple complex houses the largest collection of [[Buddha image]]s in Thailand, including a 46 m long huge [[reclining Buddha]]. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the  illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by [[UNESCO]] in its [[Memory of the World Programme]]. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional [[Thai massage]] which is still taught and practiced at the temple.<ref name="Frommers"/>