Wat Nong Khohng (วัดหนองโค้ง)

Thai. ‘Temple of the Curved Marsh’. Name of a Buddhist temple located in Chiang Mai, distinguished by its striking representation of the Four Buddhas of the present aeon, who have already attained Enlightenment. The temple features four large stucco Buddha statues arranged back-to-back and oriented toward the four cardinal directions, a configuration that symbolically expresses the universality of the Buddha's teaching across space and time. Each of the four Buddha images is depicted seated in the half lotus position, but distinguished by different hand gestures or mudra's, symbolizing various aspects of Enlightenment and the expression of the Dhamma. The four images represent Kakusandha, facing North (fig.) and seated in the pahng prathan phon or ‘blessing pose’; Kassapa, facing South (fig.) and depicted performing an abhaya mudra with his right hand, representing ‘reassurance’; Konagamana facing East (fig.) and depicted in the pahng samahti or ‘meditation’ pose; and Gautama, the historical Buddha of the present era, facing West (fig.) and depicted in the maravijaya pose, symbolizing ‘victory over evil’. This order follows a symbolic spatial arrangement associated with cosmological orientation. The orientation of the four Buddha images toward the cardinal directions reflects both cosmological symbolism and devotional practice, signifying the omnipresence of the Dhamma and the transmission of Enlightenment across all realms, while also functioning as a spatial representation of sacred order. In between each of the statues stands a pink Garuda (fig.) underneath a golden, royal, multi-layered umbrella called chat (fig.), and in front of the Gautama Buddha stands a gilded statue of the traveling monk Phra Siwalih (fig.). Each Buddha statue features a plaque in Rajasap, giving a description of the specific Buddha, e.g. for Konagamana it reads: Phra Sammah Sam Phutta Chao Phra Nahm Wah ‘Konagamana’ Song Mih Phra Worakai Soong Sahmsip Sok, Mih Phra Chonmayu Sahm Meun Pih (พระสัมมาสัมพุทธเจ้าพระนามว่า ‘โกนาคมนะ’ ทรงมีพระวรกายสูงสามสิบศอก มีพระชนมายุสามหมื่นปี), meaning ‘The Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, named Konagamana had a bodily height of thirty cubits and a lifespan of thirty thousand years’. Also transliterated Wat Nong Khong. 回