Ubosoth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A ubosot (Thai: อุโบสถ์ or short bot Thai: โบสถ์) is a building in a Buddhist Wat. It is the holiest prayer room, also called the "ordination hall" as it is where ordinations take place.

An ubosoth stands within a boundary formed by eight sema stones (Thai: ใบเสมา) which separate the sacred from the profane, and thus differs from a viharn (วิหาร). The sema stones actually stand above and mark the Luk Nimit (Thai: ลูกนิมิต), stone spheres buried at the cardinal points of the compass delineating the sacred area. Both ubosoth and viharns typically house Buddha images.

[edit] Further reading

• Karl Döhring: Buddhist Temples Of Thailand. Berlin 1920, reprint by White Lotus Co. Ltd., Bangkok 2000, ISBN 974-7534-40-1
• K.I. Matics: Introduction To The Thai Temple. White Lotus, Bangkok 1992, ISBN 974-8495-42-6
• No Na Paknam: The Buddhist Boundary Markers of Thailand. Muang Boran Press, Bangkok 1981 (no ISBN)

This article is uncategorized. Please categorize this article to list it with similar articles. (June 2008)