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Sukhothai: Land of the "boneless" Buddhas

Posted: 17 Feb 2015 10:57 PM PST

Between Bangkok and Chiang Mai lies the old kingdom of Sukhothai. Its former glory can be revisited through spectacular temple ruins

Gigantic "boneless" Buddha statues rise among stupas and reddish laterite pillars at 13th-century Sukhothai.

Shaded by tropical trees, the unique statues are hailed as evidence of ancient Siam's social and spiritual zenith before the ancient city was abandoned 300 years later.

The kingdom of Sukhothai and nearby Si Satchanalai were nestled in the northern heart of Siam, now known as Thailand.

But tourists often don't realize the two "historical parks" are fascinating and refreshing stopovers while traveling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Once the capital of the first Kingdom of Siam, Sukhothai and its associated historic towns are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yet on a recent visit, only a few dozen foreign tourists could be found at Old Sukhothai.

And only a handful of international visitors were spotted nearby at equally fascinating Si Satchanalai.

"Boneless" Buddha and lotus pond

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai, Thailand At Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai's main temple ruins, visitors usually first approach one of the "boneless" Buddhas, so called for their soft, placid, oval faces and backwardly curved fingers.Some of the best Buddha statues at Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai are admired by experts as "boneless" sculptures because of their soft, placid, oval faces and backwardly curved fingers.

These mammoth-white Buddhas sit or stand among huge stupas, also known as chedis, which are shaped like bulbous cones, domes and squarish blocks.

Revered Buddhist relics and other religious treasure are sealed inside each stupa.

Many of the stupas here are topped by a stone spire resembling a lotus bud, an architectural frosting described as a Sukhothai creation inspired by neighboring Khmer designs.

Khmer influences also include large, rectangular, ornamental ponds nourishing Sukhothai's bright pink lotus blossoms.

Today, throughout Thailand, lotus blossoms are still offered by devotees in Buddhist temples and ceremonies.

Wat Mahathat, the main temple

Alas, the Buddhist temples here no longer possess their roofs or anything else not made of stone.

The surviving statues, stupas and shrines, built from porous laterite bricks and milk-colored stucco, have been eaten by hundreds of years of damage, weather and neglect.

Fortunately, extensive repairs preserve many of the grandest and most visual elements.

The new stucco quickly melds into an antique look, thanks to monsoons, mildew and harsh sunlight.

Visitors entering Old Sukhothai usually first approach Wat Mahathat, which is dramatically flanked by circular stone columns.

Those columns once supported the roof of a wihan, which is a Buddhist monastery's chamber containing an important Buddha image.

Wat Mahathat's big white Buddha was sheltered inside that vanished wihan, and the magnificent statue is now exposed to the elements.

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai, Thailand In addition to the spectacular Buddha statues, there are a cluster of ornate stupas. One depicts a row of monks marching around the sacred stupa in the ritual known as pradakshina.

In the 13th century, Wat Mahathat was Sukhothai's most important temple, and was expanded by kings until it included about 200 stupas, plus large prayer halls, Buddhist monks' residences, libraries and other buildings.

Behind the Buddha, a lengthy stone frieze displays monks walking around the square base of the wat's cluster of ornate stupas, in a Buddhist ritual known as pradaksina.

The Satan-defying Buddha

Sukhothai offers about 40 other temples scattered across 28 square miles (73 square kilometers), including the main walled Royal City that protects Wat Mahathat and other key temples.

About 38 miles (61 kilometers) north of Sukhothai are Si Satchanalai's sites, an easy day trip by local buses that stop at the entrance gate.

Because Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai are sprawling, and the weather is usually hot, many travelers hire an inexpensive vehicle and driver to cruise the inner and outlying clusters of temples.

Other visitors are content to stroll just within Sukhothai's Royal City.

Bicycles are available for about $1 a day at both Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai -- it's a fun and easy way to languidly tour beyond the typical walking routes.

For example, a bicycle or vehicle is necessary to comfortably reach Sukhothai's profound Wat Si Chum where a towering Buddha sits encased in a tall, rectangular stone chamber, visible upon approach only through an intriguingly narrow vertical slit.

The fingertips of this Buddha's right hand are almost "touching the earth" -- formally known as the bhumisparsa gesture.

The gesture shows Buddha's wise reaction to Mara, Buddhism's theoretical equivalent to Satan.

Sukhothai, Thailand The fingers of the Buddha at Wat Si Chum have been turned golden from worshippers rubbing leaves on them.According to legend, Mara tried to use fear and temptation to annoy and distract Buddha, who responded by gently touching the ground to show he would neither leave nor cease meditating.

Some devotees who marvel at this enormous Buddha will reverently approach the huge hand and pray while touching their head to its fingers for a spiritually harmonious experience, or rub glistening gold-leaf onto the hand's surface to beautify it.

Sukhothai kingdom and Si Satchanalai

Sukhothai was reportedly founded in 1238 to block rival Khmers who were expanding their power toward the region from the southeast after establishing their ancient capital -- symbolized by Angkor Wat -- now in today's Cambodia.

Si Satchanalai was also built in the 13th century as a satellite city for Sukhothai, to strengthen its support.

Edged by the Yom River, Si Satchanalai's 18 square miles (47 square kilometers) are less elaborate than Sukhothai, but visitors often prefer its sites because the setting is more rustic and less manicured.

Bell-shaped stupas, in Sri Lankan style, dot the forest including the large elevated one in Si Satchanalai's main Wat Chang Lom, ringed by dozens of brick-and-stucco animals.

That wat's external stone staircase allows the public to symbolically climb from earth to heaven and enjoy a tree-high view.

In front of Wat Chang Lom you'll see a tall cluster of rectangular stupas, topped with pillars that also form stone lotus buds, creating Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo's enchanting maze of shrines and huge trees.

Thais now glorify Sukhothai's era as a paradisiacal age of pure Buddhist values and morals of altruism, humility, nobility and self-sufficiency.

Sukhothai's third king, Ramkhamhaeng (also known as Phaya Ruang) helped create a writing system that eventually evolved into modern Thai.

He also helped codify Theravada Buddhism into a Thai style after the belief spread south from its origins in northern India into Sri Lanka's ethnic Sinhalese community, and then here to Southeast Asia.

His Sukhothai kingdom swelled into an impressive territory including the southern town of Nakhon Si Thammarat near present-day Malaysia, north to the Mekong River's upper valley, and east to Myanmar's Bago, near Yangon.

In the late 13th century, King Ramkhamhaeng allied with his northern neighbors, enabling them build Chiang Mai and establish their own Lan Na Thai kingdom.

In 1376, however, Sukhothai was absorbed by a stronger Ayuthaya kingdom that rose nearby to the south, and the halcyon days of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai began to fade.

Sukhothai Historical Park, Muangkao, Amphur Muang, Sukhothai 64210 Thailand;

Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Sukhothai Thailand;

Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai Thailand;

Wat Chang Lom, Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Sukhothai Thailand;