Wat Chalong Temple Phuket - Thailand 2022

The most important of the 29 buddhist temples of Phuket is Wat Chalong วัดฉลอง or formally Wat Chaiyathararam วัดไชยธาราราม located in the Chalong Subdistrict, Mueang Phuket District.

It is dedicated to two highly venerable monks, Luang Pho Chaem (หลวงพ่อแช่ม) and Luang Pho Chuang (หลวงพ่อช่วง), who led the citizens of Chalong Subdistrict fighting against the Chinese rebellion in 1876 and with their knowledge of herbal medicine helped the injured.

Many tales and legends surround Wat Chalong. One of the stories evolves around the Chinese Coolie Rebellion of 1876.

The Chinese Coolie Rebellion

One of the pillars of Phuket’s wealth in previous centuries was the tin mining industry. Most of the people employed in the mines were Chinese immigrants.

In 1876, the Chinese Coolie Rebellion (or Angyee Rebellion) broke out across Phuket, during which several people got killed. Local Thai people came to the temple for help and advice. Luang Phor Cham, who was at the time the Abbott of Wat Chalong, assisted the people in the fight against the Angyee, although he could not fight himself, being a monk.

After the rebellion had been put down, King Rama V invited Luang Phor Cham to Bangkok, where he received the title of Phra Kru Wisit Wongsacharn. A statue of Luang Phor Cham can be found in the mondop building.

Wat Chalong has a long history of being associated with healing. Two former abbots of the temple were known for their knowledge of herbal medicine and their work of healing of local people. The viharn contains statues of these two revered monks covered with gold leafs that local people stick there to pay their respect.

Wat Chalong Temple is most revered for the sacred relic that is kept here, a fragment of a bone of the Buddha. The relic that is named Phra Borom Sareerikatat is kept inside a glass case on top of the sixty meters tall Phra Mahathat Chedi. It was brought over from Sri Lanka and was installed in the chedi by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The temple is well worth a visit and a good day would to to incorporate a atop here and the bug Buddha after.

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