Ibrahim Jabbari
A half century ago the land where Wat Phra Dhammakaya sits was nothing more than a rice field, according to the Dhammakaya Foundation, the organization headquartered there. But today it’s home to one of the largest temple complexes in the country. Established in 1970, the sprawling property sits just outside of Bangkok and serves as a regular pilgrimage point for Buddhists seeking enlightenment and to practice meditation. The pinnacle of the temple is the Dhammakaya Cetiya, a massive domed structure that looks eerily similar to a spaceship. Measuring 105 feet in height and 354 feet in diameter, the cetiya “contains a sacred image of the Buddha in solid gold” along with one million images of the Buddha throughout the space, according to the book New Buddhist Movements in Thailand.
