Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented in
Khmer and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, khmer, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish and Thai.
Greetings and welcome
to The World Around Us.
Angkor Wat, located in
Siem Reap province
of Cambodia, is one of
the world’s largest
religious monuments.
It has remained so for over
the past almost 900 years
since it was built.
At sunrise, it is an
amazing site to behold.
Today Angkor Wat,
appearing on Cambodia’s
national flag, has become
the proud symbol
of the country, greetings
thousands of visitors
from all over the world
every day.
The temple,
located in the center
of the vast walled city,
Angkor Thom, is nestled
among vast acres of trees
– the lush and beautiful
Cambodian jungle.
Here we are
on the eastern side
of Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat complex
is still daily occupied
by nature, a lot of trees
which last
more than 100 years,
and a lot of wildlife.
There you still even see
monkeys, surrounding
the piles of fruits
in the baskets being sold
by local kids there.
Angkor Wat was
constructed by the Hindu
King Suryavarman II
in the early 12th century
and continued
for four centuries.
The plan of Angkor Wat
includes a design
that was typical
of the Khmer Empire’s
state temples,
the temple mountain.
That is, the temple
resembles Mount Meru,
home of the Hindu gods.
There are five towers,
one on
each of the four corners
plus one in the middle.
They symbolize
Mount Meru’s five peaks.
Intricate carvings
on the sandstone
create a splendid vision.
The temple stands on a
raised terrace higher than
the rest of the city.
There are three
rectangular galleries,
with each one on a level
higher than the previous one.
The stairs leading up
towards the central tower,
the highest point
of the temple,
are also steep and high.
They remind the climber
that the ascent toward
the heavenly realm and
enlightenment is difficult.
Let’s now go to
the highest shrine
of Angkor Wat with
our friendly Cambodian
native tour guide.
We are standing
on the highest shrine
of Angkor Wat, called
Bakan which symbolizes
Hindu mythological
Mount Meru appearing
with five towers,
four at the corners,
one in the actual center.
Here, we are
on the northern side
of the central sanctuary,
which originally
probably sheltered
a statue of the god Vishnu,
with the center for
pilgrimage, that’s why
the opening door
central sanctuary
has been walled
in sandstone with a relief
of a standing Buddha
with one right hand
facing forward,
the manner of peace,
and more Buddha statues
including
the reclining one there,
enshrined in there.
And there, further
you still see original
wooden beams and all there.
If you move to that
right hand side there,
you see
one of the four ponds.
Here the majority was
full of Buddhist statues
being enshrined.
Look at this one, a Buddha
seated on the naga,
seven-headed serpent.
Here we are
on the difference part
of Angkor Wat
it’s duly called Gallery
of a Thousand Buddhas.
When in the 16th century
it was converted
to the Buddhist one,
then a thousand
of Buddha’s statues
have been enshrined here.
Most of them
have been later conserve
and retained in museums,
some have been lost forever.
The Gallery
of a Thousand Buddhas
continues to be a place
for people to come
pay homage to the Buddha.
Theraveda Buddhism
has been the state religion
of Cambodia
since the 13the century.
However, Angkor Wat
was originally
a Hindu temple dedicated
to Lord Vishnu.
Besides Angkor Wat,
there are other
glorious monuments
in Angkor Thom,
the once great capital city
of the Khmer Empire
established by
King Jayavarman VII.
At the center is the king’s
state temple, Bayon.
The Bayon Temple
is located to the north
of Angkor Wat, and
has 51 towers around it.
Built around 1190
by King Jayavarman VII,
Bayon is a Buddhist temple
but has Hindu
cosmological elements.
By being at the center
of the walled city,
it symbolizes the point
where Heaven
meets the Earth.
Built as a square,
the sides of temple
run exactly north-south
and east-west.
The Bayon Temple is
famous for its large stone
faces of the Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara.
All the 51 towers around it
has four faces as well,
benevolently gazing
upon humankind
in the different directions.
Here we are
on the eastern entrance
of Bayon,
the main entrance.
Bayon temple,
with many faces, towers,
was built under the reign
of the Buddhist King
Jayavarman VII.
Dated in late 12
beginning of 13th century,
Angkor Thom,
the great capital city,
was the main one
populated with
about one million people,
compared to the English
in London in the same days –
about 50,000.
And the temple itself,
with 49 towers
of four faces,
domed with lotus openings,
and if you look at
the decoratives
ornamentation,
which built with
the naga balustrades,
lion statues,
which symbolize
the heavenly causeway.
You see the tower
with four faces,
with the symbols of
the faces of Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara,
compassionate god,
and also the symbol
of the king’s faces,
and the king
who gives four virtues:
loving kindness,
equanimity, sympathy,
and compassion,
to the people
in the royal territory
of the four directions;
and domed with
lotus openings,
symbolizes the great
knowledge of Buddha.
Here we are on
the northern side of Bayon,
the temple with four faces.
You look at
the temples there,
where you see how big
and well decorated
(are the) religious
Buddhist temples,
proving that
the King Jayavarman VII,
the ruler
of the Khmer Empire
at that time would be
a very powerful king.
When we return,
we’ll explore some of
the other fascinating sites
in the Angkor area
of Cambodia.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Thank you for joining us
again on today’s
The World Around Us.
We now continue
our visit to some of
the awe-inspiring temples
of Angkor, Cambodia.
Ta Prohm is unlike
most of the other temples
of Angkor, Cambodia.
It has become one
with the living jungle.
The trees, called “spung,”
have embraced
the temple halls
with its roots.
It is the result
of having been untouched
for centuries.
Originally,
Ta Prohm was built
in filial dedication
to the mother
of King Jayavarman VII.
Here we are
in Ta Prohm Temple,
means old Brahma,
original name found
on inscription in Sanskrit
on sides call Rajavihara,
means royal monastery,
founded under the reign
of the Buddhist king
Jayavarman VII in 1186,
five years after
the royal coronation
and dedicated to
the royal mother,
enshrining the statues
in the central sanctuaries
oriented to the east.
Here we are on
one of the famous spots.
There you look at that side,
you see the big tree, spung.
It was the spot where
the famous Hollywood
made a film here.
That’s why
most of the local
and foreign tourists,
they wish to come to see
the jungle temple here, and
always look for this spot.
There are many other
temples at Angkor.
Our tour today ends
with one of them,
the first major temple
built in the Angkor area:
Phnom Bakheng.
Phnom Bakheng is
King Yasovarman I’s
state temple,
a Hindu temple
dedicated to the god Shiva.
It was built
more than two centuries
before Angkor Wat
when the capital
of the Khmer Empire
was moved
from Roluos to Angkor
in the late 9th century.
At the moment,
here we are on the top
of Phnom Bakheng.
Phnom means mountain,
Bakheng is the name
of this one.
A temple on the top
of this mountain
was built more than
a thousand years ago,
dated in 889 to 910 AD
under the reign
of the Hindu King
Yasovarman I
who built this temple
as the center
of the royal capital city
called Yasodharapura.
Yasod is the name
of the king, harapura
means capital city,
first monument
in Angkor here.
The king built the temple
on top there
on the natural mountain,
basic foundation
in natural mountain,
laterite, meaning lava stone,
and the sandstone on top.
Other temples use
laterite and earthfill
for their construction.
However, the foundation
is carved from
the existing natural rocks.
The temple itself was built
in the center
of the royal capital city
which occupy the land area
of 16 square kilometers.
This Hindu temple
(has a) very
different architecture
comparatively to
the neighboring
Angkor Wat there, and
to the great capital city
Bayon temple there,
and much older
than those as well.
By the late 16th century,
this Hindu temple, and
center of the capital city,
had been later converted
into the Buddhist temple.
Lately, this temple
has been really familiar to
local and foreign tourists
to come and see
the surrounding views:
Angkor Wat
appearing in the jungle
on the southeast corner
of this temple, including
the artificial lake,
West Baray,
808 kilometers
by 2.2 kilometers
on the western side
directly from this monument
as well, with an island
temple in the center.
And this temple
is really famous
for viewing the sunset.
That’s why here we are
to see these surroundings
and also the famous spot
for viewing the sunset
as well, with thousands of
local and foreign tourists
holding cameras
to take pictures
of beautiful sights
in the surrounding.
Like Angkor Wat,
Phnom Bakheng is
a temple mountain,
resembling Mount Meru,
home of the Hindu gods,
and its multiple peaks.
Phnom Bakheng has
other elements of
Hindu cosmology as well.
For example,
it has seven levels:
the ground, five tiers,
and the upper terrace.
These represent
the seven heavens
of Hindu mythology.
Originally, there were
108 small towers all
arrayed about the temple
at ground level,
although most of them
no longer stand.
These represented
parts of Mount Meru,
while 108 is
a cosmologically
significant number in
Hinduism and Buddhism.
The small towers were
placed so symmetrically
that when viewing
the temple from
the center of any side,
only 33 towers can be seen.
Thirty-three is also
the number of gods
who lived on Mount Meru.
By the late 16th century,
Phnom Bakheng became
a Buddhist temple.
King Jayavarman VII
once said that
his construction of temples
sprang from an intention
that was
“full of deep sympathy
for the good of the world,
so as to bestow on men
the ambrosia of remedies
to win them immortality….
By virtue of these
good works would that
I might rescue all those
who are struggling in
the ocean of existence.”
Indeed,
devout Cambodians
as well as respectful
international tourists
come to these temples
to reflect on the stories
of the Angkor temples.
In their grand design
full of ancient
cosmological symbols,
we can ponder the place
and purpose of humanity
in the universe.
And in their ornate
sculptures and statues,
we think of the beings of
Heaven, of the Buddha.
May the unique temples
of Angkor in Cambodia
be honored for
many more centuries
to come.
It was a pleasure having
your company today on
The World Around Us.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television for
Words of Wisdom,
up next after
Noteworthy News.
May Heaven bless you
and your loved ones
with inner peace.