Wat Sa Bua Kaeo Overview
Wat Sa Bua Kaeo, as per Siam society, the temple was established in 1916 and was given royal support in 1931. Highly noted for its murals and sculptural works, Wat Sa Bua Kaeo is located at Ban Wang Khun and can be easily reached with a car rental in Khon Kaen. All the sculptures were created by Luangpho Phui including the sculptures of men stretching their legs at the front of the temple just before the replicas of guardian lions sitting on both sides of the staircase.
Wat Sa Bua Kaeo Murals
The murals are the main highlight; all the walls- exterior or interior have murals which depict the lifestyle of people, scenes from folklore including depictions of heaven and hell plus history and scenes from life of Buddha. The most interesting thing about these murals is that Luangpho Phui had used Sinthao line to separate the murals from each other; Sinthao line is actually a flash shaped pattern which was used widely during Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin periods. Most of the Murals depict Jataka tales primarily the ‘Phra Lak Phra Lam’ which is actually the re-recitals of Rama epic and is the national epic of Lao people.
Inner walls hold the windows to Buddha’s life from his birth to great Renunciation, vanquishing of Mara to achieving Nirvana. Outer walls give a pictorial peek into the local folktale of Sangkha Sinsai,initially there were not part of the temple and were added later on. Each mural expresses the freedom the artist had had at the time of creation, each brushstroke presents proof to creator’s strong feelings and height of his art. In 1998 Siam society restored the murals and helped reconstruct the roof under its strict supervision; hence even today the temple’s stands in its former glory with design and architecture intact.