The Water Hall

The water hall is an ordination hall surrounded by water. This is another traditional or di na tion hall that exists in Buddhism ideology. The water surrounding the water hall serves as a visible bound ary, marking off the sacred area within which a Buddhist ordination ceremony takes place. Normally, any religious ceremony may be held in the water hall without the ceremony of binding the bound ary marker which is ordinarily held during the ordination ceremony. The tradition of performing religious rites in the water hall must have been originated many centuries ago. According to Shinnakanmalipakhorn, the chronicle of the Lanna Kingdom, a group of monks from Chiang Mai, on the way back from Ceylon, had been ordained on a barge. In the ordination ceremony, the ocean was con sid ered the boundary marker. The tradition was also popularly practiced in Ceylon when the Singhalese monks, who came to Siam in the 13th and 14th century A.D., often ordained in the water hall situated in the middle of the river named Kalayani. In Thailand, only a few water halls remain. The ex traor di nary one at Wat Pradu Song Tham, Ayutthaya Province, is surrounded by stone boundary markers and water re spec tive ly.

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