Buddha Park Vientiane (Sala Xieng Khuan)

Buddha Park Vientiane or Sala Xieng Khuan as it is commonly known by the local people, is located about 25km south of Vientiane.

This park is about ten acres in size situated on the bank of Mekong River and filled with Buddha statues.

The park was built by Luang Pu Bunleua Soulilat, who was a priest and devoted his life to Buddhism and Hinduism. In the late 70's, he moved to Thailand and built another Buddha Park in Nong Khai known as Sala Keoku. Can you notice the word "Sala" as a prefix of two different places he built:

• Sala Xieng Khoan (in Laos)
  
• Sala Keoku (in Thailand)
  

The word "Sala" both in Lao and Thai means the place where you can meditate or recover. So what was the purpose of this place? Simple. According to Buddhism and Hinduism, we human beings are brought in to this world to serve our life term sentence here. The world is our prison; although there are no walls, no locks, and no guards, you can not escape. You will suffer in this world depending on how greedy you are? The more you need, the more you want, the more you will suffer.

Therefore he built these two "Sala" to teach and remind people about why they are faced with endless suffering. If they really want to attain happiness and peace of mind, they must relinquish greed and reflect on the reality of life.

That is why in the Buddha Park Vientiane you will come across some bizarre statues of humans, gods, animals, demons and an enormous sculpture of Buddha lying peacefully. These statues are made from cement and are designed in such a way to reflect Buddhism and Hinduism. Apart from these statues, there is a sculpture resembling a giant pumpkin. It has three stories representing three levels known as:

• Hell
  
• Earth
  
• Heaven
  

You can enter through the opening mouth of a demon head and climb up the staircases from hell to heaven, to see the real scenario of life in each story. This is a site you must see if you wish to learn more about Buddhism and Hinduism.

Getting There

From Talat Sao bus station:
Fare: US$0.50
Departure: Every 20 minutes all day
Alternatively a round trip by Tuk-Tuk hire is about US$10.00 or can be

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