Thais prefer visitors to temples to cover their bodies as a sign of respect for their religion. Religious objects like Buddha images and chedi should not be climbed upon or touched. When Thais sit on floors, they do not point their feet in a direction worthy of respect, such as a Buddha image, monk, or a teacher. They consider the head as "high" and the feet as "low".
Chiang Mai Temples are the cultural and historical heart of the city. The most famous have been places of pilgrimage for northern people for centuries. As traditional centers of merit making, they are the best places to see Buddhist ceremonies. Funded by noble and wealthy benefactors over a long period, they have also become the repositories of some of the finest examples of religious art. If you had but half a day in the city, then it is to one or two of these temples that you should go.
Thai temples have long served as the center of the community. While this traditional role has diminished as young people have had less time for religious observances, the temples still lie at the heart of the ritual and social life of much of society.
Though earlier temples were the most durable constructions of the day, the wooden roofs and older earth filled walls have not survived the destructive forces of nature and man. Therefore most of the temple buildings seen today do not go back much before the 19th century.
Only the stupas (which shall be referred to as chedi) and some walls and sculptured images which were built of laterite or brick covered with stucco have survived for longer periods.
Lanna Temples originally were built round the chedi (stupas), which contain valuable relics of pious kings and monks. Like solid rocks in a sea of change, the old chedis mark the sites of former temples and are almost the only temple structures that go back to the 13th-15th centuries.
Perhaps their continued existence in some unlikely places in the city is no accident. In Brahmanic-Buddhist cosmology, the chedi "stabilizes the earth", fixing a point where heaven and earth meet. They may be likened to the rising sun at dawn, both separating and joining the earth and sky after the darkness of night. Symbolizing the dhamma, they chase away the darkness of ignorance and chaos.
Though many chedi in Chiang Mai have been damaged by thieves who sought the precious relics contained inside, citizens have repaired and protected them. They are worshipped as sacred symbols representing the cosmic body of the Buddha and the law of the dhamma. Their shape differs, however, due to the particular symbolism of the dhamma chosen by the builders.
Chedis in Chiang Mai have two basic forms; the stepped or prasat style, and the bell style. However, from these basic forms many variations in size and shape have appeared, reflecting the wealth of the city over the centuries.
See also: [The Emerald and Jade Buddhas]