We built a Thai Buddhist temple in an Edinburgh family home

When plans for a huge Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Edinburgh had to be shelved, monks based in that which was once a family home within the city decided to transform it instead.

A renovation project in the Dhammapadipa Temple in Slateford saw the double garage changed into a prayer room complete with an eighty stone (500kg) gold-plated Buddha from Thailand.

Now the three resident Theravada Buddhist monks are urging individuals to visit the temple to find the transformation.

Members from the Thai community that will settled in Scotland first established The Dhammapadipa Temple within 2005.

Thai billionaire and former Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha had been at the rear of a plan to relocate the temple to some bigger site within an A-listed property within another area of the city.

However , after his tragic death in a heli-copter crash at the soccer club’s stadium in 2018 things changed.

Kachen Gerdphol, chief of temple, told BBC Scotland Mister Srivaddhanaprabha had been known for his great generosity to his Buddhist faith.

“He had found a big A-listed property in the south-east of Edinburgh and asked us ahead and have a look to find out if we liked this, ” he mentioned.

“It was an extremely grand building also it was very expensive. ”

The community decided that will instead of moving to a different site it would enhance the temple’s current bottom in an ordinary provincial home.

“We really need to live inside our means and if we had been left preserving an A-listed building it would have left all of us very vulnerable, ” added Kachen Gerdphol.

“We love our own temple in Slateford as it is easy to access for the monks and local community. ”

Head monk Phramaha Prasert Prommala informed BBC Scotland they were very proud of the results of the £50, 1000 renovation, which they completed earlier this year.

Inside, the kitchen gives away that it was every family home, as do the bedrooms until a closer look shows there are no beds.

“Monks don’t sleep on beds, all of us sleep on the floor, ” said Phramaha Prasert.

“We also don’t watch television plus any smart cell phones you see or technical equipment is used purely for giving talks. ”

Downstairs, the space where a dual garage used to be is now a huge prayer area.

The garage doors have been replaced with large soundproof windows.

The centrepiece on an altar is the 500kg gold-plated Buddha, which was shipped from Thailand and lifted into place using an historic Egyptian-style lever plus pole system.

Phramaha Prasert said: “This was a massive logistical exercise. Knocking the wall down between your double garage had been meant to take fifty percent a day for a couple of guys but it ended up taking a team of six three-and-a-half weeks.

“There were steel pubs through poured cement and the construction employees asked if it got previously been the bank vault or even a military room meant for explosives.

“We said no, it was just a family home when we bought. ”

Running along the edge, where the ceiling fulfills the walls is certainly block cornicing, which Phramaha Prasert mentioned was so that the brow remained “sympathetic in order to its Edinburgh location”.

But there is also traditional temple decor within that was shipped from Thailand, such as a hand-carved door from Lampang.

It was cut into eight pieces so it could be transported easier before being trapped back together by Edinburgh joiners.

Phramaha Prasert said: “Everyone is very generous within Thailand so this Buddha was donated to us.

“There had been some nervous times levering the Juggernaut into the prayer area while trying to not damage the ceiling. ”

An extension has also been added to create a second smaller plea room with a £20, 000 Buddha that was donated after being used in a Thai backyard at the Chelsea Floral Show.

The site had been authorised to operate as a temple by the Thai Sangha Council, which is headed up with the Supreme Patriarch (head figure of Buddhism in Thailand).

It had been also blessed inside a “new dawn” ceremony to complete its change for better into a temple.

The city council approved an application for a change of use in order for the building to become recognised as a “place of worship”.

Mind monk Phramaha Prasert Prommala said: “We have an open doorway policy to all, irrespective of religious beliefs or even age, and we want to invite anyone curious to come now and visit us. ”