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The 151-ft (46-m) long, 50-ft (15-m) high Reclining Buddha, made of brick, plaster, and gold leaf, fills the wihan (assembly hall) in the northwest corner of the temple compound. Visitors are guided first past the face, with its serene expression, and then to the feet, which are studded with mother-of-pearl inlay.

The soles of the feet of the Reclining Buddha are inlaid with 108 lakshana, or auspicious images that identify the true Buddha. Crafted in shimmering mother-of-pearl, these images are a dazzling work of art.

Wat Pho is known as a center for traditional medicine and since the 1960s has run what is considered the best massage school in Thailand. Highly trained masseurs are on hand to relieve visitors of their aches and pains. The school also offers 10- or 15-day massage courses, which are taught in both Thai and English.

Located in the heart of the complex, the Medicine Pavilion has stone tablets indicating the pressure points on the body that should be used during traditional Thai massage.

This ordination hall is Wat Pho’s largest building, and contains a large bronze image of a meditating Buddha, in the base of which are the ashes of Rama I.

Scattered around the complex are several man-made mounds on which are statues of hermits in unusual postures. These are intended to teach people the healing positions for the body.

Away from the wihan housing the Reclining Buddha, visitors might encounter monks who work at the temple. They live in guti (small, simple rooms) in a compound to the south of the temple.

In Wat Pho, as in many Thai temples, there is a school for children. At playtime, the temple compound echoes with their excited screams. Some may even try a few words of English on visitors.

There are about 100 chedi in the grounds of Wat Pho, but the four most important, situated in the western courtyard, are the Great Chedi, which honor the first four kings of the Chakri dynasty (see 1782: Bangkok Founded ). The chedi are decorated with porcelain mosaic.

Adding a whimsical touch to this temple of learning are huge stone caricatures of Westerners, farang in Thai, wearing top hats. These guards stand beside the gateways to the inner courtyard of the temple. The statues arrived as ballast on trade ships returning from China.