As one must do when coming to Thailand, we set out to explore the many Buddhist temples in and around Chiang Mai. The country is 90% Buddhist, so there are temples everywhere. Even driving through country towns in the middle of nowhere, a richly decorated temples emerges amidst the wooden structures and rice paddies.
Temples that stood out were Doi Suthep, the hill-top temple with beautiful views of the city, and Wat U Mong, aka “Forest Temple,” consisting of underground tunnels that lead to a Buddha and surrounding monastery buildings. The temples range from old stone structures from the 13th century, to teak Lanna-style buildings with mother-of-pearl inlays, and colorful temples made from gold-leaf and tile mosaics.
To me, the most interesting thing about the temples has always been the various ways in which people pray and give offerings as well as the many Buddhas set to receive these offerings. From what I can understand, there is a different Buddha figure for every day of the week. These figures consist of a Buddha sitting cross-legged, a Buddha standing making a peace sign (or om sign with his fingers), a Buddha with one hand out (as if he’s saying “talk to the hand!”) to encourage peace, the fat Buddha, etc. This website explains them very well and shows you the pictures: http://www.buddha-images.com/seven-days.asp.
In addition to the number of different Buddhas, people pray by kneeling or sitting with their feet facing away (it’s disrespectful to point your feet at a figure of importance) and bowing three times, by offering lotus flowers, by walking around in a circle reciting a prayer, by giving items for blessing by monks, and so forth. Taxi and tuk-tuk drivers roam the city with mini-shrines on their dashboards, and most households contain a home-made shrine. Most important is that the Buddha’s head is always above that of people, so we were told by a local that people who bring Buddhas back home for decoration are actually going against Buddhism by putting the Buddha so low. Oops - silly westerners!
In the midst of all this Buddhism, you have to imagine what the world would be like if everyone was Buddhist. If everyone practiced mindfulness and strove to be kind to each other on a daily basis, there would be far less war and suffering and greater acceptance for the inherent differences among our many races and cultures. Hmm…maybe someday!
Politics:
Another day, my mother, Maureen and I ventured out into the highlands to visit the highest peak in Thailand (which was rather disappointing as it was pure jungle - no magnificent views!), two crashing waterfalls, one of the Karen hill tribe villages, and the chedis (essentially temples) built in commemoration of the much-loved king and queen’s 60th birthdays. The highlight was certainly the hill-top chedis. The king’s was built in brown and gold and bedecked with wall carvings that told the story of Buddha. Inside were more stone carvings with a black mosaic ceiling adorned with falling gold leafs. When anyone spoke, an echo resounded around the room reverberating for seconds. Once everyone else left, my mom and I experimented with a round of “oms.” The queen’s chedi was decorated in purple everything because this is her favorite color. On the inside, the round ceiling displayed a colorful mosaic story of Buddha’s life, the best one showing Buddha being born looking like a small 40-year-old man who can walk and talk…interesting.
Throughout my time in Thailand, it’s been clear that the king, Rama IX and queen and truly loved by their people. Everywhere you go there are bill-board sized pictures of the royal couple, particularly the King from all stages of his life! One of the Thai bills has a picture of the king with a camera and maps to show how he would often walk among the people getting to know them and listening to them. Unfortunately for the country, the king has three daughters and one son. The son, who is now 60, is apparently a play-boy. He’s had three wives (that are known) and multiple children but only one “official” son, who is seven. The poor king is 84 and not doing very well and the country is in uproar at the prospect of his delinquent son taking the throne. For the first time ever, the people are lobbying for his eldest daughter to take the throne, but this would defy Thai law and tradition, so it’s unlikely. One of our guides said that he doesn’t “know what will happen to Thailand when Rama IX dies. Right now everything is good, but in the future it may not be.” I guess only time will tell…
Perk of being the king of Thailand? Any white elephants that are born must be offered to the king. They are taken to Bangkok and apparently live in a nice area (not sure where in the city) and eat a lot! The king also loves Thai massage and has his own personal therapists. I’m sure there’s more perks as well judging by his beautiful campus of a palace and grounds.
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| The king and queen of Thailand |
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