Howling At The Moon - I Mean BELL

To my way of thinking, the biggest problem with most any organized religion is the organization itself. Anything that gives an individual comfort and peace of mind is fine with me, but when a group begins proselytizing, I cringe... sometimes noticeably.

Therefore, I gave the Catholic church in Chanthaburi a wide berth, to the surprise of my Thai friend. We were on our way for a wander through the old part of the town and walked near the place on our way. Even knowing I'm not a participant in any Christian religion he thought I'd want to see the stained glass windows that he said were very nice. I may have missed out on an opportunity, but I passed on the offer.

We spoke briefly about it, sharing our views on one religion coming in and trying to take over an area where they didn't really need to be, and were agreeing on most points as the bell began to ring in the bell tower, announcing the mid-day services or whatever. I was just saying "Well, I don't care for it," when a dog along the way looked up at the church and started to howl.

"Maybe he's Buddhist," my friend offered, and we laughed.

Making Merit: Morning Monks

Husband and wife making morning merit at a canal in Amphawa

For well over 2,500 years Buddhist monks have made their morning rounds, just as Buddha himself did. Collecting alms is how the monks survive. The tradition is strictly outlined: they're not permitted to ask for donations of any kind, so if nobody gives them food they simply don't eat that day. Fortunately there are enough of us who don't live as good a life as we'd like to so there are usually plenty there trying to clear their slate (or conscience) by providing for them.

In villages, towns and cities throughout Thailand you'll see them on foot (if you're up early enough) but in Amphawa and places with active waterways you'll also see them in their canoes, paddling their way from spot to spot, pulling in to shore when they see someone along the way waiting to make an offering.

Early - and I mean early - one morning my friend knocked on my cabin door to wake me up, reminding me that I'd wanted to make merit at the side of a nearby canal.  "The monks tend to come through early," he said, so up I got, and with nothing more than coffee to hold body and soul together we rode off to two different spots: one the main night market canal and another far more minor local waterway.

While there were shops with bundled items for sale - like the in the photo below - many folks make donations of flowers, fruit, vegetables, home-prepared dishes and, of course, small amounts of money.

Women are not permitted to touch a monk (if they do the monk must undergo a "cleansing" ceremony) so any offerings from females are put into a container that serves as the go-between during the exchange, as in the top photo.

It's a nice way to spend the early morning, and I don't ever get tired of it.  So much nicer than being held captive in a church and having a plate come by, don't you agree?

Along the "night market" canal

I've done this in many parts of the country, so we'll revisit this again - but with the flooding situation there now I've wondered how their morning rounds have been effected.  News photos have shown the monks shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, working around the clock to save one area or another - as you'd expect.  It's certainly a mess there now.

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Part 2

There were no plans for a second post about Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat after part one the day before yesterday, but I knew at the time I'd prepared too many pictures for a single post. Oftentimes the posts take a direction I don't consciously choose myself, and that one ended up being more about history and visitors making merit. Anyway, to keep the pictures somewhat together here are a few more from that visit.

In the top photo today you can see a little more of the extensive grounds around the temple that holds the large bronze Buddha statue, next to the the tall chedi. Below is a view of the entrance to the main temple. The ranad eek (xylophone) player was sitting just to the left of the entrance, behind the large white urn the young man is walking in front of. I didn't plan that (naturally) but it's a good point of reference for perspective, I suppose.

The row of seated Buddha images was in another part of the temple grounds, and although I've used a nearly identical image for the post about Visakha Puja day I'm adding a very similar one again today, since this is where it was taken (and I like the picture).

This temple was one of the earlier places where I'd seen the pig heads offered; the skin removed from the skull and splayed out flat, adorned with joss/incense sticks. They almost appear to be smiling, although we all know they'd probably have been happier to be still roaming around on the hoof. There were a couple of dozen offered on tables at this temple.

Lastly today here's another view of the Buddha statue itself, from a slightly different angle. I think it was the black walls and the massive amounts of gold adornment and painted detail that made this particular temple stand out in my memory as it has. For me, it was just breath-taking.

Visiting Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat

About halfway to Chiang Mai from Bangkok in the city of Phitsanulok stands the beautiful wat (temple) Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, home to a large 14th-century bronze Buddha statue known as the Phra Buddha Chinnarat that's the second most revered statue in the country - second only to the Emerald Buddha, housed within the Grand Palace.

Throughout the year people travel enormous distances to pay their respects at this particular temple because of the miraculous powers the statue is reputed to have. They hold a week-long festival in its honor during the time of the sixth day of the waxing moon of the third month in the Thai lunar calendar. How's that for a mouthful? As we go along you'll undoubtedly notice there are a number of holidays and events important to the Thai that are based on points on the lunar calendar; you may remember another we covered recently: Loy Krathong.

The miracle granted the most significance happened back in the 15th century, when the image is said to have wept tears of blood when princes from Ayutthaya finally succeeded in running the troops from Sukhothai, but as we haven't even scratched the surface of Thai history I'm going to let you look that one up yourselves for now.

I have no guesses as to how many tens of thousands of visits are made to this particular temple in any given year, but people were moving through at a pretty steady clip the day I was there. After stopping to buy the usual offerings of candles, joss sticks and flowers they entered the temple to quietly pay their respects, as did I.

In the photo below you can see a small square of paper between the joss sticks. The folded paper holds the gold leaf, also used while making merit. There's another story about them from July you might be interested in: Putting Gold On The Back Of The Buddha.

On my way towards the temple I stopped near a group of students who were listening to the monk (above right) speaking. Some just listened, some were taking notes, all were paying close attention to what he said.

A man was playing music on a ranad eek (xylophone) outside the entrance to the temple, a soft melody that set the tone for my visit inside. Shaded from the sun it was cooler inside the temple, and I paused to kneel before the meticulously polished image towering in front of me to make my offering before wandering around the inside, admiring - as usual - the fine craftsmanship and detail.

If you're ever in the area - perhaps driving to another destination further North - I highly recommend stopping in and spending some time here.

"Putting Gold On The Back Of The Buddha"

Along with flowers, incense and candles you'll invariably see gold leaf sold at temples and sacred shrines of all sorts throughout Thailand. Pounded by hand into extremely thin sheets, it's then cut into small squares about 1/2 inch square and placed inside a folded piece of paper - such as the ones below.

Faithful visitors can then make a donation, receive a packet or two and place the piece of leaf onto a sacred image of one type or another as a way of making merit, or making a wish. That's a gross over-simplification, but it gives you a point of reference for the story behind today's post title.

It's a safe bet you know someone who makes sure everyone around them knows about it whenever they do a good deed, as though publicizing it will gain them further "good karma" points. It's an equally safe bet that you know someone who does their best to avoid the limelight when making a donation, helping someone in need or being of service, too. These are both universal traits, although I personally believe one is more worthy of striving for than the other!

Many phrases and sayings are also universal, regardless of language and culture, such as the one here today: putting gold on the back of the Buddha, which in Thai would be transliterated somewhat like bpit torng lang pra - meaning doing good deeds without seeking attention.

What does all of this have to do with gold leaf? When making merit quite a number of Thai will purposely apply the small gold square on the reverse side of the object. In the case of a larger statue, such as the one at Wat Bangkung (in the top photo ) there are stairs that allow worshipers to not only climb up to the sides of the Buddha image, but there's a narrow aisle that goes behind the statue and back down the other side.

As a testament to the goodness of Thai human nature I witnessed a sizable section on the back that was covered with squares of gold leaf. It made a meaningful experience even more meaningful.

Visakha Puja Day

Visakha Puja is the day most Buddhists recognize as the day the Buddha was born, reached enlightenment and rose to Nirvana. The Day of Vesak, or Visakha Puja, falls on the full moon of the sixth lunar month, falling this year (2553/2010) on May 28th in Thailand.

For my Buddhist friends everywhere who will observe Visakha Puja today: I wish you peace.

Tattoos At Suan Lum: Addendum

This older tattoo photo that was to have been in Monday's original post turned up this morning while I was going through Thailand images. It's a good example of of sak yan, the traditional style of tattoo almost always used as a protective defense against harm of one form or another. Again, we'll cover this art form more fully another time, but it didn't seem too late to include this image today.

Tattoos At Suan Lum Night Market

There is a deep traditional meaning behind some of the tattoos you see in Thailand; something that goes far beyond the faddish mania that's been all too prevalent the past decade or so. Granted, there are still far too many garish or oversize inkings on people that make me wonder if they truly wanted a decorative adornment or if it was more the challenge to see if they could sit still and have nearly a solid square foot of skin disfigured in a way just shy of a third-degree burning.

We'll address the more traditional aspects of tattoos in another post.

Obviously my bias against tattoos may seem front and center here, but understand the disdain is reserved for the “look at me” folks and not those who endure the painful process for spiritual reasons. I give a nod of respect for the traditional protective or respective images I see there – such as the one at the top of this post – but not to those that misuse religious icons or are merely use them as a trendy statement - as that trend could change in a heartbeat, if you know what I mean. A tattoo (or at the very least the residual scarring from an attempted removal) is forever.

Stepping down off of the soap box, here (below) are a couple of images taken on an evening walk that took me though the Suan Lum Night Market. After standing and watching from the walkway I’d asked if I could take a photo of the work in progress I was invited into the stall to crowd around for a better vantage point. The young man doing the work was himself lushly colored but from the image being put onto the back of his customer I’d guess he didn’t do much of his own work. His customer was all smiles, though, and I put on a supportive smile (that I hope fooled him) before moving along the aisle.

Makha Bucha in Pattaya, 2553/2010

I happened to arrive in Pattaya on the 28th of February this year and again had the opportunity to observe and participate in a large-scale religious event: Makha Bucha Day. It’s celebrated in Thailand on the full moon of the third lunar month, usually near the end of February, some years the beginning of March.

Makha is the name of the third lunar month in Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism (practiced by about 95% of all Thai people, as I understand it) and Bucha means "to show feelings of respect and reverence." On this day many Thai gather in the evening at local temples to join in the traditional practice of Wian Tian (meaning to circle with candles) to show respect for the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

In most of the rest of Asia it’s known as Sangha Day, a day when – as the story goes – 1,250 monks from many different locations and with no previous planning or organizing all happened to come pay homage to the Buddha, and the same day he predicted 45 years later he would rise to Nirvana.

Worshippers practice Wian Tian by walking three times clockwise around the temple, carrying incense, candles and flowers that they’ll offer to the Buddha afterwards to make merit.

Being a religious holiday alcohol is not allowed to be served in restaurants or clubs throughout the kingdom (although some still do, bringing it to customers in a coffee cup or other disguise) and many of the clubs don’t bother opening on such evenings, bowing to either respect, logic or both. The streets look very different without the usual blast of neon and flashing lights, but it was nice to see them somewhat more subdued for a change, too.




I’d had a later-than-usual dinner after a sunset walk along the beach so arrived later than I’d hoped for the celebration at Wat Chaimongkron, a half block East on South Pattaya Road off of Second Road. From the intersection I could hear voices from the loudspeakers inside the grounds, and as I approached the front gates the crowd slowed as it grew thicker and thicker. With my wallet moved to my front pocket for safety’s sake I took out my camera and allowed myself to be drawn into the human vortex and through the gates of the wat grounds.

Once inside, the knot unraveled itself somewhat and the crowd spread out. Being one of only a few farang there that evening I was one of the tallest in the crowd and could see over the heads of most of them, so although there was quite a turnout I had a good view. I moved to the side and observed for a while and then waded back into the main river of people, following them towards the inner temple where most were making their donation, picking up candles, incense and flowers and joining the group of worshippers making their three circles around the temple. I pocketed my camera, made my donation, collected my items and made my rounds.

Upon exiting the inner temple area I passed a raised platform where an older monk was giving blessings to all who wished to kneel and receive them. He sprinkled water liberally on those kneeling before him, and then they would rise and move away to allow for others to come forward. It was a beautiful experience, seeing the ebb and flow of worshippers as they moved through.

Nearby, the rest of the celebration was taking place; much of it having to do with food, but naturally most some having symbolism and meaning. There is so much I still have to learn about Thai traditions – cultural, social and religious – so I try to sponge as much of it up as my aging brain will hold when the opportunities arise. On evenings like this it seems I spend a lot of my time just trying to process new information.

A smaller nearby courtyard was encircled with medium sized temple bells, perhaps 20 to 25 inches tall and hanging less than two feet apart. There were somewhere over 100 of them around the courtyard, and people were walking around inside, striking each bell with a wooden stick as they passed by. Some did this methodically, with a reverent tone; some – many of the kids, for example – just seemed to enjoy the noise they created as they went around ringing the bells.

I wandered around until the heat and events of the long day reminded me that it was close to shut-down and sleep time, so I reluctantly headed back out through the front gates onto South Road and did the usual walking and weaving through the crowded sidewalks back to my room. After a cool shower I crawled into bed where I lay quietly for a few minutes before being pulled into slumber, thankful to have had the experience that evening.