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Religions of Thailand
Over ninety percent of Thais practice Theravada
Buddhism, one of the two main schools of Buddhism in Asia. The other ten percent
are Mahayana Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians.
While regular Buddhist merit-making insures a Thai for the next life, there are
certain Hindu gods and animist spirits that most Thais also cultivate for help
with more immediate problems, such as passing an exam, becoming pregnant or
winning the lottery.
Even the Buddhist King Bhumibol employs Brahmin
priests to officiate at certain royal ceremonies, and, like his royal
predecessors of the Chakri dynasty, he also associates himself with the Hindu
god Vishnu by assuming the title Rama IX - Rama, hero of the Hindu epic the
Ramayana, having been Vishnu's seventh manifestation.
Whereas Hindu deities tend to be benevolent, animist spirits (or phi) are not
nearly as reliable and need to be mollified more frequently. So that these phi
don't pester human inhabitants, each building has a special spirit house in its
vicinity, as a dwelling for spirits ousted by the building's construction.
Usually raised on a short column and designed to
look like a temple or a traditional Thai house, these spirit houses are
generally about the size of a dolls' house, but their ornamentation is supposed
to reflect the status of the humans' building - thus if that building is
enlarged or refurbished, then the spirit house should be improved accordingly.
Buddhism
The Thais are a deeply religious people. For the Buddhist majority it
underlies all activities and is the backbone of the Thai culture - a culture
that has survived intact and independent for so long largely because of the
principles of the Buddhist faith.
Ninety percent of the population are Theravada Buddhists. The Theravada school
of Buddhism is based more purely on the teachings of Gotama Siddartha (Buddha)
without the refinements added on by later monks. Buddhist believe that existence
is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, so the elimination of desire leads
to a state of perfect non suffering and non existence called nibbana (nirvana).
It is non individualistic philosophy which preaches that the suppression and
eventual extinction of the ego are the only way to be content. Almost all Thais
believe in reincarnation., hopefully to a higher form of life, leading
ultimately to the achievement of nibbana. To this end they “make merit” by doing
good deeds. Ways to make merit include giving money to beggars, releasing caged
birds and giving food to monks who do their early morning “alms round”, most
males will do a spell (although generally only a few weeks) as novices in a
temple. This brings merit to the family, and is expected of all boys once they
reach the age of eighteen. Within the temple, they will be trained in Buddhist
history and philosophy, the paths to enlightenment and the principles of
meditation.
There are two sects of Buddhist monks in Thailand, the orange robed Mahanikai
and the stricter, more academic red-brown robed Thammayut who can eat only one
meal a day (before noon), provided for them by those who wish to make merit.
They cannot touch money.
The services of monks are requested for every occasion. New houses or cars
should be blessed to bring good luck nine monks are required for a marriage, and
three days of chanting ‘mantras’ by a group of monks is normal at a funeral.
Underlying Buddhism in Northern Thailand is Animism - a belief that all things,
such as trees, stones and rivers, have living souls, “Spirit houses” outside all
building in Thailand are made attractive to any possibly harmful spirit so that
it will not “haunt” the humans living nearby. Buddhism has managed to mould
itself onto Animism in Thailand, producing a blend of moral philosophy and
superstition.
Christianity, introduced recently by missionaries, has gained many converts in
the hill tribes. Up to 50% of Karen claim to be Christians. Their legends are
very similar to Christianity, and since the Karen may have originate in the
Middle East, it is possible that the two religions were once connected. Most
hill tribe people, though, are Animist, with some converts to Buddhism and
Christianity. Many Yao people, who originated in Southern China, are Taoist,
practicing a primitive form of Taoism which was known in China 600 years ago.
There is no such thing as a good Buddhist or a bad Buddhist, viewed in the same
context as someone being considered a good or bad Christian. Buddhism, is more
of a personal philosophy than a group religion. An individual following the
‘middle path’, the long road to enlightenment encounters and overcomes the
obstacles at his own pace. How good a Buddhist he is, or how far along the path
he has traveled, is unimportant to anyone other than himself.
Where Christian religions preach that one must have ‘blind faith’ in the aspects
of the doctrine that you may have trouble accepting, Buddhism teaches that you
should ‘question everything’ until you find an answer that satisfies you.
Buddhism not only teaches tolerance, it practices it. It does not claim that
other religions are false, it encourages you to make your own judgments. There
is no hard sell, and no requirement for monks to ‘save’ a quota of souls.
The live of Lord Buddha
In tracing the long life of Siddartha Gotama from birth to enlightenment, and
then from Buddha hood to death, one must rely on sources that conjoin fact with
fable, legend with history, the myth with the man.
For primary source one turns to the Buddha’s own words as recorded in his
discourses, to the word of his disciples, and to the Buddhist scriptures.
Secondary sources were written several hundred years after the Buddha’s death,
and often reflect the particular religious convictions of the writer.
To people who, as in the case of Hindus, believed in gods and goddesses, to the
animists who believed in spirits, to the Buddhists who believed in celestial
beings and the several abodes of heaven and hell, it was only natural to impute
to the Buddha supernatural and god-like qualities. He could perform miracles,
communicate with the gods, transport himself to heaven, and so on.
And yet there are facts: His birth, his renunciation, his studies with gurus,
his period of asceticism, his long period of intense meditation leading to
enlightenment, his forty-five years devoted to teaching disciples, his
establishment of the Sangha (the world’s oldest monastic order), his discourses
- these are some of the facts that we know of the Buddha’s life.
These facts speak to the mind, the legends to the heart. Together they form a
glorious story of a man who twenty-five centuries after his death is revered by
millions world wide, not just in Asia, but in ever-increasing numbers in the
western world.
Birth of the Buddha
The birth place of the Buddha - to be was Kapilavastu, now part of Nepal,
located close to its southern-most border. Kapilavastu was home of the Sakyas, a
small Aryan tribe of the Gotama clan, ruled by his father, Suddhodana. His
mother was Maha Maya, splendid, beautiful and steadfast, of the neighboring
tribe of Koliya.
As was the custom of the day, when Maha Maya approached the time for delivery,
she wanted to return to her parental home. On their way to Koliya, Maya and her
courtiers found themselves in Lumpini Grove, where she suddenly went into labor
and gave birth to a son, in what was said to be a painless delivery. She died
seven days later, and her younger sister, Prajapati, also wife to King
Suddhodana, took on the responsibility of bringing up the child.
Soon after the birth, a sage and prophet named Asita came to see the boy, an
declared that he was destined to be either a great king or great spiritual
leader. Suddhodana then named his son Siddartha, meaning “he who has
accomplished all his aims”, and to make sure that he would be a great king and
not a great spiritual leader, he resolved to keep the boy always at home, in
luxurious, palatial surroundings, with amusements and diversions to keep him
happily occupied.
Why the Prince Siddartha left the Palace
At the age of sixteen, just after his demonstration of extraordinary martial
skills, Siddartha married his first cousin Yasodhara. For the next thirteen
years the young prince lived in luxury surrounded by the melodious music of
sensuous female attendants, sumptuous food, and every possible pleasure and
delight that he could wish for.
At the age of twenty-nine Siddartha Gotama ventured out of the palace grounds
for the first time. As he rode forth into an unknown world, his eyes came upon
four sights that were to change the course of his world : The first was a old
man, his hair was gray, his back bent, teeth broken, supporting himself on a
cane and trembling. The second was a sick man, body diseased and infected. The
third sight was the corpse of a dead man, and the fourth, a religious mendicant,
a Brahmin monk who had left the world and adopted a homeless life in order to
seek salvation.
Siddartha enquired of his charioteer, Channa, just what these sights were, and
after he was told the meaning of old age, sickness and death, he knew what he
must do.
Modern historians and scholars view these “four passing sights” as a way to
impute supra mundane happenings to mundane events. The Buddha-to-be may be
presumed to have had a sensitive nature, a probing mind, and extraordinary
intelligence. By the age of twenty-nine he must have witnessed old age, sickness
and death, despite the attempts by his father to insulate him, and he would have
been so distressed by these manifestations of human suffering that he would have
resolved to seek the cause and the cure.
So at the age of twenty-nine Prince Siddartha Gotama left his world of luxury,
foregoing his inheritance and his future ascension to the ruler ship of the
Sakyar, his beautiful wife and child, his concubines and worldly pleasures, and
went forth to seek knowledge and truth.
The Search for Truth
On the night of his departure he went into Yasodhara’s chamber, saw her sleeping
with her hand on his son Rahula’s head, and although he sorely wished to raise
her hand so he might gaze on his beloved son’s visage, he left without doing so,
lest he wake his wife and risk being dissuaded by her from parting.
He then summoned Channa and told him to saddle his favorite horse, stealthily
departing from the palace, the reached the river Anoma, beyond the territory of
the Koliya. Siddartha dismounted, exchanged his princely clothes and ornaments
for the rags of a passer by, and told Channa to return to the palace and inform
his father and wife that he had gone forth into the homeless life.
Siddartha Gotama then cut off his hair and went alone into the forests seeking
those ascetic and teachers who might help him in his search. The first of these
was Alara Kalama, a renowned Brahmin monk who resided at present - day Rajgir,
his teaching were based on the belief in an eternal soul with out which there
could be no salvation. This did not appear to the Buddha-to-be to be the truth,
so he left Alara, and turned to another renowned Brahmin monk, Udraka Ramaputra.
Udaka expounded on the effects of karma and the transmigration of souls, and
although Siddartha believed in the doctrine of Karma - the concept of cause and
effect that transcends individual lifetimes - he questioned the existence of and
eternal soul. Nevertheless, through his studies with Udraka, as well as with
Alar, he absorbed considerable knowledge of Brahmin-Hindu beliefs, some of which
he retained in his own later teaching. He felt that even though they had laughed
at him everything they knew and believed, they had left many of his questions
unanswered-especially his questions about suffering, how it came about and how
it could be eliminated. And so he continued his search elsewhere…..
In the jungles of Uruvela, near present-day Bodhgaya, he came across five
ascetics who were “keeping their senses in check, subduing their passions, and
practising severe penance”. For the next six years, in the company of the five
ascetics, Siddartha applied himself to self-mortification and the most severe
penance. He ate so little that his body wasted away. And when he put his hand on
his abdomen he could feel his spine.
Enlightenment
One day, after he had bathed himself in the river he was so weak that he could
barely rise from the water, he had learned that just as over-indulgence is not
the path to truth, neither is austere asceticism, but rather the path to death
which would have put a permanent end to his striving for enlightenment.
Therefore he determined to begin nourishing his body again, and when he
announced his decision, the five ascetics renounced him and abandoned him.
A local girl named Sujata saw the starving Siddartha and prepared a meal of
special rice-milk and offered it to him in a golden bowl. Revived by Sujata’s
rice-milk, he recalled the meditation he had experienced when he was seven years
old and decided that would now sit and meditate intensely, concentrating
uninterruptedly on the nature of life, the nature of reality, the nature of
self, and especially on the nature of suffering, its cause and its elimination.
He walked to the nearby town of Bodhgaya and sat down under a Bodhi tree.
How long he meditated is not truly known. Some commentaries say seven days, some
as many as forty-nine days. However long his meditation might have lasted he
arose at last as the Buddha, the “Enlightened One”.
So great an event later inspired wonderful legends: The most famous concerns the
re-appearance of Mara, the Evil One, who came to the future Buddha as he sat
under the Bodhi tree, and summoned all his forces to attack him. Storms, hot
rocks, burning coals, sand, mud were all hurled at the Buddha but with no
effect. Then Mara summoned his daughters, Desire, Discontent, and Passion, but
their efforts were in vain.
And then, touching his finger to the ground before him, Gotama asked the earth
to bear witness to his rightful struggle for enlightenment, whereupon the earth
responded with a frightful roar, and the Earth Goddess created a monstrous flood
drowning all of Mara’s demon legions.
As dawn was breaking on the day of the full moon of Visakha (the same day as his
birth and eventual death) Gotama achieved full enlightenment. Later, the Buddha
was to say that at the moment of his enlightenment, there arose in him the
knowledge of his emancipation, the realization that the cycle of rebirth was
ended for him. Ignorance was dispelled, and knowledge arose. Darkness was
dispelled and light arose. And in the same discourse he said enlightenment comes
similarly to anyone who is vigilant, strenuous and resolute in their practice of
the Dharma.
What the Buddha Taught - the Meaning of Enlightenment
Two extremes are to be avoided : the extreme of indulgence in sensuality and
worldly pleasures, and the extremes of austerity, mortification and
self-torture. Austerities produce confusion and sickly thoughts, while
sensuality is enervating and makes man a slave of his passions. One should
follow the Middle Path which keeps aloof from both extremes. One should satisfy
the necessities of life, and keep one’s body in good health and one’s mind
strong in order to comprehend the Four Noble Truths :
The first Noble Truth is the existence of suffering : Birth is suffering,
sickness is suffering, old age is suffering, death is suffering, Sorrow,
dejection and despair are suffering. Contact with unpleasant things, not getting
what one wants are suffering. Suffering must be comprehended, and its cause
given up.
The Second Noble Truth is that the cause of suffering is craving or desire.
Craving for pleasures, wealth, power, even craving for rebirth, create eventual
suffering because of inherent greed and lust.
The Third Noble Truth is that anyone can eliminate the cravings (and thereby,
the suffering) on his own, without the need of Gods and priests to direct our
beings.
The Fourth Noble Truth is the path leading to cessation of suffering. Known as
The Eightfold Path it consists of : Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech,
Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right
Concentration.
Buddha taught these fundamentals of what was to become one of the world’s great
religious philosophies - a way of life towards individual salvation, and a path
that is today followed by countless millions.
Teaching the Truth
The Buddha spent two months at Bodhgaya continuing his meditations, and then set
off to find his old teacher. At the Deer Park of Isipatana, at Sarnath near
Varasi, he came across the five ascetics who had been his former companions. At
first they rebuffed him, but later, perceiving that there was something special
about this man they had known a Siddartha Gotama, they came to be convinced by
the Buddha’s message and became the first five disciples of the Sangha, the
Buddhist monastic order.
For the next fifty years the Buddha traveled the length and breadth of what is
now Northern India, teaching the Dharma to anyone willing to listen, from simple
peasants to royalty including his own family. He also instructed his monks to
“teach” respect for all religions.
The spread of Buddhism for more than twenty-five hundred years has occurred
because many millions of people have recognized in the Buddha’s teachings a
truth intensely and personally meaningful to them, a path to their self
enlightenment.
The Buddha Passes into Nirvana
In his eightieth year the Buddha was stricken by a serious illness, the nature
of which is not known, and declared that he would pass away in three months’
time. This sad news alarmed Ananda, the Buddha’s closest attendant, and he wept.
He asked the Buddha what would happen to the Sangha after his death, whom could
the disciples turn to for instruction and inspiration? The Buddha answered that
the disciples had learned form him everything he was able to teach them and that
now they should “dwell as having refuge in themselves and not elsewhere”.
Ananda then asked what those disciples should do who had been accustomed to pay
reverence to the Buddha when the Rainy Season had ended. The Buddha told him
there were four places to which a faithful disciple might go, places that would
rouse his devotion :LUMPINI GROVE, where the Buddha was born ; BODHGAYA, where
he attained enlightenment ; SARNATH, where he delivered his first discourse on
the Turning of the Wheel of the Doctrine, and KUSINARA (Kashinagar), where he
would soon attain complete nirvana.
On what was to be the last day of his life and still seriously ill, he stayed in
the mango grove of a smith named Cunda, who prepared for him a meal accidentally
contaminated with a bacteria, which made the Buddha dreadfully sick, causing
violent pains. Through the force of mindfulness and meditation the Buddha was
able to control the pains, and continued on to Kusinara with Ananda.
Proceeding to a quiet grove, the Buddha laid down for the last time, his head
pointing to the north, and received devotees from the village. Asking the five
hundred assembled monks if any of them had any doubts, misgivings, or questions
about any matter of the Dharma, all were silent.
With his last breath, the Buddha addressed this final advise to his disciples:
“Decay is inherent in all compound things. Work on your salvation with
diligence”. Then, as the founder of one of the world’s great religions, the
compassionate teacher who showed mankind how to escape suffering, entered
nirvana, lotus blossoms fell from heaven and covered his body.
Excerpts taken from “The Buddha’s Life” by Gerald Roscoe,
edited by Max Holland.
Buddha Images
Thais are a deeply religious people who considered all Buddhist images extremely
sacred-no matter their age or condition. Sacrilegious acts are punishable by
imprisonment-even when committed by foreign visitors. The icons, churches,
temples and sacred places of any religious group should always be respected by
others on their travels. Ignorance is scant excuse.
Buddhist Monks
Buddhist monks must also be treated with respect. Monks cannot touch or be
touched by females, or accept anything form the hand of a woman. Rear seats in
buses are reserved for monks; other passengers should vacate these seats when
necessary. Never stand over a seated monk since they should always remain at the
highest elevations.
Temple dress code
All Buddhist temples in Thailand have very strict dress codes, similar to
Christian churches in the West. Shorts are not acceptable attire in Buddhist
temples-men should wear long pants and a clean short-sleeved shirt. Woman are
best covered in either pants or a long skirt, and shoulders should not be
exposed. Leather sandals are better than shoes since footwear must be constantly
removed. Rubber flip flops are considered proper only in the bathroom, not
religious shrines. Buddhist temples are extremely sacred places; common sense
dictates that you dress appropriately when visiting any place of worship.
Temples
In Thailand, a temple is much more than a place to worship, The wat is the
center of village life, serving as a school, orphanage, theatre, meeting hall,
crematorium, youth club, playground - even sometimes a market, political center
or restaurant. Although one’s behavior must always be correct and polite in a
temple, there is no feeling of remoteness or superiority in a Thai wat it is a
repository for all aspects of the life and spirit, as well as the spirituality
of the community it serves.
Thais love to “make merit” with Buddha by donation religious objects to temples.
These are always accepted, which means that temples are cluttered with religious
bric-a-brac. The richer the populace the more extensive and impressive the
objects donated. Recently, a poor lady won six million baht in the national
lottery. She spent all the money on the building of a new temple, so staying
poor but making enough merit to assure her of a good reincarnation at her death.
Truly a long term investment!.
Although wats are exclusively Buddhist, there are elements of pre-Buddhist,
Hindu beliefs in most temples. Hindu gods such as Shiva may have their statues
included, and Thais combine Buddhism with ancient Animist beliefs so that
temples have become centers of local superstition as well as Buddhism. For many
visitors, wats can become too much. Having seen a few, they merge in the mind’s
eye into an unfathomable riot of strange sculptures and bright colors.
Without some understanding of the design and function of the various parts, the
brain can switch off and “no more temples” is the unfortunate response.
A wat is a complex of several buildings. There is no fixed pattern, but in
general the largest and most central building is the wiharn. This building will
have one or more Buddha statues at the far end (Buddhas should always face
east), before a large open area for the general public. In this area people come
to worship, and to receive instructions from the monks. The chief monk ( or
Abbot ) may have a special low dias of ornamented wood to the left of the altar
area. The walls of the wiharn are usually decorated with murals depicting the
life of Buddha. These vary from exquisite ancient depictions to ugly modern
ones.
To one side of the wiharn there will usually be one or more chedis. These
conical structures of brick, coated with plaster painted white or covered in
brass or gold, are said to resemble piles of rice. When asked at his death how
he should be remembered, Buddha replied “Make piles of rice to remember me by”.
Chedis contain the bones or other relics of religious leaders. The most
prestigious (giving the temple the name of Wat Prathat or Wat Mahathat) contain
relics of Buddha himself. Many Thais, on cremation have their remains interred
into the side of a chedi, identified by a small plaque set into the surface.
The bot is the building where monks are ordained. It may contain the most sacred
Buddha sculpture, but is often closed when not in use, and the building may be
quite small, tucked away in a corner. The area of consecrated ground is marked
by eight black stones around the corners and axes of the bot.
Most temples also contain a library, usually a decorated wooden building raised
on a podium, and a sala where novice monks or orphaned children are educated by
ordained monks. It is customary to have a bothi tree within the temple grounds.
It was under this thick trucked tree with heart shaped leaves that Buddha became
“enlightened”. To one side of the temple grounds, identified by the saffron
robes hanging out of windows, are the monks’ quarters. Monks administer, clean
and look after the wat, as well as teaching and meditating in it.
All temples are covered in small, highly reflective mosaics of colored glass.
Their significance is to drive away evil spirits - if they approach too close
they will see their reflection and be frightened away. There are other
precautions to ward off bad spirits, including the monster figures often
guarding doorways. Many temples are approached by long flights of steps, guarded
at the base by pairs of fearsome serpent heads (nagas) whose long scaly backs
form the walls on either side of the steps.
The naga is a serpent which can change shape at will. One guarded Buddha in the
wilderness by growing seven heads to form an umbrella over Buddha’s head, and
promised to give his body for use by Buddha for all time. Candle holders near
the altar within the wat are normally made in the form of a naga.
Singhas are very popular in Northern Thailand. These are stylized lion statues,
and originate in Burmese folklore. They represent strength and power and are
usually depicted with mouth half open, seated outside temple door, or devouring
a frightened victim. The Kala is a monster that devours itself, representing the
relentless passage of time. It is usually shown without its lower jaw, which it
has already eaten. Originally a Hindu god, it is often seen above windows and
doors.
Kinnari are beautiful women above the waist, but with the wings and legs of a
bird. They are companions to the gods, and are Himalayan and Animist in concept.
Ornate Kinnari are popular in Chiang Mai temples.
The Hongse is a mythical swan-like creature, the mount of the god Brahma. It is
often seen in the Northern Thailand as a decoration for ornamental gates or
standing on a tall pole in front of the wiharn.
All temples contain at least one, and usually many, Buddha images. They can be
made from a wide range of materials, but are commonly brick based and covered in
cement or plaster stucco. Smaller or more venerable statues will be made of
molded bronze, brass or gold. In front of the main image in every temple will be
an arrangement of offerings, including lotus blossoms covered in a tea cozy like
hood of dried flowers, bronze or copper money trees and commonly a host of
lesser Buddha statues, donated by worshippers to make merit.
The physical features of Buddha are largely determined by convention. These vary
over time and from place to place. All Buddha's though, have certain features in
common. There is a lotus bud on the head to symbolize enlightenment, and very
long earlobes which show he was of a royal family who wore such heavy earrings
that the ears became lengthened. The fingers are, in most styles, of equal
length, as are the toes.
Some statues of Buddha are very different. The Chinese favor an obese, pot
bellied Buddha. One at Doi Tung has a large deep navel in which visitors are
invited to toss coins. This Buddha is associated with happiness, wealth, food
and plenty. A fine example towers over the food market at Chiang Rai. An
emaciated statue refers to Buddha’s experiment as an ascetic - when he decided
that total self denial was unnecessary, and developed the idea of ‘the middle
path’.
Buddha may be pictured in number of different poses. Most usually he is seated
cross legged, which indicated meditation. If the right hand is raised, palm
outwards, this indicates that Buddha is imploring peace. With left hand raised,
palm up, he is teaching. If two fingers are held up, he is blessing. If both
bands are down, then Buddha has achieved enlightenment.
The reclining Buddha, in which he is seen resting on a cushion with one arm
holding his head, refers to the death of Buddha - the point at which he achieved
nirvana.
The walking Buddha refers to walking meditation - regarded as very difficult by
most monks. Standing with both hands raised, palms outwards, is a sign of power
and refers to a legend in which Buddha stopped the sea from engulfing a village
by adopting this pose.
All Buddha images are designed according to precise convention. The sculptor has
no artistic freedom in which to work. The changes through time and place of the
statues is a catalogue of cultural evolution, not artistic development. |
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