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Travelogue
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Thailand
Thailand page 4
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Thailand
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02/21/05
I
made an unusual connection with a group of Buddhist Thais the other day. I
had hiked up a very long staircase I discovered while wondering around a
central market area in Mae Sai. At the top I found a charming Buddhist
temple compound where they're building the large hilltop pagoda visible from my
guesthouse.
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They
finally got the statue inside and up onto the raised platform that
was to be its permanent home, centered squarely in front of a
higher, more ornate, crowned golden Buddha. I figured the show was
about over (how wrong I was!), so I left to wander around the
grounds some more. |
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After
a while I returned to the pavilion with the idea of taking one last
photo of the statue in it's final position, expecting everyone to be gone.
Instead, I found the entire group plus several new arrivals in the midst of
what I supposed was a dedication ceremony. They were all kneeling in an
elongated semi-circle facing the old monk, who sat on a raised dais and
was now clearly in charge and commanding the utmost respect. In front of
him was a very large ball of white string. The string was led past
everyone present and the far end was tied to the raised hand of the new
Buddha statue. Each person held the string in front of him, beneath their
thumbs over hands
pressed together and raised in a prayer-like gesture.
When
they saw that I'd come back, a few happily signaled that I should join them
in their circle, moving over to make room for me. In a
moment I was kneeling with these pleasant people as the monk chanted
incantations, incense scenting the air, in a ritual that was probably a
thousand years old. Occasionally the group would respond in unison to
something the monk said, much as I have seen Catholics do in priest-led services.
This went on for about half an hour and my legs were just
beginning to cramp underneath me when the ceremony drew to a close. Then each
person in turn shuffled, on their knees or on all fours, to the old monk, bowing
before him with
that prayerful hand gesture, and he handed each a small
amulet or charm, no doubt personally blessed by himself. My companions
urged me forward and when he handed me my trophy, a tiny stone Buddha that I later
learned provides
luck to survive
serious accidents, I said, "kapoon kop," which is Thai for
thank you. He replied saying, "thank you" to me in English,
whereupon I believe we had pretty much exhausted our vocabulary in each other's language.
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Someone
produced a camera and the jovial crowd assembled on the floor in front of the
new statue
for a group photo. I stood aside, not wanting to intrude, but
again they insisted I join them, offering me a place of honor in
the middle next to the monk. They were really pleased that I was
there sharing this with them. I gave my camera to the elected
photographer and was rewarded with this remembrance. |
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As people were leaving, a few stopped to chat with me.
One small man asked for my hand and as he held it he began to
"read" me. Someone said he's "a powerful man" and I
should pay attention. He
said I had great power, so much so that it raised visible goose bumps on his
forearm as he continued to hold my hand for the impromptu reading. He then
asked (through someone else interpreting) whether I had nearly been
killed as a child, and I said, well, I was once run down by a taxi cab in
New York City when I was around 5 years old. Everyone was impressed with
his insight. Clearly he was held in high regard in
the community as some kind of mystic.
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A little later I went back for one last peek at
the statue and found the old monk sitting alone with it,
continuing the consecration. I noted that the symbolic ball of
string that had bound us all together in the earlier ceremony had
now been placed in the Buddha's palm.
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Back in the town of Mae
Sai, I photographed the busy border
crossing into Mynamar (Burma)...
and, later, an enormous old guesthouse that dominates an entire hillside on the edge of
town. |
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Continued on Thailand
page 4
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