If it weren’t for Buddha, there would not be much to see in Thailand. Consequently, the “Buddhathon” continues today in Bangkok, with two more Buddist temples or “wats.” The Thai word “wat” was borrowed from Sanskrit and translates to mean “enclosure.” Yesterday’s tiny Emerald Buddha was housed in Wat Phra Kaew near the Grand Palace. So, Wat’s Up?” for today in this “Land of Smiles” and respectful, friendly prayer bows?
“Buddha dude” (See Post #884) was actually Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhartha. He was a monk, mendicant, sage, and philosopher on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. Buddha is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the northeastern part of ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C.E. (Before the Common Era). Buddhism is now the world’s fourth largest religion with over 520 million followers. They were all stuck in traffic on the road in front of our hotel this morning, trying to get to work. According to Wikipedia, “at the core of Buddhism is the belief in the Four Noble Truths. Believed to have been conceived by Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, these four truths are The Truth of Suffering, The Truth of the Cause of Suffering, The Truth of the End of Suffering, and The Truth of the Path that Leads to the End of Suffering.” That’s a lot of suffering!
After yesterday’s struggles with running outside, I used the treadmill in the hotel’s fitness to complete my 5k run this morning. It’s day 3,737 of “The Streak.” I was waiting at the door at 6 a.m. for it to be unlocked. Our guided tour this morning is at 8 a.m. There is no point in Bangkok to try and drive yourself to these locations because the traffic is crazy. Scooters weave dangerously throughout the gridlock and drivers frantically honk their horns. We visited three different wats and saw hundreds of Buddhas in varying poses – sitting, standing, and reclining, The largest we’ve seen so far is the giant Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho with Mother of Pearl soles. He’s 46 meters long and covered in gold leaf. We also visited the home of the Golden Buddha, Wat Traimit, and The Marble Temple, Wat Benchamabophit. I was beginning to experience Buddha burnout!
The world’s largest Buddhas are located in Monywa, Myanmar, one standing at 116 meters and the other reclining at a length of 90 meters. Or, you can go to Thimphu, Bhutan for their bronze seated version with 120,000 more Buddhas enshrined inside it; visit the Le Shan China “Giant Buddha;” Proceed to Fo Guang Shan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan to see the biggest Buddha monastery; Travel to look at the Ling Shan “Great Buddha,” in Mashan, China; Inspect The Daibutsu of Kamakura, Japan; Witness Gal Gal Viharaya, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka; and gaze at “The Laughing Buddha” with the big belly in Vinh Trang Pagoda, Vietnam. These Buddhas from around the world are all more massive than what we saw reclining today at Wat Pho. Also, the 92 meter “Great Buddha of Thailand” situated just north of Bangkok at Wat Muang, as well as the 59.2 meter tall Wat Buraphaphiram in the northeast part of the country are considered “greater” Thai structures. We had to start our “Buddhathon” quest somewhere, but obviously we have a long way to go yet.
“Wat’s Up” for the rest of our Thai adventure? We spent the afternoon at the pool as temperatures neared 100 degrees, so more Temple Tours did not seem appealing. Dinner tonight is at chef David Thompson’s Michelin Star restaurant Nahm. We’ll fly to the beach tomorrow and maybe see the 45 meter high “Great Buddha of Phuket,” and some of the other Thai Wats – that’s Wat’s Up, Doc!
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