057 – Temple Day

Wat Pa Prao Nai

There is not a lot of information out there about this temple either in the temple or on the internet that I could find.
The monk (I do not read Thai, so cannot tell you his name) was obviously adored by many, or they have a very long mourning period… or both.
Other than that, this is what I call the “Green Temple” because the guardians are green. Or at least they are on the wall we walk by everyday. Other temples have red or white, or you get the idea.
Today I discovered, a different side of the complex has red guardians, so now I am confused.
So… usual.

Wat Dab Phai

He came to the temple, prayed in front of a Buddha image known as Dab-Pai, and he was cured immediately.
He was so grateful that he built a temple in honor of the monk and changed its name to the current name.

People continue to come here to wish for healing and blessings of safety and good health. We witnessed what was apparently a father and daughter (although it could have been husband and wife) bring their (apparently new) car to the temple for a blessing.
The man retrieved the monk, then opened all the doors, trunk, hood of the car and the woman stood far off to the side. The monk worked his way around the car chanting and shaking water on the car, then closing the doors.
Apparently happy with the blessing, the man thanked the monk and gave him some cash.
Since we were just standing there gaping at them, the monk blessed the man and woman, then continued over to us and chanted and whacked us on the head with his… I will call it a water broom. It is like a bamboo wok brush if you ask me, but I do not know what they call it. Anyway, we were adorned with sprinkles of water and gay laughter from everyone.

It was hot, I would not have minded more sprinkles, but could have done without the whack. Also a little disappointed I did not get a bracelet out of the deal, but the monk was busy with the car.
Before I researched the name, I called this temple the “red temple” because it had the exact same guardians as the green temple, but they were red. So it made sense to me.

Wat Lok Moli

The viharn is wood and has a lot of detailed wood carvings. It is odd in the world of Buddhism because it is aligned along a north-south axis, instead of facing east toward the rising sun.

The Chedi is different than most in Chiang Mai because it is not covered in stucco as so many others are. It is left as bare brick. The ashes of several members of the Mengrai dynasty were placed in this chedi. But their dynasty died as so many do. No, the ashes of the dynasty are not in the chedi, but apparently Queen Wisutthithewi’s are. Not sure who she was, but if you want to know, the entire internet is at your disposal.

 When MJ came back to Thailand in November, she hung a lantern for the lantern festival at this temple. Today, you could buy a zodiac ribbon to hang. You write your name, birthday and a wish on the item and the temple gets decorated with colorful things.
I asked MJ to hang a lantern for me with a prayer for good luck back in November, and sadly it was gone, but I did have the opportunity to water the Chedi. It is a thing.

They have this bamboo cup hanging from a chicken/pigeon/rooster thing on a rope. You pay 20 Thai Bot for the privilege of filling the cup with water, then using the pully system the cup is hanging from, you pull it up to the top of the Chedi, where the bird dumps the water on the structure.

Then you bring the bird back down the ropes. Slowly would have been more respectful I was informed afterwards, as this was not a zip line. Respectfully, it kind of is for the bird thing. I probably should have also refrained from asking if we were hoping the Buddha would grow by watering it, but that was my inner child’s argument, not the proper thoughts in this context.

Part of the goal for the day was to gather as many blessings as we could from the monks. MJ is having some health issues, and it never hurts to add prayer to the pile. So far, I have been whacked on the head by the happy monk at the last temple, but no bracelets collected as proof someone finds me worthy of being blessed.
This temple we got blessed. Boy did we ever. I should have brought shampoo and a bar of soap. But it was refreshing on a hot day, and my clothing dried quickly in the sun.

Cock Farm

I was getting a little tired and cranky after the last temple, but since I was displaying my inner child, MJ took me across the street to what could only be described as a cock temple.
They call roosters ‘cocks’ here, so get your mind out of the gutter.

My thoughts went flying into the gutter and started doing laps, but you should have pure, clean, thoughts.

No idea why this is here. No idea why the guy on horseback under the water tank is surrounded by cocks, but here we are.

And that is just the small display. The walls around the… I have no idea what it is. It appears to be a business with an alter next to it, but it is surrounded by a brick wall lined with cocks.

So… that was different. We went next door to have coffee at the Amazon coffee attached to the gas station, which had a Dunkin’ donuts cart in the parking lot… and anyway, we caffeinated my child brain and moved on.

Tha Phae Gate

Honestly, it is a brick wall. What makes it interesting is the fact there are people here who sell pigeon food to eager tourists. Again not odd, but they will also follow you and help you set up pictures along the wall. They throw a bunch of food in front of you, then when several pigeons land to partake, they make a loud noise and scare the pigeons to flight… which apparently is an amazing shot for the Instagram kids.

I did not feed the pigeons. I did not scare the pigeons. I watched the circus for a while, and indeed, if you set it up right, it could be a neat shot.
And interestingly enough, the pigeons are either stupid enough or smart enough not to care. I could not decide.

Wat Umong

Good place for a lesson since we have not had one today. The Tripitaka,(3 baskets in Sanskrit), is the foundational collection of Buddhist scriptures. Divided into 3 baskets (categories) of the Vinaya Pitaka (rules of monastic conduct), the Sutta Pitaka (Buddha’s teachings), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical commentary). That means the monk knew his religion.

Phra Maha Thera Chan (the monk), was staying at Wat Pho Noi when his teacher fell seriously ill. Phra Phiksu Chan went to visit and nurse the teacher. The teacher gave him a scripture called Mahayokhee Mantra, and advised him to take it to study in a secluded place. The teacher also told him, when he finished chanting the mantra, he would be intelligent, clever, and sharp, able to study and be knowledgeable about science and the Dharma quickly.
The teacher passed the scriptures to Chan and died. So, Chan took the scriptures and went to find a secluded place to study them. He wanted to go to Doi Suthep, but the villagers he asked for help sent him to Rishi Suthep Hall. (Not sure where that is, but we’re flowing with the story. It was not where he wanted to go.)
After he got there, he sent the villagers away and started chanting. Must have been for a year because the story indicates a thousand types of mantras, 500 suttas, 500 of another kind of sutta… anyway he chanted for 3 days and 3 nights. When he reached the part of the chant that said ‘Khemiyatusitayama,’ he saw a bright light coming toward him. No, it was not a car. This was before cars.
The light moved closer and closer until a beautiful human figure was standing in front of him, and asked him what he wanted.
I would have done something less eloquent than reply, but apparently Chan replied with the words.: “We have come to practice science to gain sharp and intelligent wisdom.”
The strange man then asked, “Will you remain a celibate person for the rest of your life? Or will you disrobe and become a lay person after completing your studies in the Sātra Sect?”
Monk Chan replied, “We have given our lives to Buddhism.”
The strange man then said, “I will give you something. Please reach out your hand and take it.”
Then he gave Monk Chan something. According to legend, it was a chewed betel nut made into bite-sized pieces, so, gross, but whatever.
Monk Chan saw that the hand and arms that were extended were beautiful, smooth, and soft. He took both the hand and the strange betel nut, which apparently the ‘angel’ morphed into.

If I were an angel, I don’t know that I would give my angel life force over to a human in a chewed up betel nut, whatever that is, but I don’t know the ways of angels, only demons.

The angel then uttered the incantation, “Asatigroti,” “You may not find your senses,” and then disappeared immediately.

From then on, Monk Chan became a forgetful person, similar to someone who had lost his mind, due to the curse of the transformed angel.
When Chan came to and noticed the ceremony he had worked on for days had been destroyed, and since he had become a person who had lost his mindfulness, Chan simply returned to live at Wat Pho Noi.
So, when he was right in the head, he was very smart. He completed studies quickly and demonstrated great knowledge. When he was absent minded, he would wander around in secluded places to practice meditation alone.

There were 6 monks at that time who were the experts, but when Chan was in his right mind, he could best all of them in knowledge and application. It came to the point, many relied on Chan to solve difficult questions.
The king picked up on his knowledge, but whenever the king wanted to talk about or study ‘Dhamma,’ Monk Chan was usually nowhere to be found because he was ‘absent of mind’ and out meditating in a forest somewhere. The king wanted to talk when the king wanted to talk, so he decided to build a place for Chan to stay, that was both in the forest and private for him to meditate and be ‘absent minded’ yet also be easy to find.
Therefore, he ordered a large tunnel to be built on the north side of the base of the large pagoda in Wat Welukattharam, and thus is the birth of memory care facilities.

The people called it Wat Umong Thera Chan. Chan lived there alone; the people and the king could access him when they wanted to; and everyone was happy he was not out in the forest being eaten by a tiger.
Monk Chan passed away at 77 years old.

So that was a really long way to say there is a cave at this temple. There are bats in the cave; There are cocks wandering the grounds; and there are several resident doggos. There is even a ‘missing body parts of statues’ cemetery on site, and a bunch of other things I could not or did not go in.

But everything else aside, the path that leads from the entrance to the main area is lined with posters. Odd posters. I have no idea why, but they certainly made the experience memorable.

Wat Sri Suphan – the Silver Temple

The original temple was founded around 1500, but little remains of those buildings. The most recent to fall was in 2022 when the pagoda collapsed following heavy rain. But as with all these things, when a temple breaks, they discover things. Many Buddhist artifacts were discovered inside. They also figured out the pagoda had cracked earlier, and it was not simply the rain that brought it down, but the fact someone along the way added a cement shell around the outside, then painted it over with gold paint. All that added weight, and trapped a bunch of water in the original structure, since it was porous and earthen. Bet they had a mold issue too. Duh.

But, the people of the area gathered, used their talents, and did amazing work on the ubosot, creating the ‘silver’ look we see today.

It is also a true ubosot, where women are not allowed, so we did not have the opportunity to get inside, but there were plenty of chances for us to make merit on the outside. As usual.

When we entered, and when we left, there was a group of dancers and drummers performing. If I ever get around to posting videos again, it was quite an acrobatic display.

What led us to the Silver temple was the Saturday Night market. One not to be missed, I am told, there were vendors lined up selling everything, not just food. There was food. There is always food, but this is a bigger tourist trap than Worort market.

Don’t worry. I bought stuff. Not at that place, but stuff.