The Buddhapadipa Temple is a Buddhist monastery covering 4 acres and including an ornamental lake, a small grove, a flower garden and an orchard. The Uposatha or Shrine Hall of the temple is a holy place, which is the sacred house for all Buddhist activities and ceremonies. The temple houses both monks and nuns, but remains open to the public for investigation. On the four interior walls are some masterpieces of typical Thai mural paintings to depict the Buddha’s lifetime. The window and door frames are made of gold leaf gilded carved teak timbers and are also inlaid with coloured glass.
Sunday 4th December saw the Kathina Robe presenting and the Loy Krathong festival. The temple invites the public to explore their view of ritual of celebration. Krathong is a Thai term which refers to a piece of banana trunk decorated with flowers, banana leaves, candle and incense sticks. The word Loy means to float in the Thai language
As Thailand is an agricultural based country and relies on the riches of its rivers to grow crops; to show respect to the river, basically the goddess of the river called Pra Mae Khongkha, Thai people decided to make a Krathong to worship and ask for forgiveness. The Thais now also see it as a time to wave goodbye to misfortune, wash away sins of the past year, and make wishes for the coming year.
Religion is interesting to me in this project as it dictates a collective way of seeing, one without the constraints of an objective perspective. It shapes a state of mind that helps people navigate through their lives and can give them meaning. Religion also acts as a stimulant for art, for example, the inside of the temple houses artists interpretation of ancient Buddhist stories. It is a response to morality. The decorations around the grounds are full of rituals that honor tradition and give visitors the opportunity to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. The grounds are a museum of work and instillations that support how people perceive religion and the world around them, but more than a gallery, the temple encourages its visiotrs to involve themselves, through active ways to donate (such as money trees and the coin platform) or to purchase a Krathong to push onto the water to symbolize the future. The event was about moving forward and how this impacts individuals personally, rather than most art which encourages the viewer to ask questions and reflect on the past.
