A accent in Wat Keak

The Lonely Planet travel guide still mentioned it. The best time to pass Thailand te journey is between November and February. The sun burned mercilessly brightly when I arrived in March Nong Khai got off the train. A town on the Mekong River serving the poor northeast, the Isaan, from Laos.

Even before I left I had been informed about the bizarre sculpture garden on a temple site a few kilometers outside the border town. The name: Sala Keoku or Wat Khaek. The spiritual father of the temple complex and garden is the mystic Luang Poo Boun Leua Sourirat. He died in August 1996 after a long illness. His followers, more than a hundred volunteers, continue his life's work.

Luang Poo

Most travelers who visit Nong Kai buy a visa to cross the Thai-Laos friendship bridge. In the Mutmee Guesthouse where I am staying I am handed a map with the story about Wat Khaek and Luang Poo on the back. For many a reason to first visit the spectacular garden before traveling to Laos.

Across the Mekong, the lights of Vientiane illuminate the night like stars. While enjoying a bottle of ice-cold Singha beer on the terrace, I reflect on this Brahmin saint, shaman, yogi, artist and protagonist in a fairytale legend and an extraordinary life. Once, when he was still young, Luang Poo was walking through the hills in Vietnam. Suddenly he fell into a hole and landed in the lap of Keoku, a Hindu hermit who lived in a cave. This was the beginning of a long stay with his teacher who taught him about the Buddha and the underworld. Keoku introduced his companion to gods and goddesses that appear in Buddhist mythology. Once he came above ground again, he left for Laos where he built his first sculpture garden, including a giant reclining Buddha. The attitude in which he passed into another form of existence.

Sala Keoku

The communists expelled Luang Poo in the XNUMXs because of his religious beliefs. Then the artist and mystic built a whole row of gigantic statues in the jungle of Northeast Thailand in the province of Nong Khai. He named the place Sala Keoku (Hall of Keoku) in honor of his spiritual master. His figures, made of ordinary concrete, represent the various religious and mystical beings of Buddhist and Hindu mythology such as Shiva, Vishnu and Buddha that Keoku taught him about.

When I arrive early in the morning with a Tuk-Tuk at the entrance of the garden, it is already very hot. No breeze to cool you down. Among the foliage of the trees I see the Buddhas with their stern facial expressions lined up in battle array around the grounds. As guardians of Luang Poo's life's work. Quiet, serene, defying eternity.

Buddha statue of almost 25 meters

Predominant is the Buddha statue of almost 25 meters high, or the size of an eight-storey apartment building. The silence is only interrupted by the many birds and the rustling of the tall trees and the soft music from the loudspeakers that are hung everywhere. The repertoire consists of a mix of avant-garde music and pop. Luang's most popular singer was Donna Summer

Motionless, the gigantic concrete sculptures amaze the visitor. The image of the man who cuts his hair is Prince Siddharta who will manifest as the first Buddha.

Yama, the guardian of the gate to hell, is depicted with twelve arms. The god who writes the bad deeds of the deceased on the stinking skin of dead dogs and the good deeds on tablets of gold.

A meter-high statue with a figure in the lotus position, a broad grin on his face and entwined by a serpent with five heads, represents one of the Hindu gods. The visitor continues to marvel at the grandeur of the structures and the bizarre expression that Luang Poo, aided by his followers, has given to the various religions.

At the entrance is an elephant surrounded by a pack of dogs that are not too well disposed to him. It symbolizes integrity according to Thai tradition. The elephant completely ignores its barking attackers.

The garden is full of plants in terracotta pots. The trails are neatly maintained. The appearance of this special place is impressive, almost magical. I get the unpleasant feeling that at any moment a soft whisper could break out high above my head. May the gods come alive to judge me.

Samsara fleet

At the back of the garden on the far right is the Samsara circle. Samsara in Buddhism means that the soul is born and reborn in an endless cycle. That experiences in this life are carried over to the next existence. To enter the circle you have to go through a gate that represents the womb. At the tunnel entrance, the souls are waiting to be reborn. Conception is the beginning of all suffering says the Buddha.

If you follow the direction of the arrows you will see life passing by. Images of a baby, a couple in love, a man and a woman, the different choices one can make such as a soldier with an M16, a businesswoman, an office clerk, a beggar, a farang (stranger), a king, lovers and so on. Two skeletons embracing indicate that passion is not eternal. A man with two wives beats the elder for getting entangled in the younger woman's wishes. And an old couple who made the mistake of not having children find out that in the winter of their lives they only have each other.

At the end of the tour next to a coffin, a laughing Buddha steps over the wall. By which Luang Poo means: only by following him can you escape the eternal wheel of birth and death and end up in Nirvana. Otherwise, a new birth is the next step.

The main building has just been renovated. There are pictures of various gods and saints. On an altar are bronze and wooden statues. Poo's picture can also be seen in the temple building. The sun is at its highest but it is nice and cool in the hall where the Buddhas determine the atmosphere.

Farmers from Isan

Outside, volunteers are busy with painting work. Luang Poo has many followers among the peasant population of the Isan, many of whom come to meditate for a while in Sala Keoku. When he was alive it was said of him that if you took a drink of water from him you would donate all your possessions to the temple. He had a very engaging personality. During his lifetime, Poo strongly emphasized morality and criticized corruption, which was not always appreciated. He even ended up in prison for a while after a false lèse-majeste charge. That his popularity has not been affected is evidenced by the skill of his followers to keep his ideas alive.

A busload of tourists approach the wheel of death and rebirth. A volunteer from Wat Khaek, who has found a place in the shadows in the 'Circle of Life', kindly waves them to enter. “If you enter the gate as a woman, you become pregnant,” one of the visitors reports. “Do you have to pay when you go in?” asks a lady. Her accent makes it clear that she comes from the south of the Netherlands. Suspiciously they look over the wall, buy a bottle of coke from the nearby drinking place and continue walking. The story of death and rebirth is not spent on them. The eight-storey Buddha looks on with a smile. He knows better.

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This article was written by Bert Vos, editor-in-chief of the website: The Asian Tiger. The main purpose of 'The Asian Tiger' is to bring news, travel stories and columns about various Asian countries.