People from Isan – a monk

There is a temple complex about a mile away from the Inquisitor's house. A pleasant walk, five hundred meters along the connecting street and then you turn right on a red dirt road. You then enter a large wooded area. Old trees, valuable wood that is not cut down. The further down the road, the darker, because the trees are getting closer together. The sun may shine exuberantly, it is leafy, always just a little cooler. At one point you come to a gate – which is always open, besides, you might as well enter next to that gate, there is no other fence. There's something mysterious about that gate. Why is it there?

The first Buddhist signs appear when you get to the lake. Two huge dragons fence the water, their heads are unreal, their bodies writhingly long. Beautifully colored in green, red and gold. Their fierce eyes seem to stare at you continuously, no matter where you stand. Smaller Buddha statues stand in between, some in the traditional position according to the day of the week, others in a little-seen position, often with a kind of canopy over their heads, the meaning eludes The Inquisitor. Whenever you get there, all you hear is the animal world. Birds, crickets, frogs. Unless there are rituals going on. You first hear a kind of buzzing, when you get a little closer you understand that it is the mantras that the monks are muttering. Something like that always gives a mysterious atmosphere.

The first buildings are of a practical nature, simply built without any embellishment. That austerity continues when you arrive at the large open but covered hall, where the rituals continue. The supporting posts are made of wood, solid tree trunks, but there is an ordinary sheet steel roof on top. At the back of the room, on a platform, there are large Buddha statues accompanied by enormous flower arrangements, the Inquisitor does not know where they always come from. Behind this large building are the residences for the monks, they look like small forest huts in a row, all made of beautifully finished wood, including the pointed roofs with a kind of wooden tiles. Here and there there are typical ocher-colored monks' robes hanging between them to dry after washing. Inside the huts are soberly furnished, only a sleeping mat, a cupboard, some have a few pictures. There is only a sofa on the terraces in front. There are no bathrooms, there is a communal sanitary facility, very sober, only the necessary.

There is always a peaceful atmosphere about the temple complex. Everywhere between the buildings are tall, ancient trees. Hiking trails are worn and follow a natural course along a stream. There is a lot of wood, thick tree trunks in different lengths. Short root pieces too, some just excavated, some under construction, some almost ready and then you see that they are a kind of altars in which Buddha statuettes are placed. This community of monks is not only responsible for the religious well-being of the village, they also manage many hectares of forest. They do this very ecologically, De Inquisitor finds out. They are under national supervision and receive help from a university in Bangkok. And they are also working on a project: they are building a new prayer room. Entirely in wood, with age-old techniques. Not a screw is used, not a single artificial aid.

The Inquisitor only found this temple complex after a year of living here. On a morning walk, somewhere deeper in that forest, he heard saws and knocks. Curious as he is, he went to the sound. A dozen monks were at work, with the help of some villagers. Artfully placing large tree trunks straight as support posts. Not easy because they are not straight, and yet they manage to place them level and at the right height. Moreover, in the eyes of The Inquisitor, they work in an impressive way: via a wooden scaffolding, higher than the supporting posts, which allows them to work with ropes to position the tree trunks. Some of those monks turn out to be real craftsmen, they work the wood delicately with primitive tools, they artistically carve figures in it. The head monk supervises everything but is not afraid to roll up his sleeves himself. The Inquisitor will continue to monitor the construction of this wooden prayer room over the next two years.

Due to his regular visits, De Inquisitor becomes an ordinary guest without being noticed. Always a friendly greeting, he always gets an explanation when he wants to satisfy his curiosity. The head monk likes to explain how they work, and why they do it. All in a mix of broken English, but mostly many repetitive technical Thai words. The Inquisitor had already noticed, many of the monks are still very young, and had come to know that they did not work for just a few months. No, these are boys with a calling. And they are trained in old techniques that they do not want to be lost. Later on they will be spread all over the country to pass on their knowledge. The project is so well known that one day a national television station came to film it.

It didn't take long before De Inquisitor joined in from time to time. He likes to do that, and you learn something from it too. Connecting and anchoring everything with pins or another old technique is not easy. And The Inquisitor was pointed out that he is too impatient. Want to see results too quickly. The head monk made it his job to teach patience to The Inquisitor, but not just in carpentry. He carried that over to everyday life, the man well aware that The Inquisitor was a rather nervous Western personality, well, compared to their own soft and slow approach to everything. Something the abbot succeeded well in, it was even sweet-sweet that her western boy became softer over time, less restless.

Today the sala, or rather the prayer room, is ready. A gem in the middle of the forest. But The Inquisitor still regularly goes for a walk in those woods. Often with the company of the head monk. Usually in silence, enjoying the surroundings, each with his thoughts. Sometimes in conversation, the man is curious about life in the Western world, The Inquisitor is curious about the man's motives for becoming and remaining a monk. The man is very intelligent, great life experience interspersed with Buddhist wisdom. Which he conveys on the level of The Inquisitor without being too religious. Usually very instructive, but The Inquisitor is too much of a bon vivant to accept everything just like that and the monk realizes that. We both live in a completely different world of thoughts, and yet we have become friends. Neither of us judges each other, neither of us will give a word of criticism. He just calls The Inquisitor by his name, 'Luuudiii', The Inquisitor just calls him 'my friend'.

The latter was enough for sweetie-dear to get angry with her darling. You regularly meet the monks of course. On tambuns, marriages, burnings. The Inquisitor always remains discreet enough, but sometimes the man comes out to say hello. And that just happens spontaneously, so De Inquisitor very kindly says “hello, my friend”. And baf! And firm shoulder stump from the sweet. You don't say that to a head monk.

But the man calms down sweetly and agrees – we have just become friends.