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Home » News from Thailand » Tourist on the lap of Buddha statue causes annoyance
Tourist on the lap of Buddha statue causes annoyance
A female Asian tourist who sits on the lap of a large Buddha statue at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol in Ayutthaya for a photo has drawn widespread criticism from Thai after the images were circulated on social media.
The Ayutthaya Historical Park Office is going to file a complaint against the unidentified lady for the inappropriate behavior at the historical temple.
Last month, five tourists were heavily criticized by Thai for climbing Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya's Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district. They were detained and made to apologize to the public.
Source: Bangkok Post – Photo: Sahai Phordam via @queentogtherriseone's Facebook page
It has long been a custom for tourists to have their picture taken with historical monuments in the background.
Nowadays people often take those photos as “selfies” where I get the strong impression that the average tourist is quite in love with himself. Those pictures need to be taken everywhere..
But the fact that some tourists don't know how it should be is very disturbing and that indicates that there is still a lot to improve. Last holiday I noticed how many young women dress poorly (= nude) (even when they visit a temple complex) but that is of course also a personal opinion.
I myself am increasingly annoyed by those hypocritical Buddhists. Take their temple feasts late into the night so that others cannot sleep because of their pestilence noise. All very Buddhist. Now there is another scandal around the head monk in France, an investigation has been opened against him for abuse of power (and then smart readers will know what that investigation is about). I don't read anything about this in those fine newspapers, but plenty about misbehavior of the farang.
The Buddhist scandal in France is growing day by day. Feel free to see for yourself:
Derives et abus de pouvoir, le temple bouddhiste de Lodeve dans la tourmente – France 3, the news channel of French television. Self-enrichment and abuse of power by Thai chief Buddhists abroad, that annoys me!
If you have been brought up properly, then you realize that this is "Not Done".
Knowledge of Thai and Buddhist culture is not necessary.
The Buddha has said that he is a human being and not a god. He has said that he did not want to be worshiped but that he only wanted the Dharma (tham or thamma in Thai) , the Teachings, to be worshiped. There are monks who do not want to kneel and bow before a Buddha statue.
I therefore suspect that the Buddha would not understand all this fuss about a woman sitting on the lap of a Buddha statue.
Agree with you 100%. And therefore it is pure! Buddhism only a (good) way of life and no religion. Many Thai people don't even know that because they haven't studied it and only imitate their environment. And many foreigners? Well, he goes along with that because it sounds tough compared to many Thai.
Dear TH.NL Even if pure Buddhism is only a (good) way of life, that does not entitle everyone to start climbing statues to take a picture.
Apart from everything, it is part of good manners to respect other people's property or culture, and in my view climbing is certainly not part of that.
What many Thais know or don't know, according to you, is not relevant at all in this normal manner.
Regardless of what Buddha said, whether he wanted to be worshiped or not, I think these tourists are wrong and selfish.
These images are part of Thai history, which also want to be viewed by the coming generations.
Often such images have already suffered greatly from time and weather, so that they would be damaged even more if everyone started to climb them for a photo.
This happens to be a woman, although unfortunately she belongs to an ever-growing group, who ignore everything for a photo or a selfie, which has to do with decency and thinking.
That is indeed the reason you shouldn't do it: you shouldn't damage old or new art objects.
Just the preservation of artifacts? For a Thai, these are primarily religious objects. What makes it even worse is that this is a woman. After all, monks avoid physical contact with women.
Even if you would put aside the thinking of many Buddhists, this is a so-called historic park, which can be compared to an open-air museum.
Regardless of what anyone believes, you don't sit with your butt on every object in a museum to show those who stayed at home how cool you are.
Also, this often has nothing to do with ignorance, but much more with a new trend, to prove the so-called online coolness precisely there, which seems forbidden, dangerous, or no good to others.
There are signs all over this park saying, nothing to climb or enter, but these directions seem to give this one the thrill to do it anyway.
The fact that they are also religious objects for a Thai only makes the kick for these social media idiots even greater.
A few weeks ago I was in Ayuthaya with my wife to admire the ruins. In the large temple complex where the stone head is also between the roots of a tree, I got really angry at what I saw. NEXT to a sign that clearly stated that you were not allowed to sit on the walls of the temples, a woman was posing. I then went to the man and asked if he could read English. Yes he said. Then why the hell, I asked him, is your wife sitting next to the sign that clearly says what she's doing is forbidden? He looked at me stupidly as if he really didn't understand what I was worried about.
The picture above really pisses me off. I care less now whether it is Buddhist or not, but the fact that people try to preserve something beautiful and make it accessible to people is enough that one should have respect.
People have such a tendency to destroy things with stupid, idiotic thoughtless selfish behavior that it will soon simply no longer make sense to open anything to the public.
Moderator: you don't have to keep repeating your point of view.
Art is a relative concept. A piece of art is a unique product. As soon as that product is mass-produced, the concept of art disappears for me. Buddha statues are produced “a mass”. Only exceptional specimens that deviate from the masses in essential details and, moreover, are manufactured manually can, in my opinion, bear the predicate of art. This is not the case for the majority of Buddha statues.
That tourists sit on a Buddha statue while it is expressly forbidden is another matter and has more to do with respect.
Stefaan says that you automatically understand that this is 'not done' if you have been brought up properly, and that knowledge of Thai or Buddhist culture is not necessary for this.
There is something to be said about that though. We are encouraged from an early age to climb on Saint Nicholas' lap and that is also rewarded with a present.
Even adults without mental disabilities do not hesitate to get down on the knee of the good man - usually with the necessary hilarity.
All this has nothing to do with a decent upbringing in general and cannot be explained without a thorough knowledge of our culture.