Buddha, perhaps more of a philosopher than a founder of a religion, is ever present in Thailand. The “awakened one’s” way of life still influences the people and culture of South East Asia and everywhere you travel in the “land of the smiles” Buddha seems to be there with you. A statue. A temple (Wat). He’s omnipresent and after a while it is more than comforting, it’s appreciated. You start to smile.
On my travels, I took many photos of the iconic figure, and below are a five of my favorite from Thailand.
Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok
At Wat Pho in Bangkok, the gold plated 46 meter long reclining Buddha remains a top tourist attraction. It’s quite impressive. In Thailand, I learned each Buddha statue represents a different stages of his life and learnings. The reclining Buddha commemorates his passage to nirvana. It’s the end goal.
rest easy Buddha, it's Nirvana
The Head and Headless Buddha of Ayutthaya
In the old capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, the famous Buddah head in the tree photo is one everybody clicks. But a walk around the ancient ruins and any photographer will take more than just one. I even attempted to sketch the ruins in my journal (not shown).
captured in the roots of the tree - its Buddha
With the Thai often in conflict with the Burmese (Burma) many of the statues of the Buddah remain headless on the grounds of the city. Why? Well, it’s believed they were used for cannon balls. All is fair in love and war, right?
the headless Buddha... not very zen.
Ayutthaya makes for a perfect day trip from Bangkok.
stay adventurous, Craig
this post is part of the A Taste of Asia series.
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