I am Buddhist and even though i am not deeply devoted to the religion, i am skeptical when one equates faith from around the world with displays of currencies!
In my visit to Big Buddha Phuket, i was caught off guard by the sheer number of ways i was constantly reminded to donate and that was in addition to the purchase of tiles i have shared earlier in my post on the inside of the Big Buddha.
Gold Heart Leaves - light-weighted with the tendency to shimmer under sunlight and a light breeze, these leaves were commonly seen in Thai temples and compared to love locks; have a reduced carbon foot print.
Best of all, aside from looking pretty, you can also write down your wishes and hope they would come true one day! One leaf is insufficient to pen your wishes? Get more.
Statues - surrounding the lotus seat of the Big Buddha were statues of Bodhisattvas and likely highly acclaimed monks. Yes, i hope you have noticed the alm bowls placed in front of each of them!
Fused together with the golden pillar, the silver alm bowl was mainly an expanded depository given the number of visitors that paid the Big Buddha a visit on a daily basis; it never harms to prepare in advance!
Obviously, there must be a secure lock in place to prevent any potential theft. I believe it's the same across religion; it's supposed to be bad karma when one steals from a place of worship.
Alm Bowls - like the gold heart leaves, these can be found in some Thai temples too. If i recall correctly, i encountered the long line of alm bowls at Wat Po in my first visit to Bangkok, which was about 11 years ago.
Didn't try this time round though.
Products for Charity - with the tagline that the products were for charity, most people would have left their guard down. Honestly, it could indeed be true that the products were sold for charity but with a lack of understanding for the Thai language, you can't blame me for being a bit skeptical...
Especially when the items don't appear terribly unique to command the relatively expensive pricing. Whatever the case, i did support by purchasing a fridge magnet. Since entry to Big Buddha is free, the guilt in me kind of pushed me to buy something to give back.
Apparently, even their beverage and snacks were known to be charity products. Guess you can contribute a bit by buying a can of coke or a packet of chips.
=====
What else did i do in Phuket?
Check out my 5-day Phuket itinerary here!
No comments:
Post a Comment