A Buddhist whirl in Bangkok

A Buddhist whirl in Bangkok

Would you travel to Bangkok with the primary aim of seeing the Reclining Buddha? was just such a believer?

If I were to dream of Bangkok in my sleep, it would probably be a pleasant vision of dizzying buildings and beautiful women, the Reclining Buddha, and a view of the Skytrain as seen through the parted curtains of my hotel window. The soul of Bangkok is to be found everywhere: in the quaint neighbourhoods that dot the city, alternating with ultra-modern highrises; in the colourful tuk-tuks that rev up their engines on city streets; in the chic young girls who walk with a smart strut; in the monasteries with their Buddhist architecture; and, above all, in its people who make a tourist like me feel very wanted. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, whose motto is “to give travellers what they need and nothing they don’t”, which translated into its being relatively inexpensive. From my room on the twelfth floor was visible the Skytrain, the city’s newest form of public transport gliding seamlessly along elevated tracks. And when I walked down the streets, there were malls galore, which made for shopping manna for the girls in my group. Not to mention the numerous foot reflexology parlours that thrilled the five of them, a service for which they would often step out more than once a day. It would be accurate to say that the alluring associations of Bangkok with most tourists lie in the city’s shopping and nightlife. But for me, the overwhelming attraction lay in the promise of viewing the Reclining Buddha, the largest of its kind in the world, situated in one of Bangkok’s oldest monasteries, Wat Pho. At 46 metres in length and 15 metres in height, it guaranteed a sight like never before for a born-again Buddhist like me. It was a cloudy day when we made our way to one corner of the Grand Palace built by King Rama I, where Wat Pho has been situated ever since it was first constructed in 1688. Its magnificent ornate gates flanked by Chinese warriors gave us a hint of what was to follow. As we lit candles in front of a portrait of the Thai king set amidst numerous Buddha images, we got a portent of the reverence in which the Thai people hold their monarch. Apparently, when the sovereign appears either in person or on television, all other activities come to a standstill. Yet, with 1,000 likenesses of the Buddha in the monastery, even His Majesty finds it hard to compete with Shakyamuni for one’s attention. The monastery has two main quarters: the sacred or chapel section and the residential or monks’ living section. We see monks of all ages flit around in their saffron robes. There are a few souvenir shops too around the chapel, but we are spared any hard-sell. We proceed to the main courtyard outside and encounter a bodhi (peepal) tree in the centre, which apparently bears a distant connection to the bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment under 2,500 years ago in present-day Bihar. Stepping out of our footwear (which we then lugged around with us), we enter the sanctum sanctorum which houses the Reclining Buddha. At first, one doesn’t see it at all there are just square pillars, behind which, we discover in due course, lies the Buddha. Even then, the massive golden statue is difficult to take in all at once. It sweeps across the length of the chapel with disarming ease, each digit on its hands the size of a child, glistening in the half light as visitors file past, absorbing the wonder in sections. The face is serene and the eyes almost transcendentally aglow. But while these are breathtaking, it’s the feet which hold special interest for Buddhists. Out of the 108 markings on the Buddha’s body, the centrepiece is the dharmachakra (wheel) on the soles of his feet. Done in elaborate blackand white mother-of-pearl, the soles are a striking contrast to the rest of the golden body. I notice that visitors linger here longer than they do on any of the other sections, with mothers pointing out features eagerly to their children. So mesmerised are visitors by the Reclining Buddha, that they rarely take notice of another masterwork of art within this sanctuary. These are the intricately-drawn murals adorning the inner columns and walls, reaching right up to the roof, 30 metres above. They tell tales of epic battles and court intrigues, personal love and jealousies. In 2007, a restoration job was completed to commemorate the 80th birthday of the King. Today, they give us in vivid colour a historic window to the intricate workmanship of an era gone by. I go around the Buddha twice, partly because I didn’t quite believe my eyes the first time and partly because I’m looking for my lady friends – whom I eventually spot. They are as fascinated as I am and stop to digest what they’ve seen near the waterfall in the courtyard. There’s no talk among them, surprisingly, of visiting Bangkok’s most reputed massage centre, which arguably originated the Thai massage right here within the monastery. It seems that they’ve had their fill of massages for the day and want to go shopping. Who am I to argue?