Vesak

Here at Wat Bot these monks are putting their forheads to the floor, 3 times, facing the image of the Buddha as a way of giving thanks and respect to the Great Teacher during the chanting and meditation  on Vesak. Vesak is a Buddhist Holiday in which the birth, enlightenment and death  of the historical Buddha are observed .

For Theravada Buddhists here in Thailand, Vesak is an important day to be marked by rededication to the dharma and the Eightfold Path. Monks and nuns meditate and chant the ancient rules of their orders. Laypeople bring flowers and offerings to the temples, where they may also meditate and listen to talks.

I was honored to have been invited in to the temple by Phra Chanamed, my new friend and teacher, to observe and even take pictures and recordings.  Though I was told over and over that I was allowed to walk all around and snap photos during the ceremony, I felt I would be too great of a distraction to those meditating, so I just stayed in the back.  Still, I got a few decent shots...

This little guy here was way in the back kneeling next to me.  He's supposed to be following the chanting while praying or meditating, but instead hes just staring at me, the big white guy...after this picture I decided to leave the building because I was just distracting too many people with my presence.

Here is a shot of Phra Chanamed in the doorway of the temple - he's keeping an eye on the novices and making sure they are paying attention:



This is a brief video I captured during the chanting of the Dharma, which continued for about an hour - sorry it's sideways, when I rotated it and saved it transfered it to a format that WordPress does not accept, so I had to use this original:

[wpvideo coz1LbLk]

Here's a few more shots and I grabbed during the ceremony: