Buddhist Presence

Last weekend was a long weekend and because the organization I was going to get information from for the project was closed because of Mothers Day, I decided to take in some of Thailand and go to Krabi and Railay. I had a great time there getting to know a lot of Thai people. A few of which were actually from Nakhon, the city I am based. Two of these people, (they own the rock climbing company) came to visit their family this weekend. We all went to the Buddhist temple for a huge festival with the traditional shadow puppet shows that are famous here in Nakhon, baby elephants, tons of food and shopping. I have never seen so many monks in my life. I have also never seen people spend so much money on religious things. Growing up in a Christian family, I am accustomed to the preacher asking for love offerings during the service or taking your tithe. Here, the entire temple is based entirely off donations. They had booths set up where you can buy a roof tile. Each roof tile was blessed with incense and a special bracelet made of white string. It amazes me how many people purchased one tile. It seems in the states, if a religious organization wants something, they have to practically beg for your money and put you in a guilt trip, condemning you. While the Buddhist here have the right idea. They raise money by selling practical things so that you can be involved. They have a museum at the temple, it has tons of old Asian relics and weapons, “donate” 20 baht (less than $1 USD) and you can look around to your hearts content. They have a market in the temple, and festivals all the time where the public can sell their goods for a small rental fee, and the whole city goes to mingle, donate money, eat amazing food, and if you feel so inclined, pray or get blessed. There is no set program telling them they must convert to Buddhism, but the meer presence of the temple being involved in the community, makes people more interested to learn. I wonder what would happen if churches back home followed this example.