SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

 

A unique ceremony will mark the start of the annual Buddhist retreat

This coming Saturday, July 16, will mark the first day of the annual three-month retreat of Buddhist monks who are required to study dharma and practice meditation in temples during the rainy season. Apart from a ceremony to offer giant candles to monks, some temples are also organising a unique flower offering known as tak bat dok mai.

Novices line up with monks for the big flower merit-making festival in Saraburi.The most well-known floral merit-making event is annually organised in Wat Phra Phutthabat Ratchaworamaha Wihan in Saraburi's Phra Phutthabat district, about an hour's drive north of Bangkok.

During the morning of the Buddhist Lent Day, people come to the temple to offers alms to monks before joining the flower merit-making around 10 o'clock.

Hundreds of people line up in two rows in a kilometre-long walkway from the gate of the monk's residence to the steps at the feet of the hilltop where a large sacred footprint of Buddha is housed in the Monthop of the temple.

Most of the flowers they offer are dancing lady ginger (globba winitii), which rather different from other areas as the blossoms are widely found in Saraburi. The flower is also called dok khao phansa in Thai because it always blooms during the date of Buddhist Lent (khao phansa).

The Buddha image is put in a pick-up truck before the row of monks.The blossom has a variety of shapes and colours, but always hangs down from its stem. It is comprised of showy bracts in purple pink or white with tiny yellow flowers or totally in golden yellow colour.

You may purchase the flowers from local vendors inside the temple. Some vendors are so aggressive that they will approach you once you open up your car door. Once you have the flower set, you will be ready to join the traditional ceremony. You will know certainly where people offer the flowers because the area will be crowded.

When you are in the line, the process is like offering food to monks. First, you say a prayer then put each set of flowers in a monk's bowl, carefully avoiding touching the hands of the monks or novices.

There is no need to hurry because there are always about 100 monks and novices joining the festival.

After finishing the process, some locals also pour water on the feet of monks to wash the dirt before the monks walk the steps to the hilltop to offer flowers to the footprint of Lord Buddha.

According to a tale, the flower offering started during the period of Lord Buddha to honour his charisma. The ceremony in Saraburi used to be a local event but since it was promoted as an unseen attraction by the Tourism Authority of Thailand almost a decade ago, the event lures thousands of tourists each year.

Saying prayers.

In addition to the ceremony in Saraburi, an alternative festival is also held in five temples in Bangkok

 Wat Thepsirin

Wat Ratchapradit

Wat Bowon Nivet

Wat Ratchabophit

 Wat Phraram IX Kanchanaphisek

In Bangkok, people offer simple flowers they always offer to monks or Buddha images such as lotus, jasmine, rose, orchid or chrysanthemum.

Monks in the temples do not carry alms bowls, but they will have yellow bags for people to put flowers inside.

The event in Bangkok is always organised for the afternoon (see the details in the box at right), but you should get there a little earlier to make sure that you will have flowers to offer.

The ceremony has been held at Wat Ratchapradit le for the past 30 years. Those who bring flowers can also offer candy to the monks, who will further offer the flowers to Buddha images in the temples. The sweets are for the monks because they are not allowed to have meals after midday.

In addition to the tak bat dok mai ceremony, some temples might have their own ceremonies such as offering incense and candles (tak bat thoop thien) in Wat Mahathat, the oldest temple in the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat, and candle merit-making (tak bat thien) in Nan.

The aim is for the monks to use these offerings for prayer or study during the three-month period.

Some Buddhists believe that offering flowers, incense and candles to monks will sharpen their minds _ and help them look smart in the next life.

Although all the offerings can be made any day, this is a big event once a year where you can join hundreds of people to offer flowers to celebrate the Buddhist Lent Day.

TRAVEL INFO

- Wat Phra Phutthabat Ratchaworamaha Wihan in Saraburi will organise two rounds for people to offer flowers to monks at 10am and 3pm on July 15 and 16.

- In Bangkok, the ceremony will be organised on July 16, but times vary as follows:

1pm: Wat Thepsirin on Phabphlachai Road in Pom Prap district.

3pm: Wat Ratchapradit on Saran Rom Road and opposite Wat Ratchabophit in Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang area.

5 pm: Wat Bowon Niwet on Phra Sumen Road in Bang Lamphu area, Wat Ratchabophit on Ratchabophit Road and Wat Phraram IX Kanchanaphisek in Rama IX Soi 19.

Fonte - Jornal Bangkok Post

Fotos do artigo e retiradas na net.

O articulista, por várias vezes assitiu a estas cerimónias religiosas.

Conhece todos os templos em referência, mas do Wat Phraram IX não gostou e teve até um aborreciemnto com um monge, que lhe fez o favor, ao varrer o local da entrada do templo, onde o articulista tinha os sapatos, de os atirar para bem longe.

O articulista olhou para o monge e lhe indigaou se estava correcto o que tinha feito, o monge, com cara de poucos amigos, pegando na enorme vassoura, empurrou um dos saptos em direcção do articulista, o outro, teve o articulista de o lá ir buscar.

Não reclamou ao monge superior, por ter reparado que este, que tinha praticado aquele ato era ainda um noviço e estava aborrecido, por moemntos antes ter havido uma cerimónia regiliosa no templo, onde um artista de cinema, super conhecido, tinha prestado juramento para entrar no mosteiro, por tempo indeterminado, seus ajmigos e acompanhantes, laçaram imensas flores, que após a cerimónia ali ficaram postadas no chão, tendo sido o monge noviço encarregado de limpar todo o local.

O articulista já foi igualmente monge budista, noviço, porém, e sabe-o bem, não é desta forma que os monges são educados, este mosteiro jamais visitará.

Este o pequeno templo em questão, que ao lado fica localizado uma escola, tipo seminário, para a formação de monges.