What I Learned at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Thailand
- Trevor Alexander Nestor
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
This week after traveling to the hidden QuFu Kung Fu school near Jinan, China run by Shaolin monks (which cost less than US rent to attend), I have been in Bangkok in the heart of Thailand where I visited the King's royal palace and the local Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
My initial impression was that the King's royal palace felt somewhat similar to the Forbidden City in China, but with less visitors, and has been upkept to a greater degree by the Royal monks. Rather than wood and red buildings, the buildings are overlaid with glittering stones and gold.
Royal guards behaved much like you might expect from the guards at the Queen's palace in the UK, with architecture reminiscent of what you might see in Europe - albeit a unique blend with Eastern Chinese and Hindu influence. While with the art of Kung Fu one learns to control and balance power dynamics through the body and mind, with Theravada Buddhism (the form found in Thailand), there is an emphasis on the original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).Â
Temples are found across Bangkok, and serve as community centers for locals and travelers to process memories and events through symbolic rituals, or to focus intentions - including those dedicated not only to the Buddha but also towards Hindu deities. While I can't say that I am particularly superstitious I can't say that software engineering is much different, and ultimately most anything can be understood through the lens of physics - even sociocultural phenomenon.
The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is found only a short walk from the King's Palace, and houses numerous treasures including an enormous gold Buddha statue in the reclining position, which is according to legend the pose taken by the Buddha before passing into the after life and achieving Nirvana. What I found to be striking about this is how nonchalant the statue depicted the Buddha - almost as if he was reclining on a couch, and no longer had any cares to give about anything.
In the United States, I was often operating in a self-conscious manner, caring about policing my tone and motivations, not wanting to rock the boat too much. Over time, however, I've found that can not only be self-destructive to the self, but also to others. The Buddha both did not find Nirvana in austerity nor complete self indulgence, but a sort of balanced stable middle ground - balancing the needs of the self with the expectations of others. This is not always an easy feat.
At times the most responsible path is to be as irresponsible as possible, and if you have your ducks in a row, achieving Zen can be as easy as reclining on your couch and speaking your mind, or just taking a nap instead.