" temple sojourn to scala "

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nine temples in five hours on a temple quest for spiritual fulfillment.

is or is not as fun as it sounds. the answer?

is.

temples in chronological order, spiritual benefits of specific temples/shrines + some highlights:

1. wat pra kaew - the royal grand palace: increased luck/financial success

- let's say you're a tourist and you have a week in BKK. whatcha gonna do? hit up temples and floating markets and street food oh my. the grand palace houses the famed emerald buddha. it's the big green one, yeah. it's hard not to be completely overwhelmed by the size of the grounds. nong golf and i made our minds up that we could finish visiting these planned nine temples if we had enough faith in ourselves and our abilities.

2. sam lak muang - the city pillar shrine: increased stability/luck, control, calmness in life

3. wat pho - temple of the reclining buddha: calmness in life

- after making merit, i overheard some foreign tourists saying that they wanted to look at the feet of this enormous buddha statue. they walked along the side of the statue to the end and looked at the mother-of-pearl inlaid glyphs like bush monkeys trying to grasp the concept of interstellar exploration. it was an interesting sight to behold for sure, but did they really have to look all crazy and distant? maybe. in any case it's always interesting living, however briefly, through someone else's experience. it also made the trip a tinge more interesting.

4. wat suthat thep wararam- taat temple: beauty in life increases, positive outlook on life

5. san chao por sua- chinese tiger shrine: increased confidence and a strong sense of Self

- this temple has so many devotees visiting, that the inside of the main area looks like the building is on fire. large tabled plump with flower garlands, trays of offerings, eggs, rice, pork, oil. we also bought sacks of oranges to offer, but when the time comes, you have to hand all of these items to a person who will bless them for you, before handing back to you the oranges. my eyes felt like some boyscouts had thrown ash into them and giggled away into the dark woods.

6. wat bavorn nives vora maha vihan - bavorn temple: safety, protection against dangers

7. wat chana songkram - chana songkram temple: overcoming life's obstacles, success

8. wat rakang kohsitaram - rakang temple: receiving recognition, releasing bitterness

- we took a 2-baht ferry across the chao praya river, i still had a sack of oranges and they looked silly in my hands. i felt like i should just eat them all, but there was no place to put the peel and seeds. at this temple you have to speak a very specific chant or prayer. the walkway leading up to the entrance of this temple is lined with water-bound beings of many different fish and crustacean manifestations. the pint is to release them back into the river, in order to make merit. releasing a living being in order to release the things inside you that you hold onto. it's hard not to cringe inside when you see a lot of baby turtles in a bucket of low water, but knowing that they will be released make that feeling less prominent.

9. wat arun/wat jang - temple of dawn: changing all bad aspects into good turning a 180

- the temple of dawn looms high and steep over your head. we were very tired and exhausted at this point, but somehow we had enough energy to get through our physical pains. it was a beautiful end to our temple trip. we rode back to the pier on motorcycle taxis and took the ferry across the chao praya river. nong golf looked at me when the ferry was setting off, and said "hey, we made it." and we so did! the deep orange glow of a fading sun gently dipping past the horizon.

- it's difficult to comprehend the complete sense of calm in your body when you make merit at least just one time, let alone 9 consecutive times. it's a feeling of complete bliss; an empowerment which courses through your veins and uplifts and breathes a new positive life into every problem you may have had or will encounter. the act of making merit is somehow overshadowed by this sense of empowerment. you walk forth from such an experience feeling whole. feeling content. feeling free and looking to bettering everything in the universe.

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january 8 - birth, 6:30pm, scala theatre, siam, bangkok****

you talk about a "complete," and how that sort of a piece entails that all the aspects of a piece be so well put-together, that you as a viewer are a witness to that magnetic quality which is the complete movie-watching experience.

birth is not the movie i thought it would be. it has these really moments of intense fascination with people's reactions. there are tight close-ups and lot's of faces. you can see what the characters are thinking about or trying to figure out and who can't help but be enthralled in that sort of lovely storytelling?

it's spellboundingly well done, and you find yourself actually actively thinking while you're watching it. this alone is a sign of a good production. the use of music when juxtaposed against the imagery is splendid as well as slightly "internal soundtracky." can i say that?

with me forgetting that word i learned at school about off-screen/on-screen sounds, the audio people have paralleded the emotional quality of the music in such a way that you are actually feeling the blood course through the characters; conveying pain, longing, engaging the Self, lurid, intensely calm, festering, frustrations exposed, and the abandonment of the spirit.

it's a lovely well-made piece of film. there are quiet moments that really cling to the entire plain of the body; your skin pulls taut and the muscles clench and release all in beautiful syncopation. i love to watch movies like this. they let the players and the story push itself along without spoon-feeding anything but the slightest of details here and there; bread crumbs inlaid to lure hansel and gretel to the house in the woods. i left the theater surprised and affected in a great way.

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