The New Bot - โบสถ

Sunday March 16, 2008 morning.
We went to the consecration of a new Bot at a local Wat in Chiang Mai. I'm embarrassed because I don't even know the name of the Wat. [Later Sunday: I caught the sign at the entrance of the Wat on the video - it's Wat Tham Khaam.] It is right next to the house of one of the people at work who invited us to go. I also found a website that is very helpful as I describe what was going on. Actually, I'm borrowing from
Thaiworldview. I'll italicize the quotes from Thaiworld.

In a Thai temple, the "BOT" (โบสถ์) is the finest building where monks are assembled for religious rites (สังฆกรรม) such as morning and evening prayers, ordination. It is the most sacred part of the temple.

Any Buddhist religious ceremonies cannot happen in a "BOT" until it has not been consecrated. This ceremony is called "FANG LUUK NIMIT" (ฝังลูกนิมิต).

The eight boundary stones ("SIMA" - สีมา) around the "BOT" indicate that the building has been consecrated and can be used for monks religious rites.

Ouan told us last night that these stones were part of the consecration of the new Bot and there were about eight of them. It wasn't completely clear what happens. You can see there is a cloth over a deep (3 meters maybe) hole. He said they didn't get covered with dirt and buried. I'll have to look at another temple to see if I can find them. You could buy gold leaf to cover the stones with. Another way you could donate money was to buy a sword that would be used to cut the ropes. Then you get the sword afterward.
These swords were about $300 each (Baht 9.999) and there were less expensive ones too. Ouan said the whole thing cost Baht 10 million, so they needed a lot of donations over the nine years they've been getting this ready.

Both the "BOT" and the "WIHARN" contain a presiding Buddha image and usually several smaller attendant statues. Some statues are so well known that Thai people come from far away in order to worship them. In Thailand, there are more Buddha statues than inhabitants (60 Millions). Buddha statues follow a precise set of positions. These positions have not changed since centuries.

In front of the "BOT" entrance there are often "NAGA" (นาค). Naga was the serpent who did protect the Lord Buddha when he was meditating. Sometimes Buddhist deities, lotus are built instead of "NAGA".

The inside walls of "BOT" are often covered with beautiful Buddhist paintings. They often represent Lord Buddha's previous lifes ("JAKATA" - ชาดก)

In this case, they portrayed a mix of modern and old activities of people in the village. [Monday: Actually, on checking the video - not yet posted - I realized the murals are in the Wiharn, not the Bot. The Bot has beautiful wood walls.]

There were people from all over at the area. Representatives from other Wats came as well as from the community - such as the local market (traditional Thai market, not supermarket) and schools. There was a parade of sorts, with floats and music, there were several stages where schools and other villages danced, sang, drummed. A group of farmers from one of the villages that my organization works with came for dinner to Ouan's house too and then with us to the fair. Their village has a woman leader - the only one of the 92 villages in their district. Her story could be a whole other blog post.

But the pictures don't capture the feel of the hot evening, the smells, and the sounds. The video, which I hope to edit today, will at least capture the sounds.