Holiday
We went to Bangkok after all. Originally, we'd planned to see the palace yesterday, but because of the dress code (pants and close-toed shoes) we opted to stick with the Buddhist temples. As it turned out, yesterday was the Buddhist Holiday Visakha Bucha. It is the most important date on the Buddhist calendar because it commemorates Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death-- all of which are believed to have happened on the same date.
The first temple we visited was the temple of the reclining Buddha or wat poh. There, we saw the enormous statue of Buddha lying on his side. The actual statue didn't have many worshipers, but in other areas of the temple, there were a lot of people praying to smaller statues and burning incense. We prayed as we walked around the area, and left through one of the back gates. When we were about to get a taxi, we met a guard who encouraged us to see some the other smaller temples since it was a special day where we could visit them all for free. He ended up marking their locations on our map and hooking us up with a Tuk-Tuk driver to take us there.
The first temple we visited was the temple of the reclining Buddha or wat poh. There, we saw the enormous statue of Buddha lying on his side. The actual statue didn't have many worshipers, but in other areas of the temple, there were a lot of people praying to smaller statues and burning incense. We prayed as we walked around the area, and left through one of the back gates. When we were about to get a taxi, we met a guard who encouraged us to see some the other smaller temples since it was a special day where we could visit them all for free. He ended up marking their locations on our map and hooking us up with a Tuk-Tuk driver to take us there. We saw the Lucky Buddha, a small, 700 year old statue with in a very small temple, and then we went to the Golden Mountain. 
The golden mountain is a temple made of wood and concrete that spirals up a few hundred feet in the shape of a mountain with a golden spike on top. On the top, there is a large worship room with places to pray to small Buddha statues and burn flowers and candles to them. There was also a dresser with numbered cubbies filled with prayers and fortunes. People were shaking cups of numbered sticks in front of it. Whichever stick fell out; they would read the corresponding note for guidance. The Golden spike was on the roof of this room. We followed a monk up the stairs and found dozens of people praying and walking in circles around the spike. It was decorated with chimes and bells that had specific prayer requests written on them.
While we were up there, the scene got me thinking about the proper Christian perspective of such a place. If Christ were to return today in eschatological judgment, those places would be wiped out instantly right? It really made me upset to see so many people praying to what were obviously chunks of wood, metal, and plastic covered in chipping gold paint. There is no chance that their prayers will be answered. Part of me wanted to do anything I could to stop them from wasting their time and money on those idols. One of the men we met at the lucky Buddha admitted that he had read the bible, and even received an education from a Christian school, but he was still a Buddhist. Buddhism is an easy faith to believe in. Give money, be good, and receive your reward. It is the same with every other religion outside of Christ. It's always tough when I'm reminded what the rest of the world is like. People are lost and perishing, and there are few who are able to show them the way to salvation.
Sorry if that was depressing. I'll end on a positive note. I found out today, that one of the girls who has been coming to New Community refused to go on the Buddhist retreat with the rest of her class. The teacher made her translate 100 words into English as a punishment. I don't think I know many 12 year-olds who are so bold in their faith. It is pretty exciting when the truth of Christ begins to take hold in someone's life.
UPDATE: "Eschatological" refers to the end of all things when Christ comes back to bring God's kingdom to earth as seen in the book of Revelationn. Sometimes I forget about seminary jargon.
The golden mountain is a temple made of wood and concrete that spirals up a few hundred feet in the shape of a mountain with a golden spike on top. On the top, there is a large worship room with places to pray to small Buddha statues and burn flowers and candles to them. There was also a dresser with numbered cubbies filled with prayers and fortunes. People were shaking cups of numbered sticks in front of it. Whichever stick fell out; they would read the corresponding note for guidance. The Golden spike was on the roof of this room. We followed a monk up the stairs and found dozens of people praying and walking in circles around the spike. It was decorated with chimes and bells that had specific prayer requests written on them.
While we were up there, the scene got me thinking about the proper Christian perspective of such a place. If Christ were to return today in eschatological judgment, those places would be wiped out instantly right? It really made me upset to see so many people praying to what were obviously chunks of wood, metal, and plastic covered in chipping gold paint. There is no chance that their prayers will be answered. Part of me wanted to do anything I could to stop them from wasting their time and money on those idols. One of the men we met at the lucky Buddha admitted that he had read the bible, and even received an education from a Christian school, but he was still a Buddhist. Buddhism is an easy faith to believe in. Give money, be good, and receive your reward. It is the same with every other religion outside of Christ. It's always tough when I'm reminded what the rest of the world is like. People are lost and perishing, and there are few who are able to show them the way to salvation.Sorry if that was depressing. I'll end on a positive note. I found out today, that one of the girls who has been coming to New Community refused to go on the Buddhist retreat with the rest of her class. The teacher made her translate 100 words into English as a punishment. I don't think I know many 12 year-olds who are so bold in their faith. It is pretty exciting when the truth of Christ begins to take hold in someone's life.
UPDATE: "Eschatological" refers to the end of all things when Christ comes back to bring God's kingdom to earth as seen in the book of Revelationn. Sometimes I forget about seminary jargon.
