Jack discovered, in Google, that a Thai Buddhist Temple, “Buddharangsee“, was only a 30 minute drive away from the farm, so we decided to have a day out and, with the help of our, now indispensable, GPS, we found it.
This beautiful Stupa was surrounded by meticulously manicured topiary.
No one seemed to be around, so, taking his shoes off, Jack went inside what appeared to be the office building. He came back out and beckoned me to come inside. I took my shoes off and followed him. Passing the kitchens and administration rooms we stood at the entrance to a lavishly decorated Buddhist Temple. Numerous vases of flowers surrounded the Buddhist statues and 4 monks in saffron robes sat cross-legged on a raised platform along the right side of the room. They were being served platters of fruit by local members of the Temple.
We were welcomed in and invited to sit and join them. Not really knowing what was happening, we tip toed over to the left side, offering the wai greeting of joined hands and lowered ourselves, cross-legged, onto the floor.
As the monks ate, one of the Thai men came over to us and explained that a few days ago a very high-ranking Buddhist monk, in Thailand, had died and this was to be an offering of prayers for his soul.
This is a photo of the monk, I did not find out his name.
As the monks finished eating they began to chant. I bowed my head and closed my eyes and the waves of chanting rose and fell passing from one to the other and filling the room with a spiritual presence. Suddenly drops of water landed on my head, one of the monks was walking along the small group of local Buddhists members of the temple sprinkling them with holy water.
Then the women in the group took up the chant. I heard a discreet burp and glanced up to see that the monks had been served rice and dishes of Thai food. By now I was wondering how much longer I could stay sitting with my legs crossed and I was thankful to have a wall to lean against. After about 20 minutes it was finished. I found it much harder to struggle to my feet and needed Jack’s helping hand. The local Thais invited us to join them for a meal.
I wondered about taking photos but then saw every one else busy posing and clicking away with their phone cameras.
This friendly group invited us to stay for a meal.
It was only a small group of people as being a Monday many of their Buddhist friends could not make it to the ceremony.
After the meal we went for a walk around the grounds. The Monastery had been opened in 1988 and it had been created with care and love to provide a peaceful place for contemplation.
The golden reclining Buddha had a serene and peaceful face.
This intricately carved shrine held another Buddha and a statue of the Supreme Monk in Thailand.
Buddha was everywhere in all his glorious forms. But what else caught my eye was the number of benches strategically placed around for sitting and meditating.
So I took this series for Jude’s last month of her “bench series”.
What an unexpected and interesting day, taking part in this very special and spiritual ceremony, and then enjoying a delicious meal with this friendly group of Buddhists.
What great timing for your visit – sounds like you were meant to be there.
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We felt that too. Had originally planned to go on Sunday. Jack follows the Buddhist philosophy so he really appreciated the ceremony
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You really make an adventurous pair Pauline you and Jack 🙂 Lovely share of a post . I think I would relish a meditative bench not so the sitting cross legged .. eeek the back and knees .
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The back was ok I had a wall to lean against, but the old knees creaked when I got up.
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What a delightful and uplifting experience. It’s lovely when something unexpected happens. Thanks for sharing.
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That’s what makes travel addictive, the unexpected moments.
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What a great day out that proved to be, Pauline! 🙂 I love the shapes of those trees too.
Have a happy Christmas, darlin’ 🙂
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It was very memorable Jo. Best wishes to you and yours for Christmas and the new year.
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What encounters you and Jack create. Thanks for sharing this one in words and photos – and for not airbrushing out your need for a helping hand to get up!
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It was not a very elegant moment Meg…
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Goodness PP you do end up in some extraordinary places. There is never a dull day with you! I’m afraid I’d have been in trouble sitting cross legged for more than 5 minutes these days, but it must have been a wonderful experience. And thank you for the benches, how lovely that they create one around the trees!
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I actually surprised myself, but getting up was a real problem. Thank goodness for Jack’s helping hand.
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Gorgeous photos, Pauline. What an interesting experience. 🙂
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Thanks Sylvia and the food was very tasty.
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A delightful post Pauline, for which many thanks, and as I said to Jack – a peaceful little corner of South-East Asia in Australia. _/\_
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The gardens were delightfully peaceful and encouraged meditation.
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What a wonderful find! And how serendipitous to arrive at such an interesting time.
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I thought our timing was perfect. Unexpected to find something so interesting happening on a Monday.
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Isn’t it wonderful when you come across something unexpectedly? What a lovely experience 🙂
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A perfect example of going with the flow Gilly.
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What a beautiful place (and lovely surprise for you), Pauline! 😀
I hope you’re nowhere near those storms today xxxx
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Thank goodness it passed by us, only got 3mm of rain. I felt so sorry for those poor people in Kurnell
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I saw it on the news. It was horrible. That wind was like a cat 3 cyclone. I’m so glad it passed you by! xxxx
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We had the BOM service on all the time watching it. It surrounded us on 3 sides but, thank goodness for us, it kept going north.
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So lucky! xxxx
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Also – the red finch chicks fledged today and I got a couple of awesome shots! There were four of them – three females and a male 😀
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Look forward to seeing the photos…
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A tractor just went past and ran over the male chick, but it got up after a few minutes and flew away (maybe because I ran outside screaming!) It seems fine now. The tyre must have just brushed it and stunned it. Good grief, my hubby thought the world was coming to an end when I saw it and started yelling 😀
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He had a lucky escape, maybe your screams frightened him more than the tractor wheels…
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Nice post Pauline you have enjoyed the hospitality and beauty of the two major schools of Buddhism. this one, the Theravada. The Mahayana, Nan Tien Temple Lake Illawarra as well as the one at Brisbane and many others as well throughout Asia. They have all been good experiences.
The many different schools of Buddhism all believe in the same basic philosophy The Buddha taught.
All the different branches have added their own ideas but as they agree on the basic teaching there can be no grave conflict. I may do a post on this subject rather than rave on about it here. Suffice to say thanks for accompanying me and appreciating the good. Pleasures shared are the best. _/\_
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It was a very interesting day and a quite unexpected joining in of their ceremony and meal. Going with the flow….
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