THAILAND PILGRIMAGE SITE

BY YING YANG

To explore Buddhist temples and beautiful architecture or find a pilgrimage site, come to

Bangkok, Thailand. There are more than 400 Buddhist temples in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. Walking in this city, I enjoy listening to the ringing bells and seeing the incense slowly rising upon the altars. Everything feels full of mystery and peace. I am not a Buddhist, but for me Thailand is a pilgrimage place to learn about

Buddhism, and I

have a stronger feeling toward Buddhism in Thailand than in China.

Grand Palace is my first choice for learning more about Buddhism. As a landmark of Bangkok, Grand Palace is the most perfectly preserved, the largest and the most well-known palace of all the dynasties. It is a must-see place for every tourist who visits Bangkok. The requirements for visiting are worth mentioning: to enter the Grand Palace, men need to wear formal trousers and ladies must wear long skirts below the knees. At the entrance, many vendors sell local patterned skirts, and I bought one to wear around my own waist.

Entering the Grand Palace courtyard, I was impressed by the magnificent landscape. Large grass fields and bodhi trees with different postures met my eye at once. Among ancient trees, the Buddha Temple and many pagodas inside the Grand Palace are resplendent, unique and exquisite. The roof of the

Buddha Temple is quite large with a long triangle shape, rising to the sky to underline faithfulness.

During the visit, I was so impressed by the Jade Buddha statue, positioned in the

Mahavira Hall. To see the Buddha statue, Thailand’s national treasure, tourists have to take off their shoes before entering the hall to show faithfulness and respect.

There is a big praying area inside the hall, but it is not open to tourists. Though there is no monk or incense burner in the temple, tourists can offer small yellow wreaths, bouquets, and flowers in front of the pagoda.

After visiting the Grand Palace, I took a boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery alongside the Taiwan Strait. The high-rise buildings on both sides of the river show the modern atmosphere of Bangkok, while the golden spire and tall pagoda of the Jade Buddha Temple are in another style, showing the more ancient charm of Bangkok.

Bangkok is also famous for Erawan Shrine, one of the most popular Hindu shrines in downtown Bangkok. It honors Brahma, a god known for his kindness and sympathy whose four faces are in charge of all affairs in the world, representing career, love, health and wealth respectively. Throughout the day, crowds pay their respects, presenting flowers and incense sticks to gain good wishes. I also showed my respect, praying in front of Erawan Shrine, and enjoyed the faithfulness and self-reflection.

Later, I learned that elephants seem to be a symbol of Thailand. While traveling there, elephants can be seen everywhere: people wear clothes with elephant patterns on them, arts and crafts shops display and sell carved elephants of teak, ivory, elephant bone

and other materials in different sizes and shapes. To explore more deeply and feel the spirit of the elephant, I went to the Erawan Museum, which is well known for its giant threeheaded elephant art display. The structure of the museum amazed me: the whole building is the shape of a giant three-headed elephant. The inside of the museum consists of the first floor representing the underworld, the second for earth and the top floor standing as heaven. It combines history, cultures, religions, arts, and customs of faith through time in a beautiful way.

For a place filled with peace, beautiful architecture, mystery, and religion, you must explore Bangkok, Thailand.