Gleaming gold and red temples, huge golden statues of the Buddha, the smell of incense, grave-faced monks chanting the sutras in Pali, lines of reverent worshippers sitting in 'samadhi', the occasional slow booming sound of a gong. This is the picture most travellers have of Thai Buddhism, and to an extent it is a true reflection as an earlier post of mine on the subject shows (July 19th). But it's not the entire picture and may not be close enough to the reality of how the religion is practised up-country and by people beyond the main wats (temples) that attract the tourists. Last week my family visited Wat Tung Hiang between Chachoengsao and Chonburi, about 100 kilometres due east of Bangkok along Route 314. Thailand is densely populated with wats which in a sense represent a
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