Living in a city as diverse as New York City, I’m accustomed to seeing different representations of faith. I may come across a church steeple, synagogue spire, and mosque dome all within a couple blocks of one another. However, one thing I don’t often see are Buddhist temples.

Founded in Nepal in 250 BCE, Buddhism is the predominant religion in Thailand. Unlike Christianity, Islam, or Judaism, Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, meaning that its believers do not base their faith around a god. Instead, they study the teachings of a man named Siddhãrtha Gautama, or as he is more commonly known, Buddha.

Buddhists believe that all humans are born into a cycle of reincarnation. This means that when a person dies, their soul returns through another human or living thing. How you return in the next life is based on how you act in your current life. This cause-effect cycle is called karma. According to the Buddha’s teachings, the ultimate goal of life is to break free of this cycle of death and rebirth. Buddha explains that you can get off of this wheel of reincarnation if you lead a pure life and create good karma.

The Thai are incredibly dedicated to Buddhism as evidenced by more than 30,000 Buddhist temples or wats across the country. One of the most sacred is Wat Pho, which is both the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. Found within the temple is a golden reclining Buddha, measuring over 140-feet-long. Standing next to this massive statue of Buddha made me feel like I was in the middle of a Salvador Dali painting. It was as if the statue had morphed into something bigger and more beautiful than anything that could ever exist in reality.

From Wat Pho, just across the Chao Phraya River, I could see Wat Arun. In the heart of Wat Arun, stands a 260-foot-high ceramic tile encrusted tower called the ‘Temple of the Dawn.’ Though, I find the name misleading since I personally thought it looked most beautiful at sunset. As you can see from the first video, ‘Intro the Buddhism,’ the temple seems to come alive as the sun goes down and the structure is awakened by illumination.

Next: Celebrate! Thai-style!

Blog by Tati Amare, Jenny M. Buccos, Gabrielle Pasternak & Rachel Rudwall. Edited by Michelle Miller.
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