Blessings from Thailand!

bracelets from the temple blessing

bracelets from the temple blessing

Last Sunday Karim and I were blessed by a Buddhist monk at the Wat Chalong Temple.

We arrived to a building next to a statue of a Buddha and some animals around him, reminded me of a Thai version of Noah’s Ark scene…

The first room we entered had some Chinese tourists finishing up with their guided tour, with many amulets being displayed for sale, like a jewelry store around the praying and blessing area. At the front of the room on the left was a picture of a famous monk and some offerings around it, with a golden Buddha statue in the middle, and then another picture of a different monk on the right side of the room. A monk sat on the right side blessing people.

We put some money as a gift to the Temple and the monk instructed us to sit in front of him. We did like the people before and knelt down over our knees with our foreheads touching the floor in front of us.

The monk chanted a blessing in Thai as he splashed water on us with what looked like a bundle of sticks from a bowl to his right. This lasted about a minute. He then put bracelets on our wrists.

Karim said that halfway through the blessing he had a rush of goodness he felt go over him. I had no such feelings but it was a peaceful and calming experience. I enjoyed it.

We then walked to the actual Temple part of the compound and paid some money for flowers, a candle and incense. I lit a candle for our families and laid some flowers as an offering for the Temple Gods.

Upon our exodus from the Temple compound a dog started harassing us with some extreme barking. Made me feel very uncomfortable, like we had done something to offend the Gods..?

I didn’t take ay pictures of the Temple here as I have read it is seen as rude and can harm the harmony of the holy place.

Next we trek to another holy spot on the island, The Big Buddha.

As we drove up, this is the Buddha we saw from below.

As we drove up, this is the Buddha we saw from below.

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