It all started three years ago when a group of Samui residents, both Thai and foreign, were stressing over the damage being done to the island's natural environment. "Why don't they do something about the over-development ... deforestation ... lack of infrastructure," had become the refrain of concerned residents who watched from the sidelines for years as rapid development took its toll on the island's once pristine natural environment. But out of this chorus arose the question, "Who are They?" The group realised that, "'They' are not going to do anything: We live here! We have to do something!"
And so the seed for the Samui Mala Festival was planted - an event that celebrates environmental healing on Koh Samui. With the call-to-action slogan "Be the Change", what began as a one-day event held in the lush grounds of Tamarind Springs spa in 2007 has grown into a week-lofng, multi-event, multi-venue annual community festival celebrating healthy living in a healthy environment. This September's Mala Festival went beyond the traditional community celebration to include a Yoga Retreat for Peace as well as a "Green Day", sponsored by the Thai Hotels Associaton to promote environmental awareness in children, a "Blue Day" to highlight water and reef conservation issues, and a Healing Forum with a holistic focus on the mind, body and spirit.
The healing theme spread to "Healing Art for a Healing Island", an exhibition by artists living on Samui and inspired by the idea of supporting locals' efforts to earn a living in a way that celebrates healing, music and art.
After the Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary donated a beautiful gallery space, Samui-based German artist Nartana Holzweiler volunteered to take on the challenge of organising a show by five Thai and five expat artists. The exhibition runs the spectrum form high-profile names such as architect Robert Powell, whose exquisite architectural drawings and paintings have graced glossy coffee-table books and been displayed in galleries across the US, Europe and Asia, to newcomer Aree Wutthanamassapong, who swapped her fried-fish stall for an easel a year ago and began whipping up dozens of vibrant, multithued, abstract scenes of nature.
While every artist brings their own perspective, a quick glance around the gallery reveals the circle is a recurrent motif - a symbol of the spiritual wholeness at the heart of the concept of healing. For Konkarn Jeap Boomivitaya, whose delicate Chinese ink paintings on mulberry paper depict serene circles and landscapes, inspiration comes from Zen calligraphy; after years of meditation she's able her to bring her mind to the stillness required to paint a perfect circle in a single brush stroke. In the dharmic tradition, the circle symbolises wholeness, completion, fullness and enlightenement. Spirituality as a form of healing is also the inspiration for Sujitra June Kerdsompong, owner of the popular June's Art Cafe in Bophut, whose mixed media oil-and-copper works depict lotus flowers and other Buddhist images. Another key theme is the concept of nature as a healing force, a feature of Gilbert Medam's miniature installations with banana-leaf themes and Nick Woodcroft's elegant eroded-wood sculptures.
For organiser Holzweiler, the healing aspect took a more personal form. His pieces were painted during the break-up of a relationship. "While I was painting I made my peace with the past. I used items left over from the relationship - a letter of forgiveness, a piece of canvas with her footprint - and intergrated them into the paintings. It's like composting, recycling old negative energy into something positive.
"If the exhibition starts a Samui movement of healing art, that would be an accomplishment," says Holzweiler. Encouraged by positive feedback from visitors, be says the art event will definitely be a feature of next year's Samui Mala.
The "Healing Art for a Healing Island" exhibition and sale runs through December at Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary Koh Samui. For details, visit www.Kamalaya.com.
A MOVEMENT IS BORN
Inspired by the Sanskrit word mala - "a string of beads" - the annual Samui Mala Festival unites residents by the common thread of a sharing, caring community focused on keeping the island green for future generations.
Run by volunteers on a non-profit basis, the Samui Mala group aims to raise awareness and take action to regenerate the local environment and communitires by raising funds for projects as well as providing information and a network system for groups and individuals.
For details, visit www.SamuiMala.org.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
WOUNDED ART MARKET SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE
Quick sales at decent prices at this month's contemporary art fairs in London and Paris indicate the market bouncing back from trauma but still not a pretty picture, experts said.
"The market is down but not out. Volumes and values are down, but there is a renewed confidence and a renewed spirit," said Georgina Adam of The Art Newspaper.
Held consecutively over four days each in the two art capitals, the Frieze and FIAC fairs comprising hundreds of the world's top contemporary-art galleries wound up proving that bidders were still being lured by cutting-edge art.
FIAC organisers said its many deals were a "sign there is market confidence" while Frieze noted "renewed confidence in the contemporary art market."
Those claims will be tested at this week's New York auctions, which kick off today.
After months of trauma that saw auctions shrivel, fairs cancelled and prices nosedive, Zurich-and-London gallery Hauser and Wirth sold a Louise Bourgeois sculpture at Frieze for 2.4 million euros (Bt118.5 million), while New York's David Zwirner pocketed 680,000 euro for a Neo Rauch.
At the FIAC, New York's Sharstedt Gallery sold a Cindy Shermann photo for over a million euros and Paris-Nekw York's Yvon Lambert sold a Jenny Holzer for over 300,000 euro.
"It's much better than last year, the market is healtheir," said lambert.
The crisis was affecting collectors, said private French buyers Marc and Josee Gensollen. "We have to make sacrifices, but some of us choose not to sacrifice art."
"However, negotiating the price has become easier," he said.
In the mid-2000s, contemporary art - works by artists born after 1945- saw a boom that sent prices soaring 85 per cent from 2002 to 2008, with 620 per cent more works sold at over a million euros in the same period, according to artprice.com.
The party ended in last year's economic turmoil, driving prices down 27 per cent as billionaies and banks fell off the map, and finance from museums, funds and corporations melted away.
"The worst months were between last November and April. It was a terrible period," Adam said.
"Things have picked up since the Art Basel fair in June. There are buyers, but prices are down a lot," she said.
Last month, the world's top-grossing artist Damien Hirst scooped an Asian record of 13.37 million Hong Kong dollars (Bt57.7 million) at auction with "Tranquillity" (thousands of dead butterflies laid out in a circular mosaic) - though it fell short of its estimate.
Betting on the appeal novelty to counter the overriding gloom, London's avant-garde Frieze fair this year launched a new section titled Frame, where 29 galleries less than six years old showcased emerging talent from lesser-known territories.
FIAC on the other hand put the accent on blue-chip galleries and blue-chip talent.
It featured a specially designed show of modern art bringing together 25 museum-quality 20th century works. Among them was a Mondrian titled "Composition with Blue, Red and Yellow", estimated at US$35 million (Bt1.17 billion) and said to be the most valuable in private hands. It was on hold for a private collector last weekend.
Lesser-known avant-garde creations possibly took longer to seel, but many on display found buyers.
"I think there is a new generation of collectors and a new public for contemporary art," said Chantal Crousel of the eponymous Paris gallery, which sold half of its works on show at the FIAC, for prices ranging from 550 euro to 300,000 euro.
"There are people out there who want to live in the times and who want art that reflects the times."
"The market is down but not out. Volumes and values are down, but there is a renewed confidence and a renewed spirit," said Georgina Adam of The Art Newspaper.
Held consecutively over four days each in the two art capitals, the Frieze and FIAC fairs comprising hundreds of the world's top contemporary-art galleries wound up proving that bidders were still being lured by cutting-edge art.
FIAC organisers said its many deals were a "sign there is market confidence" while Frieze noted "renewed confidence in the contemporary art market."
Those claims will be tested at this week's New York auctions, which kick off today.
After months of trauma that saw auctions shrivel, fairs cancelled and prices nosedive, Zurich-and-London gallery Hauser and Wirth sold a Louise Bourgeois sculpture at Frieze for 2.4 million euros (Bt118.5 million), while New York's David Zwirner pocketed 680,000 euro for a Neo Rauch.
At the FIAC, New York's Sharstedt Gallery sold a Cindy Shermann photo for over a million euros and Paris-Nekw York's Yvon Lambert sold a Jenny Holzer for over 300,000 euro.
"It's much better than last year, the market is healtheir," said lambert.
The crisis was affecting collectors, said private French buyers Marc and Josee Gensollen. "We have to make sacrifices, but some of us choose not to sacrifice art."
"However, negotiating the price has become easier," he said.
In the mid-2000s, contemporary art - works by artists born after 1945- saw a boom that sent prices soaring 85 per cent from 2002 to 2008, with 620 per cent more works sold at over a million euros in the same period, according to artprice.com.
The party ended in last year's economic turmoil, driving prices down 27 per cent as billionaies and banks fell off the map, and finance from museums, funds and corporations melted away.
"The worst months were between last November and April. It was a terrible period," Adam said.
"Things have picked up since the Art Basel fair in June. There are buyers, but prices are down a lot," she said.
Last month, the world's top-grossing artist Damien Hirst scooped an Asian record of 13.37 million Hong Kong dollars (Bt57.7 million) at auction with "Tranquillity" (thousands of dead butterflies laid out in a circular mosaic) - though it fell short of its estimate.
Betting on the appeal novelty to counter the overriding gloom, London's avant-garde Frieze fair this year launched a new section titled Frame, where 29 galleries less than six years old showcased emerging talent from lesser-known territories.
FIAC on the other hand put the accent on blue-chip galleries and blue-chip talent.
It featured a specially designed show of modern art bringing together 25 museum-quality 20th century works. Among them was a Mondrian titled "Composition with Blue, Red and Yellow", estimated at US$35 million (Bt1.17 billion) and said to be the most valuable in private hands. It was on hold for a private collector last weekend.
Lesser-known avant-garde creations possibly took longer to seel, but many on display found buyers.
"I think there is a new generation of collectors and a new public for contemporary art," said Chantal Crousel of the eponymous Paris gallery, which sold half of its works on show at the FIAC, for prices ranging from 550 euro to 300,000 euro.
"There are people out there who want to live in the times and who want art that reflects the times."
The world in art
Ever since Yves Carcelle launched "Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture" in September, the 400-page three0in-one book has become a collector's item. This collabo ration of nearly 100 artistts, photographers,architects since 1980s is a celebration of the brand and features works bu pi9oneers Cesar, Sol Lewitt and Oliver Debre, as well as by Marc Jacobs, stehen Sprouse, Takashi Muragami and Richard Prince. There are also some stunning shots of advertising campaigns captured by InezVan Lamsweerde& Vinoodh Matadin, Jean Lariviere and Annie Leibovitz.
The illustrated anthology is supplemented by critical essays that analyse and shed new light on
Vuitton's commitment during one of the most fertile periods of contemporary creation. Written by international critics from the world of art, fashion and architecture, the boos are in three languages-French,English and Italian.
The deluxe edition exclusively designed by takashi Murakami will soon be for sale in louis Vuitton stores and through
www.Louis Vuitton.com.
The illustrated anthology is supplemented by critical essays that analyse and shed new light on
Vuitton's commitment during one of the most fertile periods of contemporary creation. Written by international critics from the world of art, fashion and architecture, the boos are in three languages-French,English and Italian.
The deluxe edition exclusively designed by takashi Murakami will soon be for sale in louis Vuitton stores and through
www.Louis Vuitton.com.
Asian art slowly perking up
While contemporary-art markets in the US and Europe continue to suffer from a weak economy, the Asian market could be showing signs of a small, if slow, recovery. The superstar at the recent Sotheby Auction in Hong Kong was none other than Zhang Xiaogang.
"Silence fell on Hong Kong auction room when bidding on a painting by Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Xiaogang reached HK$7 million" (Bt30 million), Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. "At the market's peak in May 2008, buyers offered up to 10 times more than that for the top lot."
Zhang's 2005 diptych "Comrade" - an oil portrait of an unsmiling, Mao-style couple on 130 centimetre-by-110 centimetre canvases - eventually fetched HK$8.5 million, the most expensive lot at Sotheby's sale.
But compare that to May 2008, the last major Hong Kong auction before the Lehman Brothers Holdings collapse, when a painting of red guards by Zeng Fanzhi set an Asia contemporary art record of HK$75.4 million.
Asia contemporary art prices still have a long way to go before they make a full recovery.
"Silence fell on Hong Kong auction room when bidding on a painting by Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Xiaogang reached HK$7 million" (Bt30 million), Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. "At the market's peak in May 2008, buyers offered up to 10 times more than that for the top lot."
Zhang's 2005 diptych "Comrade" - an oil portrait of an unsmiling, Mao-style couple on 130 centimetre-by-110 centimetre canvases - eventually fetched HK$8.5 million, the most expensive lot at Sotheby's sale.
But compare that to May 2008, the last major Hong Kong auction before the Lehman Brothers Holdings collapse, when a painting of red guards by Zeng Fanzhi set an Asia contemporary art record of HK$75.4 million.
Asia contemporary art prices still have a long way to go before they make a full recovery.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
ENVOY PUTS THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THAI CULTURE
Britain's ambassador to Thailand, Quinton Quayle, believes Thailand has a great culture, but one who needs to be convinced so is a predecessor who was here more than four decades ago. Quayle's urgent press statement offered a fresh and contrasting view on Thai society following bold criticism by Sir Anthony Rumbold, British ambassador to Thailand from 1965 to 1967.
The former envoy said of Thais: "They have no literature, no painting and only a very odd kind of music; their sculpture, ceramics and dancing are borrowed from others, and their architecture is monotonous and interior decoration hideous.
"Nobody can deny that gambling and golf are the chief pleasures of the rich, and that licentiousness is the main pleasure of them all."
Rumbold's statement was made in a personal letter to Britain's Foreign Office more than four decades ago, and was kept in the British National Archives until disclosed recently to the BBC under Freedom of Information.
Until 2006, British ambassadors retiring or moving countries traditionally sent a valedictory dispatch to London, offering candid personal assessments of the country in which they had served.
In his statement issued on Monday, Quayle - ambassador since 2007- said his views towards Thailand were very different from those of his predecessor of 42 years ago.
"Ever since I was first posted to Thailand 30 years ago [as second secretary, political], I have been impressed by the richness of Thai culture, be it art, sculpture, dance, music or literature.
"All this is embellished by the natural beauty of the landscape and the charm and warmth of the Thai people. The country for me certainly lives up to its brand name 'Amazing Thailand'," he said.
Officials from the Foreign Ministry will today speak before the House committee on foreign affairs about the undiplomatic remarks made by Sir Anthony Rumbold after he left Thailand in 1967.
The ministry's ambassador Isorn Pocmontri will lead officials from the Department of Europe Affairs to explain how the remark came from a valedictory letters traditionally sent by Foreign Office mandarins on completing an overseas posting and that it did not represent the views of the UK government.
The former envoy said of Thais: "They have no literature, no painting and only a very odd kind of music; their sculpture, ceramics and dancing are borrowed from others, and their architecture is monotonous and interior decoration hideous.
"Nobody can deny that gambling and golf are the chief pleasures of the rich, and that licentiousness is the main pleasure of them all."
Rumbold's statement was made in a personal letter to Britain's Foreign Office more than four decades ago, and was kept in the British National Archives until disclosed recently to the BBC under Freedom of Information.
Until 2006, British ambassadors retiring or moving countries traditionally sent a valedictory dispatch to London, offering candid personal assessments of the country in which they had served.
In his statement issued on Monday, Quayle - ambassador since 2007- said his views towards Thailand were very different from those of his predecessor of 42 years ago.
"Ever since I was first posted to Thailand 30 years ago [as second secretary, political], I have been impressed by the richness of Thai culture, be it art, sculpture, dance, music or literature.
"All this is embellished by the natural beauty of the landscape and the charm and warmth of the Thai people. The country for me certainly lives up to its brand name 'Amazing Thailand'," he said.
Officials from the Foreign Ministry will today speak before the House committee on foreign affairs about the undiplomatic remarks made by Sir Anthony Rumbold after he left Thailand in 1967.
The ministry's ambassador Isorn Pocmontri will lead officials from the Department of Europe Affairs to explain how the remark came from a valedictory letters traditionally sent by Foreign Office mandarins on completing an overseas posting and that it did not represent the views of the UK government.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
MONKS, PRIESTS AND . . . STEVEN SEAGAL
It's been a bad week for monks. I have a nightly radio show and in the space of three days we had three separate stories about wayward monks. On Monday it was a report about two ascetics in Pathum Thani who by day wore saffron robes, chanted upon request and maintained an air of solemnity as they went about their daily tasks with mindfulness.
By night they were equally as mindful as they changed into street clothes and stole motorbikes in the vicinity of their austere temple. If that wasn't bad enough,when the cops asked why they engaged in such criminal activities, they replied they needed the money to maintain their methamphetamine habit.Monks on methamphetamine ... now there's a B-grade action flick starring Steven Seagal if ever I heard one!
Tuesday's story was of a monk who text-messaged a woman constantly asking for sex. Then on Wednesday police raided a temple after villagers complained that the abbot was perpetually drunk. When they arrived they found beer and whisky bottles strewn about the monk's quarters amid an overwhelming stench of garlic.
Garlic? The abbot had stuffed his mouth full of garlic to kill the smell of alcohol, then stood there proclaiming:"I'm not drunk! I'm not drunk!"(Say that out loud after quickly consuming six screwdrivers,gesturing and pointing wildly, and you'll get an idea of his manner).Holding their noses and dryreaching, the men in clingy brown took him down to the station where he registered a blood alcohol reading of 110 millilitres - more than twice the legal limit for driving,and about four times the legal limit for preaching.
Three days in a row of wayward monk stories. My radio show cohost, the affable Krissana who is a bit of a spiritual soul himself, had to ask:"We seem to have so many stories like these nowadays. Tell me ... do you ever have problems with wayward priests in the Christian religion?"
Oh God. Live radio and he asks me that question?I momentarily bit my lip. My initial knee-jerk reaction was to defend my hallowed western culture, as we all do whenever somebody dares to criticise or question one's own culture.
"No, of course not. The Christian religion is faultless like western society," I could have said live on air. But it's such a terrible lie. It's like those weary old men who grace the Letters to the Editor pages of the Bangkok Post , damning and complaining and sending fireballs of spite and fury onto Thai society,sitting in their high chair of ivory,coming from a western country where by God we don't have any damn social or cultural problems.Problems with priests? How dare you even ask, Krissana! We're not like your dirty little monks leading double lives! We're farangs!
But knee-jerk soon drifts into solemn sensibility. With the exception of our ageing letter-writing fraternity, I think most of us can see that in the end we human beings are all bloody well the same. Including men of the cloth, regardless of whether that cloth is saffron or back-to-front white collar.
I was brutally honest and up front."Yes,we have terrible problems with priests," I told Krissana, and our listening public."We have problems with alcohol; too many priests are drunkards. Most disturbing is the problem of paedophilia, which emotionally scars children for life. Even the Pope had to apologise for it."
Such an answer comes as a relief to the likes of Krissana, who understands that monks and priests who engage in such activities are in the minority and if you choose to have a religion, then it should not be compromised by a guy who uses saffron to get chicks or a white collar to crack onto under-aged boys.
"And have you ever witnessed bad monks or priests first hand?" Krissana then asked, as I gave him my one-questiontoo-many look.
Thankfully as a child growing up in suburban Sunnybank, a satellite suburb of Brisbane verging on Queensland hick yet ultimately survivable, we had a lovely local priest named Father John, who only ever fondled the tassels on his robes midsermon. But I did once experience a wayward monk, and it was with my father of all people.
It was 2005, and while driving my father to see Phanom Rung, I pulled my back out in a far-flung gas station between Sa Kaew and Buri Ram.
(And what a scene that was. Me, standing by the car having just jumped out of the driver's seat screaming in pain because I couldn't move, with my father shouting "what's wrong? What"s wrong?", a gas station groupie asking "aren't you the bald guy who teaches English on TV?" and the gas station kid demanding, despite my screams of pain:"480 baht - do you want a receipt?")
My father had to drive me back to a hospital in Sa Kaew where I was wheeled into the emergency room.
I happened to arrive right alongside an unconscious monk, who was assigned the bed next to me.
"Do you mind if I just check him first?"asked the doctor. I had no problem with that thanks to a generous shot of a painkilling drug, the kind I wish I could keep in a vial in my trouser pocket just to take the edge off daily life.
Accompanying the unconscious monk was a temple boy dressed in rags and possessing a look that belied his mental
shortcomings. Through no fault of his own he had to have been the first offspring of the winners of the Mr and Miss Sa Kaew Idiot Pageant 1990.
"Did the abbot eat anything unusual today?" the doctor asked.
Temple boy shook his head slowly, as if such an act too quickly may cause a hollow knocking sound from inside his head."Gor ... no. He ate normally," he said.
"Did he do anything out of the ordinary?" the doctor asked.
"Gor ... there was a novice monk ordination ceremony this morning.In the middle of it he just collapsed,"he said slowly with blank eyes.
"So there was nothing unusual to warrant his collapse?" the doctor asked.
There was another shake of the slow head, then silence. It was a mental stand off. Then a tiny, tiny,dim flicker of a lonely light in the boys eyes.
"There is one thing," he said matter-of-factly."The abbot didn't drink whisky today."
An uncomfortable silence. The doctor looked over to me, who despite my pain was listening to every word.
"He ... didn't drink whisky ...today," the doctor said."Normally he drinks whiskey?"
"Gor ... every morning khrab ,"said temple boy, proud he could be of help."But today he didn't have time because of the ordination ceremony." The doctor patted the temple boy's dull shoulder and thanked him for his help, saying the abbot would be fine as soon as he recovered from his DTs.
Such monks are great fodder for a column such as this. Not so great fodder, sadly, are the majority of P:P monks and priests I have met who have given me such insight into Oance, who never fail to impress me.For those guys we must meet in another column ..."Daily MindfulSness" perhaps? As for Sanook , bring on the drunkards, drug addicts and paedophiles! What else could Steven Seagal possibly do if it weren't for them?
By night they were equally as mindful as they changed into street clothes and stole motorbikes in the vicinity of their austere temple. If that wasn't bad enough,when the cops asked why they engaged in such criminal activities, they replied they needed the money to maintain their methamphetamine habit.Monks on methamphetamine ... now there's a B-grade action flick starring Steven Seagal if ever I heard one!
Tuesday's story was of a monk who text-messaged a woman constantly asking for sex. Then on Wednesday police raided a temple after villagers complained that the abbot was perpetually drunk. When they arrived they found beer and whisky bottles strewn about the monk's quarters amid an overwhelming stench of garlic.
Garlic? The abbot had stuffed his mouth full of garlic to kill the smell of alcohol, then stood there proclaiming:"I'm not drunk! I'm not drunk!"(Say that out loud after quickly consuming six screwdrivers,gesturing and pointing wildly, and you'll get an idea of his manner).Holding their noses and dryreaching, the men in clingy brown took him down to the station where he registered a blood alcohol reading of 110 millilitres - more than twice the legal limit for driving,and about four times the legal limit for preaching.
Three days in a row of wayward monk stories. My radio show cohost, the affable Krissana who is a bit of a spiritual soul himself, had to ask:"We seem to have so many stories like these nowadays. Tell me ... do you ever have problems with wayward priests in the Christian religion?"
Oh God. Live radio and he asks me that question?I momentarily bit my lip. My initial knee-jerk reaction was to defend my hallowed western culture, as we all do whenever somebody dares to criticise or question one's own culture.
"No, of course not. The Christian religion is faultless like western society," I could have said live on air. But it's such a terrible lie. It's like those weary old men who grace the Letters to the Editor pages of the Bangkok Post , damning and complaining and sending fireballs of spite and fury onto Thai society,sitting in their high chair of ivory,coming from a western country where by God we don't have any damn social or cultural problems.Problems with priests? How dare you even ask, Krissana! We're not like your dirty little monks leading double lives! We're farangs!
But knee-jerk soon drifts into solemn sensibility. With the exception of our ageing letter-writing fraternity, I think most of us can see that in the end we human beings are all bloody well the same. Including men of the cloth, regardless of whether that cloth is saffron or back-to-front white collar.
I was brutally honest and up front."Yes,we have terrible problems with priests," I told Krissana, and our listening public."We have problems with alcohol; too many priests are drunkards. Most disturbing is the problem of paedophilia, which emotionally scars children for life. Even the Pope had to apologise for it."
Such an answer comes as a relief to the likes of Krissana, who understands that monks and priests who engage in such activities are in the minority and if you choose to have a religion, then it should not be compromised by a guy who uses saffron to get chicks or a white collar to crack onto under-aged boys.
"And have you ever witnessed bad monks or priests first hand?" Krissana then asked, as I gave him my one-questiontoo-many look.
Thankfully as a child growing up in suburban Sunnybank, a satellite suburb of Brisbane verging on Queensland hick yet ultimately survivable, we had a lovely local priest named Father John, who only ever fondled the tassels on his robes midsermon. But I did once experience a wayward monk, and it was with my father of all people.
It was 2005, and while driving my father to see Phanom Rung, I pulled my back out in a far-flung gas station between Sa Kaew and Buri Ram.
(And what a scene that was. Me, standing by the car having just jumped out of the driver's seat screaming in pain because I couldn't move, with my father shouting "what's wrong? What"s wrong?", a gas station groupie asking "aren't you the bald guy who teaches English on TV?" and the gas station kid demanding, despite my screams of pain:"480 baht - do you want a receipt?")
My father had to drive me back to a hospital in Sa Kaew where I was wheeled into the emergency room.
I happened to arrive right alongside an unconscious monk, who was assigned the bed next to me.
"Do you mind if I just check him first?"asked the doctor. I had no problem with that thanks to a generous shot of a painkilling drug, the kind I wish I could keep in a vial in my trouser pocket just to take the edge off daily life.
Accompanying the unconscious monk was a temple boy dressed in rags and possessing a look that belied his mental
shortcomings. Through no fault of his own he had to have been the first offspring of the winners of the Mr and Miss Sa Kaew Idiot Pageant 1990.
"Did the abbot eat anything unusual today?" the doctor asked.
Temple boy shook his head slowly, as if such an act too quickly may cause a hollow knocking sound from inside his head."Gor ... no. He ate normally," he said.
"Did he do anything out of the ordinary?" the doctor asked.
"Gor ... there was a novice monk ordination ceremony this morning.In the middle of it he just collapsed,"he said slowly with blank eyes.
"So there was nothing unusual to warrant his collapse?" the doctor asked.
There was another shake of the slow head, then silence. It was a mental stand off. Then a tiny, tiny,dim flicker of a lonely light in the boys eyes.
"There is one thing," he said matter-of-factly."The abbot didn't drink whisky today."
An uncomfortable silence. The doctor looked over to me, who despite my pain was listening to every word.
"He ... didn't drink whisky ...today," the doctor said."Normally he drinks whiskey?"
"Gor ... every morning khrab ,"said temple boy, proud he could be of help."But today he didn't have time because of the ordination ceremony." The doctor patted the temple boy's dull shoulder and thanked him for his help, saying the abbot would be fine as soon as he recovered from his DTs.
Such monks are great fodder for a column such as this. Not so great fodder, sadly, are the majority of P:P monks and priests I have met who have given me such insight into Oance, who never fail to impress me.For those guys we must meet in another column ..."Daily MindfulSness" perhaps? As for Sanook , bring on the drunkards, drug addicts and paedophiles! What else could Steven Seagal possibly do if it weren't for them?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
MEDITATING ON HISTORY
Old memories are revived as the 15th-century vihara of a Phitsanulok wat opens its doors to a huge collection of antiques
For centuries the old vihara of Wat Ratchaburana served as home to a single golden Buddha image. Then last year, things changed. With the blessing of the abbot, Phra Khru Sittithammawipach, hundreds of antiques were placed inside the building.
"The idea is to allow people to view the rare items during their visits," says the old monk. "The aniques' donors dreamt of creating a museum and learning centre."
The vihara was chosen, says Sittithammawipach, because it had ample space to house the large collection. It's now been unofficially dubbed the Wat Ratchaburana Museum.
"Some of the items here are very rare," says the abbot, who is seeking help from the Fine Arts Department to date them and provide descriptions for visitors.
This is thought to be the first time such a venerable vihara has been used as a museum. The vihara and chedi are original constructions that date back to the reign of King Boromma Trailokana (1448-1488). The temple was declared a site of historical importance in 1936.
Those deep historical roots are what inspired the generosity of the museum's major donor, Lert Ruangtim.
"I built up my collection over more than a decade. Its value is incalculable," says the 51-year-old, who came across many of the antiques while trading in old timber.
"A business acquaintance dropped by my house and said the collection should be on public display. He mentioned Wat Ratchaburana as a possible site and I liked the idea of donating the antiques to a religious cause."
Though born in Phitsanulok, Lert admits that he had never visited Wat Ratchaburana before the museum plan came up.
Most people overlook the temple in favour fo nearby Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat where the famous Phra Buddha Chinnaraj image is enshrined.
"When the museum idea was floated, I went to check out Wat Ratchaburana. I was thrilled to see how the ubosot had escaped the Burmese invasions unscathed. I gave the green light to my business friend's plan immediately."
Though it is worth many times as much, Lert accepted the Bt200,000 offered by the businessman for his collection. "I agreed because I wanted the rare items to be conserved and displayed in the temple's vihara for years to come," he said.
Turning the vihara into a museum has brought no objections from the Fine Arts Department. Director of Fine Arts Department Office 6, Anan Chuchote, says he would be happy to help identify and categorise the antiques for display.
"We are ready to support the establishment of the museum as long as it does not adversely affect the temple's historical-site status," he said. "It should not damage its identity as a place of worship either, though personally I think the old temple has enough to boast about without the new attraction."
However, there might be trouble brewing for the museum. The Fine Arts Department is planning to renovate the fading murals that adorn the walls of the vihara and ubosot and the antiques will have to be moved out for the duration of the work. That could just agitate their donor.
WAT RATCHABURANA
- Location: Tambon Nai Muang, Muang district, Phitsanulok
- Background: The temple was built during the 15-year period (1468-88) when King Boromma Trailokanat moved his capital to Phitsanulok. Over the centuries, visiting kings have made additions to the original.
- The ubosot was originally built in the style of the Sukhothai era but was later renovated according to Ayutthaya- and Rattanakosin-period designs. Its walls are adorned with early Rattanakosin-era murals.
- Likewise, the vihara's original Sukhothai-era design has been altered with later additions. Enshrined behind its Rattanakosin-era carved wooden doors is a Sukhothai-era Buddha image made of gold.
- The chedi, located behind the original ubosot, was built by Sukhothai-era craftsmen and underwent renovations during the Ayutthaya and then Rattanakosin periods. Local legend has it that the remains of King Boromma are enshrined within.
- The Tripitaka scripture tower and the bell tower are Rattanakosin-era constructions which have undergone many renovations.
For centuries the old vihara of Wat Ratchaburana served as home to a single golden Buddha image. Then last year, things changed. With the blessing of the abbot, Phra Khru Sittithammawipach, hundreds of antiques were placed inside the building.
"The idea is to allow people to view the rare items during their visits," says the old monk. "The aniques' donors dreamt of creating a museum and learning centre."
The vihara was chosen, says Sittithammawipach, because it had ample space to house the large collection. It's now been unofficially dubbed the Wat Ratchaburana Museum.
"Some of the items here are very rare," says the abbot, who is seeking help from the Fine Arts Department to date them and provide descriptions for visitors.
This is thought to be the first time such a venerable vihara has been used as a museum. The vihara and chedi are original constructions that date back to the reign of King Boromma Trailokana (1448-1488). The temple was declared a site of historical importance in 1936.
Those deep historical roots are what inspired the generosity of the museum's major donor, Lert Ruangtim.
"I built up my collection over more than a decade. Its value is incalculable," says the 51-year-old, who came across many of the antiques while trading in old timber.
"A business acquaintance dropped by my house and said the collection should be on public display. He mentioned Wat Ratchaburana as a possible site and I liked the idea of donating the antiques to a religious cause."
Though born in Phitsanulok, Lert admits that he had never visited Wat Ratchaburana before the museum plan came up.
Most people overlook the temple in favour fo nearby Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat where the famous Phra Buddha Chinnaraj image is enshrined.
"When the museum idea was floated, I went to check out Wat Ratchaburana. I was thrilled to see how the ubosot had escaped the Burmese invasions unscathed. I gave the green light to my business friend's plan immediately."
Though it is worth many times as much, Lert accepted the Bt200,000 offered by the businessman for his collection. "I agreed because I wanted the rare items to be conserved and displayed in the temple's vihara for years to come," he said.
Turning the vihara into a museum has brought no objections from the Fine Arts Department. Director of Fine Arts Department Office 6, Anan Chuchote, says he would be happy to help identify and categorise the antiques for display.
"We are ready to support the establishment of the museum as long as it does not adversely affect the temple's historical-site status," he said. "It should not damage its identity as a place of worship either, though personally I think the old temple has enough to boast about without the new attraction."
However, there might be trouble brewing for the museum. The Fine Arts Department is planning to renovate the fading murals that adorn the walls of the vihara and ubosot and the antiques will have to be moved out for the duration of the work. That could just agitate their donor.
WAT RATCHABURANA
- Location: Tambon Nai Muang, Muang district, Phitsanulok
- Background: The temple was built during the 15-year period (1468-88) when King Boromma Trailokanat moved his capital to Phitsanulok. Over the centuries, visiting kings have made additions to the original.
- The ubosot was originally built in the style of the Sukhothai era but was later renovated according to Ayutthaya- and Rattanakosin-period designs. Its walls are adorned with early Rattanakosin-era murals.
- Likewise, the vihara's original Sukhothai-era design has been altered with later additions. Enshrined behind its Rattanakosin-era carved wooden doors is a Sukhothai-era Buddha image made of gold.
- The chedi, located behind the original ubosot, was built by Sukhothai-era craftsmen and underwent renovations during the Ayutthaya and then Rattanakosin periods. Local legend has it that the remains of King Boromma are enshrined within.
- The Tripitaka scripture tower and the bell tower are Rattanakosin-era constructions which have undergone many renovations.
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