{"id":8293,"date":"2020-07-03T14:23:47","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T07:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kathmanduphotobkk.com\/?p=8293"},"modified":"2024-02-18T13:00:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T06:00:07","slug":"masters-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kathmanduphotobkk.com\/?p=8293","title":{"rendered":"MASTERS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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MASTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Manit Sriwanichpoom<\/p>\n

2009<\/p>\n

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Held up at a red light one day while driving past religious icon shops around the Giant Swing in Bangkok, I noticed two life-sized statues of monks. One depicted Lhuang Por Toh Brahmarangsi (Holy Father Toh, King Mongkut\u2019s guru, 1788-1872) of Rakhang Temple; the other portrayed to Lhuang Pu Tuad (Holy Grandpa, circa 1582 – 1662) of Chang Hai Temple.<\/p>\n

The sight made my skin crawl. They were like living flesh. As if these revered monks had risen from the dead to sit there by the road, to demonstrate their meditation prowess to passers-by.<\/p>\n

The creepy feeling deepened when I saw the glass display-case behind them, filled with 30 cm-high replicas of yet more famous monks. These resin miniature humans had been made so life-like by their Thai craftsmen, they rivaled Madame Tussaud\u2019s famous wax figures of celebrities.<\/p>\n

Yet one more step by Thai Buddhist commerce in its manufacture of \u201csacred icons\u201d, deftly copying and appropriating the Western celebrity cult for the Thai ecclesiastical world and its attendant amulet business.<\/p>\n

No one knows when the worship of sacred icons of individual Buddhist masters began. In ancient days we worshipped Buddha statues as a symbol of our great teacher and his teachings. The Buddha statue represents a concept rather than an individual. Worship of masters emphasizes specific people and their reputed magical powers for worldly blessings, in direct contradiction to the Buddha\u2019s message of self-reliance and to focus only on the teaching itself.<\/p>\n

The more advanced the marketing and production techniques, the more intricate and fantastical their products, it seems to me, the further we travel from the Buddha. Our vision becomes blurry, nothing is clear, including when we look to these holy masters.<\/p>\n

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