Bangkok

It is a big city choked with traffic and pollution. Cars buses scooters and tutus all crowding the city streets. There is a crescendo of horns honking and police yelling out directions. The people on the streets trip over the constant street vendors selling everything from live eels to temple offerings. It is hard to separate the saturation of color and noise from the waffling of smells that permeate this beautiful city. The fragrances are like individual links of a chain that come one right after another. There is no part of the city that does not have a smell. Frying fish, fragrant flowers, barbeque chicken pungent smells from who knows what are all linked together and mixed with whiffs of incense. Temples dot the city and you first come across them from the smell of incense before you lay eyes on their golden roofs of delicately carved wood. Buddhism is the predominate religion with a sprinkling of Hinduism and just a smidgen of Christianity. The dominance of Buddhism makes the city glimmer in gold. Every temple shimmers in the sunlight. The attendants of these ancient shrines are young boys with shaved heads and wrapped in saffron robes. Every young man is expected to serve the church for a period of time. Most serve 18 months. But if you have a good job and are supporting your family, that time can be cut down to 7 days. Offerings are made with carefully arranged flowers and fruit. Devout worshipers carefully take off their shoes and enter with reverence and bow before the huge golden Buddha statues that dominate each temple. The priest blesses the people with holy water and ties a string on their wrist to bring them luck. It is a very inclusive religion. I was standing back watching the priest bless the followers when he looks at me and motions for me to come over to him. I too receive the holy water and the string around my wrist. The parallels with Christianity are not lost on me. They too have commandments that include no lying, no murder, and no adultery, honor your parents and no alcohol. The last commandment seems to be routinely ignored by at least part of the believers. While they don’t have weekly services they go to temple when they feel the need to connect with Buddha. Scripture study is more an individual thing.