Arriving late in the afternoon at Wat Suan Mokkhaphalaram, a famous Buddhist meditation center located in a forest, my camera is low bat! But thanksfully I can use my modest smartphone: sorry for the quality of the pictures! Suan Mokkh literally means “The Garden of Liberation”. First Vision: Thai and foreign people, all dressed in white, wandering here and there among the monks in a natural setting. Paths, inscriptions and altars amid lush vegetation … Created in 1959 by the Thai monk Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, the monastery is dedicated to meditation. Thailand, with a population of 66,720,153 inhabitants in 2011 (Wikipedia), there are between 200,000 and 300,000 monks (Wikipedia) and 32,000 temples. Picture above: we follow the monks into a building nestled on top of a hill and filled with paintings. Pictures 2, 6 and 7: this facetious energetic monk made us a quick presentation of the foundations of Buddhism. And explained principles such as finding the right balance. He also told us some excerpts from the life of Buddha. And with lots of spirit and emphasis, he commented some paintings (made by the monks of the monastery), as the “Human arragement by Flowers” (picture 4) that I find it quite confusing. I listen carefully. Sometimes I loose the point: some explanations are in Thai. I also try to interpret other reliefs and draws, when the guide ask us to go back to the van. We have to hit the road to the last stop of the day: the city of Surat Thani, where we will spend the night. Sarah, big up to you ; )
Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés
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