Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Chiang Mai, Part 2
ON my second day in Chiang Mai I went to Doi Su Thep, a mountain about half hour out of the city. It's an important sacred site in Thailand. The story goes that a holy man from India came to visit the king of Lanna (the first kingdom of Thailand) with two relics, tiny pieces of bone from the Lord Buddha himself.
The king wanted to honor these relics the best he could. He placed the first relic in the pagoda near the royal cemetary. He couldn't decide what to do with the second relic. Finally, he decided to put it in the pack of one of his elephants, and the animal would decide where to put the relic. The animal climbed the highest mountain near Chiang Mai, circled the top three times, and then laid down and died. Thus the king decided to have the temple built at the top of the mountain.
Many people from all over the country visit this sanctuary, and it's the custom to circle the main temple three times, then place lotus flowers and incense by the shrine. I followed the custom and took in the spectacular views and wonderous art such as the Hindu influenced statue of the Earth goddess.
Labels: Buddhism, religion and culture, Thailand
