'Die' for a better
life
NAKHON NAYOK, Thailand, Oct 10, 2008 (AFP) - Namfon
Mamuenwai says she died for the man she loves - if only for a
moment.
The 39-year-old Bangkok resident
climbed into a coffin in a Buddhist temple, experienced a
"spiritual death" and was resurrected with purified karma - all in
the hope of joining her foreign boyfriend in the
Netherlands.
"I want to get to another country
but cannot get a visa," said Namfon.
A week after seeing the ceremony
at the Wat Prommanee temple on television, she drove 112 kilometres
(70 miles) from Bangkok to become one of around 2,000 people who
each week climb into a coffin to "die" and be "reborn".
"I think this can help me a little
bit because now this temple is popular," Namfon told
AFP.
The coffin ceremony is the latest religious trend to sweep
Thailand, and the saffron-clad monks at Wat Prommanee promise
money, love - or, in Namfon's case, a visa to the
Netherlands.
"Everyone who came here, who
prayed here, who came to make a wish, they got what they wished
for," said Charuay Thanavaro, a monk at the temple.
Wat Prommanee has been running the
coffin ceremony for four years, and officials say that over the
last two years attendance has almost tripled from the 100 people
who trickled through the door each day in 2007.
At first, participants got into
non-specific boxes as the monks tried to get people used to the
idea of willingly climbing into coffins, but now people happily
jump in for a chance at improving their fortunes.
A spell in a coffin costs 100 baht
(nearly three dollars) for about two minutes, while the whole
ceremony will set you back 180 baht.
Charuay recommends participants
pay for the full package if they want their wishes completely
fulfilled.
"If they just want to attend the
ceremony and pray that is fine, but then they will only get 80 or
90 percent results," he says. "If they lie in the coffin, they will
get 100 percent results."
After 90 minutes of chanting, the
hopefuls queue for the nine oversized coffins, each marked with a
random three-digit number which can be used for betting in the
lottery, organisers say.
Once in the coffins, visitors hold
a bunch of flowers, whisper some more prayers, then lie down and
"die".
Monks pass a white cloth over the
nine coffins, triggering the symbolic death and sucking the bad
karma. Attendees are advised not to stand on the side of the coffin
where the bad karma is dispelled.
Amulets and rituals promising
protection, wealth or to fulfill wishes play a big role in the
culture of the 95-per cent Buddhist kingdom, despite not being
mentioned in Buddhist doctrine.
A few years ago, the nation
scrambled for amulets featuring King Rama V.
Last year, a 51-year-old woman
died as a crowd swarmed for a different talisman, which was
believed to bring wealth and protection from harm.
These booms and busts for rituals,
temples and amulets are not just fads, says Milos Hubina, a
lecturer at the College of Religious Studies at Thailand's Mahidol
University.
Rather, they reflect a widely-held
belief that magic and luck can be used up over time and once they
have been drained from one place, must be sought in another
spiritually-charged object or ritual.
"This view of temporal efficiency
or a temporal magic charge within the object is quite common in
Thai culture," Hubina said.
"I think this is one of the
reasons they have no problem with going crazy for an amulet one
year and forget about it completely the next year."
As with many of the worshippers,
money woes brought 50-year-old Thanyathon Iamnaimuang to the
temple, and her initial success prompted the widowed mother of two
to bring her friend Laongdao Chaiyasat.
"At first I was excited, shaking
and I was afraid," the 42-year-old pharmacist said. "But the monk
told me that if our mind is strong, we will progress steadily, so I
wasn't afraid any more."
Patacharawarai Sri-on, 23, came to
the temple out of curiosity and snapped pictures of the ceremony
before stepping into the wooden box.
"I think it helps," she said after
her "death" and "rebirth" were complete.
