Under watchful eyes

Bangkok Post, June 23, 2011

Discovering the many facets of Lord Buddha's teachings

<< Saffron water is thrown onto the white dome of the Boudhanath stupa to draw curved lines that resemble lotus petals.

Namaste ... Lord Buddha. From up there, atop the grand dome of the Boudhanath stupa, can you see me? Hmm ... I guess that's not a smart question. What could possibly escape those all-seeing eyes of yours, right?

I bet you can also see the confusion in my head. Because in Thailand, which is where I am from, most people are your loyal followers - we are Buddhists. And like many of my countrymen, I've always thought that I was very familiar with you and your teachings. But after spending a few days here in Nepal, the land that, over 2,600 years ago, was your birthplace, I began to realise how foreign you are to me.

Those big, colourful eyes of yours depicted on so many stupas, whether on the Boudhanath stupa or the Swayambhu stupa situated on the other side of Kathmandu, are quite different from what I've seen in temples back home. But that is nothing compared to your erotic portrayal in tantric paintings and sculptures. Buddhism here is so different from the Theravada school of Buddhism I'm used to in Thailand.
Lord Buddha ... apart from Kathmandu, I've also visited the two other important ancient cities in the Kathmandu Valley. And I get the feeling that the people here probably feel as though they are always being watched, and not just by you, but by Shiva, Vishnu and so many other Hindu gods and goddesses, as well.

Those deities are everywhere, too, not just at temples. I even saw some of them in the eyes of several pious locals, who smeared their foreheads with bright red paste to create a tika (tilak) mark.

Lord Buddha ... Nepal is a Hindu country. What is it like for you to be surrounded by all those mighty deities? Are you watching them, too? Or are you also constantly being watched by them?

As for the people here, they seem to get along well. I looked up the population statistics for Nepal, which said that over 80% of the Nepalese people are Hindu and about half of the rest are your followers. In practise, however, living side by side for over two millennia, the two groups harmoniously blend into each other. They even share certain religious customs and rites.

Where I come from, it is not at all strange to see a Buddhist follower go into a Hindu temple and come out with the tika mark on his/her forehead. But here in Nepal, the mix of faiths is definitely more than just skin deep. Actually, speaking of tika marks, at some places I even saw your images with the red dot on the forehead.

Lord Buddha ... are you still with me?

You are bored. I can tell from your eyes. Then again, those eyes are mesmerising, sometimes even hallucinating. And they also look nice on T-shirts, which I will not forget to buy as a souvenir.
Namaste.