Oh please don’t tell me there’s a Buddha theme park in the works, I thought.
I spotted a brochure with this title at the Thailand booth at the DC Travel and Adventure Show not long ago. I feared it just might be something dreamed up by an enterprising Thai or expat to suck up a few more tourist dollars.
So I was happily surprised by what I found inside: an entreaty to tourists to respect the Buddha as they travel through the country.
Specifically, the brochure says that Buddhists would really prefer that tourists not:
- Get tattoos of the Buddha
- Deface or disrespect images of the Buddha
- Use statues or images of the Buddha as decoration in the home
- Use the name of the Buddha in a disrespectful way
I’m sure you can think of several examples of each of these rules being broken, and probably by people who did not at all intend disrespect.
Thai culture and Buddhist tradition dictate that the human body is dirty, so putting an image of the Buddha onto human skin is disrespectful. The feet are especially offensive in Thai culture – so much so that exposing the soles of your feet to someone is considered as vulgar as raising your middle finger would be in the US. In Thai temples, visitors are instructed to be sure to sit with feet pointing away from the Buddha images. So putting an image of the Buddha on a rug where it will be stepped on is taboo.
Using a Buddha statue for decoration is a no-no, unless you elevate it and place it so that it is revered. Similarly, the Buddha should not appear on clothing, or on jewelry, unless worn in a devotional way.
The Buddha Bar is on the list of examples of what not to do. And naming your dog Buddha is just asking for trouble.
I was surprised to see a full-color brochure on this topic at the Thai Tourism booth, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. There’s never a shortage of stupid and irresponsible tourists, and there’s also a rising Buddhist Fundamentalist movement in Asia. The recent conviction of a bartender from New Zealand who promoted an event in Myanmar with a drawing of the Buddha as DJ resulted in a sentence for 2 ½ years of hard labor. Myanmar is not the same as Thailand, but it is just next door.
In tourist areas, you will certainly find images of the Buddha available on t-shirts and other souvenirs, and figurines available to take home for decoration. Even in Thai establishments they might have a whimsical Buddha figure on display, but more often than not you will also find a more formal shrine on a shelf or high table.
All this is to say that although you might be accustomed to seeing the Buddha everywhere, some Buddhists find some of those portrayals offensive. Just think about it for a minute before you co-opt images from any religion that is not your own.
If you have a Buddha tattoo, I am certainly not judging you. I’m sure there was a time I thought that would be the height of dedication to an admirable dude. I am just passing along this info in case it matters to you.
Um, calling Buddha an “admirable dude?” Also not likely to win you points in Thailand.
I am not Buddhist, but I do admire the Buddha and his teachings. I meant no disrespect at all by calling him an admirable dude. You are probably right, though, a fundamentalist Buddhist might take offense. And this is exactly where the problem lies. The line between worship and respect is pretty clear. The line between respect and disrespect is big and blurry. I don’t worship the Buddha, but I respect him and his teachings. Does my calling him an admirable dude, or wearing a t-shirt with a buddha image on it, or buying a buddha statue to decorate my home indicate disrespect? Or just something a little less than than the respect that this particular group of Buddhists requests? Disrespect is usually defined as acting in a rude way, not just acting without respect.
I don’t know how much you can ask someone who is not a member of your religion to respect the rules of your religion.
Nice post Paige.
I enjoyed it and I learned a few things. I was certainly aware that I should be respectful at the temples while I was in Thailand. However, I was also cognizant that I was probably offending some people just by being there with cameras and phones. Even so I found the Thai people very welcoming and forgiving of me.
It is good to have your list of things not to do.and it did set me to thinking about how depictions of the laughing Buddha fits into all of this?
The laughing Buddha is from a different branch of Buddhism; Mahayana as opposed to Theravada. Buddhism, which began in India, reached China by way of Afghanistan, and made a more direct route into Southeast Asia. Even so, Theravada Buddhism in Thailand differs from practices in Myanmar, most noticeably the appearance of Hindu gods like Ganesh and Brahma, or the immortal giant Rahu, which are very commonly found in Thai temples as well as at individual shrines.
In Mahayana Buddhism, in China, you will find Chinese gods and goddesses as well, and some of these, most notably Guan Im, are found inThailand due to the large number of influential Chinese (Hakka) that have been in Siam since The Ayutthaya Period.
Thank you for this, Stephen. There is such a rich and complex history here.
Thailand and Myanmar are very strict in terms of religion and using Buddha images except for the original is a big offence!