I
was suppose to have gone on a trip to Malaysia in
this period of time, but as with a lot of things in
my life, the offer to go to Thailand for a week came
only a few days before the 26th. Patrick figured it
must be my karma to be able to go to Thailand on such
short notice. I just jumped at the opportunity to
explore a different set of skies in a different
society and this is my experience..
I
have been to Thailand several times before, yet this
time it seemed as if I had stepped onto Thai land
(the seperation of "Thai" and
"land" is done with purpose) for the first
time in my life.
26th
December: Thai Airways TG409 departing from Singapore
to Bangkok. I was travelling with an old friend,
Patrick, and his grandfather, Keith (or Gramps
Keith). We would be meeting up with more friends in
Thailand. I was to discover that in the next few
days, I would be travelling with some VERY
fascinating individuals, and that they would be my
most enlightening experiences ever.
The
flight was comfortable enough. I never tasted better
inflight fare. Conversation ensued between us three.
Gramps Keith is a converted Buddhist from
Christianity. Patrick had earlier shared some really
curious stories about his Gramps' religious
conversion. I had some spiritual ideas myself, and we
spent the journey trading opinions and philosophical
insights.
Bangkok.
As with all places touched by globalization,
Christmas has arrived in Thailand. Flashing lights,
Christmas trees, huge modern x'mas ornaments,
spray-on snow flakes splashed on hot, humid central
Bangkok. Yet with all the surface structures that
tried to coat the season's cheer over this
fundamentally Buddhist country, Christmas made
Thailand look like a monastic sage trying oh-so-hard
to appear disco-hip. No doubt when the season is
over, he will return to his serene pace and wisdom.
Christmas
definitely throws Thailand off its own equilibrium.
On the outside, there is a "Who-ville"
appearance ("The Grinch" is also showing at
the cineplexes), on the inside, the many wats
(Thai temples) with their Buddhas, brahmas, and devas
are still actively in session, untouched and unfazed
by the trinkets of the season.
I
came to Thailand to see what I could find in the
local culture about their interpretation of the night
sky. I am probably a few centuries too late. The
international symbols and Greek constellations have
overshadowed the Thai astronomy circles.
What
I have found out are mostly glossed over Thai
constellations. (Orion constellation is a turtle with
a knife where Orion's belt is.) There are no in-depth
materials available. The closest clue I got was to
search in the Buddhist temples where astronomical
knowledge could be found in the scholastic literature
of the Sangha,
the Thai monastic order. They would not be in
English.
One
week is too short a time to find out much else.
Immersion in the Buddhist philosophy taught much. It
helped a little to discover that the first realm of
the Buddhist heaven lay just beyond the Moon. (There
are 31 planes of existence in Buddhist philosophy,
covering all known gods (including the
God) and non-gods, creatures and non-creatures,
heavens and hells.)
By
day, we explored the various Thai wats
of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We
were in the company of learned Buddhist scholars.
Suffering, they say, is caused by desire. Unhappiness
is caused by desire. The desire to own, to have, to
succeed, to want.. there's a pretty long list where
this vague summary came from. In death, we will have
nothing but our karmas to relive again. For every
cause there will be an effect. (This is a lousy
summary by my sad self. Please refer to the link
below for a better discussion.)
I
can see where I have been suffering all this time,
the desire for better equipment, better skies.. in
summary, I want the universe and I can't have it.
That should make me pretty miserable. :) But
seriously, the Buddhist thought has a piercing truth
to it. "Let any intelligent man come to
me," Buddha said, "any man who is also
without guile, not a deceiver, but an upright man,
and I will teach him."
Something
tells me that all the knowledge we humans have made
for ourselves, our smart technology and our smarter
opinions, they can all be reduced to nothing when
faced with the insight of true
Buddhist wisdom. We still can't find the beginnings
of our universe, nor the end of it.
Stargazing
in the city is the same as in Singapore. There is
this perpetual haze over the whole country, visible
from even on board the aeroplane. It wasn't the
regular industrial haze, or the forest fire smoke
haze, more like a dream haze possibly from all the
burning incense that permeates this country.
Over
the evenings, the new Moon waxing and its daily
conjunction to Venus has been quite a joy to observe;
The fond familiarity of it all despite the foreign
soil.
I
had looked forward to finding the polar star, but the
chance didn't materialize. The skies were still as
amazing as I remembered it. The winter constellations
were out, Orion overhead by midnight. Leo rising. The
faint glow of our galaxy's edge. Then out of the
silent skies, a brilliant fireball streaked out from
under Leo's paw towards the east.
I
think there are more treasures to be found in the
richness of cultural astronomy. I'm still searching
for answers.
By
Lin . 5th January 2001, Friday.
