Couple agrees to remove Buddha images from fence at their Chiang Mai house

[Cranky]

Wonder what Buddha woulda made of the 34 year age-gap, wunda how long they've been hitched.

[Yann55]

 

The greatest irony here is that the Buddha expressly forbade any representations of himself ...

 

That's the reason why all these statues are 'idealized' and have features which are not strictly look-alike ... a few hundred years after his death, however, his followers just couldn't stop themselves from representing the Enlightened One anyway, notwithstanding his wish, and went around the ban by cooking up these non realistic images. This is so typical of human nature, and how cunningly fast humans can turn gold into lead ...

 

Apparently all these devout 'Buddhists' who show such deep concern in this matter do not know that when it comes to statues or pictures or whatever representations, the best way to respect the Buddha's teaching and the Buddha himself is NOT TO REPRESENT HIM.

 

 

[wvavin]

A lodging house or a temple? 

[Maggusoil]

15 minutes ago, Boatfreak said:

 

you are welcome. 

awesome haha omg

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, Cory1848 said:

 

What's offensive is that they are heads only -- many Thais find images/representations of the Buddha showing only part of the body to be offensive. Take it as you will, but it's an issue people should be aware of, and I find it remarkably daft of the Thai woman in this story to think she could plant all those heads on the wall without raising serious eyebrows among the neighbors. I have two beautiful alabaster Buddha heads that I consider works of art, but my Thai girlfriend won't allow them in her house, even buried in a closet, so I keep them elsewhere. On another occasion, I took a picture of a Thai person inside a temple but accidentally, in framing the photo, lopped the head off the large Buddha at the altar; the Thai was horrified and told me to delete the photo immediately.

Nearly every, if not every, art show or gallery or art shop I've ever seen in Thailand, in malls, vendor shops along major thoroughfares, stalls located along alleys, etc.,  has oils & watercolors & charcoals depicting the Buddha - head only.  Some very traditional-looking; some heavily stylized.   So I'm kind of surprised to hear that Thais actually find this so distasteful.  But the heads on a wall - yeah, I think I get the problem with that (but I also get that the guy really meant no disrespect).  Not that it's exactly newsworthy; then again, the social media bar is pretty low...  The guy put them up, it caused a social media outcry, the guy's going to take them down.  

[hawker9000]

5 minutes ago, Yann55 said:

 

The greatest irony in all this is that the Buddha expressly forbade any representations of himself ...

 

That's the reason why all these statues are 'idealized' and have features which are not strictly look-alike ... shortly after his death, however, his early followers just couldn't stop themselves from representing the Enlightened One anyway, notwithstanding his wish, and went around the ban by cooking up these non realistic images.

 

Apparently all these devout 'Buddhists' who show such deep concern in this matter do not know that when it comes to statues or pictures or whatever representations, the best way to respect the Buddha's teaching and the Buddha himself is NOT TO REPRESENT HIM.

Did he not actually discourage any "personality cult" of himself as well?

[kamahele]

So, what does one do with those Buddha images sold in shops all over the country?

[alant]

Another example of people using a devotion to impose their way. It is said the Buddha told his followers not to make the following into a religion but of course I can't be sure that the Buddha actually said that as it wasn't' written down and reported at the time. Come to think of it none of the things attributed to the teaching of Buddha were written down by the Buddha or recorded at the time for accuracy.

I have a belief that the Buddha was truly great and directed many into a decent map for life and coexisting with their fellow man but I have a problem with the power use in his name.

Having said that, causing offence to those around you leads me to believe it is better to remove the offending objects and it seems all acted responsibly.

[LannaGuy]

Yes and that 'symbolism' plays nicely with flags everywhere to remind the citizens of their 'place'. It's a deferential culture that will take decades to change (if ever).

[thenoilif]

Buddhists images are not supposed to be used strictly as decorations or furniture which is the main reason why you're not allowed to take them out of the country. Mounting them on a wall like heads on a spike isn't exactly a common way to show respect to Buddha.

Actual practicing Buddhists can have imagery around the house but it is seen as a religious symbol and not just for decor. 

Yes, we do see Buddhists images being sold as decorations in touristy areas but that doesn't mean that there is hypocrisy at play, unless those very same vendors are the ones that are complaining about this particular incident. 

I think that it is the garishness of these people that got them noticed and the guy basically admitting that he only has them for decoration. I mean did they really have to put that many heads on the wall? And the gold ones at that?

 

I think anyone who has been to Thailand can attest, you can get away with a lot here that goes against the cultural norm but only as long as you don't shoot it all over their faces. 

[robertthesculptor]

Total insanity by a small malignant group of idiots. Any real culture would see the honor and respect such an artpiece as this residence is. 

I think you have a small group of fools who love to hate. No thought processo real vslues

[Cory1848]

6 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

Nearly every, if not every, art show or gallery or art shop I've ever seen in Thailand, in malls, vendor shops along major thoroughfares, stalls located along alleys, etc.,  has oils & watercolors & charcoals depicting the Buddha - head only.  Some very traditional-looking; some heavily stylized.   So I'm kind of surprised to hear that Thais actually find this so distasteful. 

It's certainly contradictory; some Thais are more offended than others, and some not at all I guess. It may also be a matter of context. An art gallery or antique shop environment may cause Thais (and others) to process information differently from that of a private residence, or a garden wall. Many of the better galleries and shops cater primarily to foreigners, and the shop owners are tuned into international markets for these pieces and can mentally differentiate between Buddha heads as artworks having value (and potential profit) and Buddha heads as religious images. As a few others have pointed out, if there's money to be made, that makes it easier to make concessions ...

[canuckamuck]

1 hour ago, bbradsby said:

Dont assume that because she is Thai, that his wife is Buddhist. That displays a bit of ignorance of Thailand. She may be muslim, from the south. And some small number of Thai are christian... 

 

Exactly how likely do you think it is that a Thai Christian/Muslim has a yard full of Buddha heads?

[cmsally]

20 minutes ago, kamahele said:

So, what does one do with those Buddha images sold in shops all over the country?

They change the word "sold" to the word "rent" .

Another example of symbolism over fact/essence.

Language is also a big part of the symbolism.

 

[Artisi]

3 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Exactly how likely do you think it is that a Thai Christian/Muslim has a yard full of Buddha heads?

That might depend on the husbands bank balance ☺

[Bangkok Barry]

So, it's okay to have Buddha images at a temple but not okay to have Buddha images anywhere else. Any logic to that? No, probably not.

[Cory1848]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So, it's okay to have Buddha images at a temple but not okay to have Buddha images anywhere else. Any logic to that? No, probably not.

I don't think you'll find any Buddha heads (heads only, "decapitated") in a temple. That's what's offensive. If you see such a Buddha head in a temple, take a photo and post it!

[zzidenn]

1 hour ago, Artisi said:

Of course he was Thai, there do you think the "hub" of Buddhism is? 

you can search the internet if you dont know 

[British Bulldog]

6 hours ago, Thechook said:

Actually Thailand doesn't own Buddha even tho they may think so.  There are temples and monks in places like Australia and they aren't there under licence from Thailand.

An interesting statement ... I've actually studied a little about Lord Buddha and his teachings etc. and I am actually amazed how much the Thai's go against Lord Buddha and his teachings ... do not worship images for one of a hundred items that they do ... and here they are worried about a few ornate heads on a wall ???

[Minnehaha]

OFF WITH THE HEADS !

[KKr]

6 minutes ago, robertthesculptor said:

Total insanity by a small malignant group of idiots. Any real culture would see the honor and respect such an artpiece as this residence is. 

I think you have a small group of fools who love to hate. No thought processo real vslues

I rather be called an insane malignant idiot and fool than putting myself above the surroundings in a typical artists ivory tower under the claim of "real culture".
(by the way, where can we admire your art pieces?)
Buddha, or symbols of any religion or belief for that matter, are not furniture or decoration.
They should be respected accordingly. 
Simple.
 

[Artisi]

4 minutes ago, zzidenn said:

you can search the internet if you dont know 

Whoosh!!!!!! 

[Artisi]

5 minutes ago, British Bulldog said:

An interesting statement ... I've actually studied a little about Lord Buddha and his teachings etc. and I am actually amazed how much the Thai's go against Lord Buddha and his teachings ... do not worship images for one of a hundred items that they do ... and here they are worried about a few ornate heads on a wall ???

Welcome to Thai Buddhism.... 

[Bonefish]

Just now, KKr said:

I rather be called an insane malignant idiot and fool than putting myself above the surroundings in a typical artists ivory tower under the claim of "real culture".
(by the way, where can we admire your art pieces?)
Buddha, or symbols of any religion or belief for that matter, are not furniture or decoration.
They should be respected accordingly. 
Simple.
 

I totally agree with  your statement. I also wonder why this guy has such an incredibly large number of them. Looks more like an art dealer than a collector to me...

[KKr]

12 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So, it's okay to have Buddha images at a temple but not okay to have Buddha images anywhere else. Any logic to that? No, probably not.

nonsense, as long as it is displayed in a respectful manner, one can have Buddha images at the house, office or elsewhere

[thenoilif]

4 minutes ago, Cory1848 said:

I don't think you'll find any Buddha heads (heads only, "decapitated") in a temple. That's what's offensive. If you see such a Buddha head in a temple, take a photo and post it!

That and they are being used solely for decoration which is a no-no in Buddhism. The American is also not Buddhist so technically having these statues around his home is taboo and even if he was Buddhist, there should be some order to placement. Very few Thai homes have Buddhist images strewn about everywhere. They will have their main area like a wall in a room and then a couple of other pieces but that's usually it. 

[greenchair]

So I suppose leaving them to ly on the ground to decay would be more respectful 

[thenoilif]

3 minutes ago, greenchair said:

So I suppose leaving them to ly on the ground to decay would be more respectful 

If you're referring to the ruins of the old capital I think that they left them there for historical representation purposes. A completely different situation altogether and a good example of how a foreigner just displaying the heads would be seen as extremely disrespectful.

 

Edit: As far as temples go, I think that a place of Buddhist worship would not automatically make any imagery a religious symbol, and not something that is used solely for decoration. It's not rocket science. 

[maoro2013]

A whole lot of Buddha heads is a bit surprising but I have a  Buddha temple at both my houses and also at my plantations. It is normal for here. Maybe in his case it was a little overdone.

[Bonefish]

2 minutes ago, thenoilif said:

That and they are being used solely for decoration which is a no-no in Buddhism. The American is also not Buddhist so technically having these statues around his home is taboo and even if he was Buddhist, there should be some order to placement. Very few Thai homes have Buddhist images strewn about everywhere. They will have their main area like a wall in a room and then a couple of other pieces but that's usually it. 

Exactly true! This is in very bad taste, in addition to being disrespectful. Looks more like a dealer's warehouse than anything else. I remember seeing signs at the airport saying that the export of Buddha items is prohibited or subject to certain restrictions...