New home for Buddha statute make of gold

BANGKOK, Thailand -- It's a ho-hum temple in the midst of Chinatown, one of the most popular draws for tourists visiting Thailand's bustling capital city, and many visitors walk straight past it. Yet the temple contains one of the city's most beautiful attractions – a maginficent golden Buddha worth about $14 million. he story goes like this: Sometime in the late 1700s, a large number of Buddha images were brought to Bangkok from the provinces of the newly united kingdom of Siam. One – a dirty plaster Buddha statue about three metres tall – ended up in a seldom-visited temple near the Chao Phraya River.

It was largely ignored until the temple was abandoned nearly 130 years later, and the statue moved to its current spot.

One day in 1955, as it was being moved, the statue slipped from its ropes and crashed to the ground, cracking the plaster.

Horrified workers noticed a brilliant yellow glow from inside and realized that it was gold — 5 1/2 tons of it.

Scholars have dated the image – now stripped of its plaster covering – to the 12th or 13th century, and believe that it was disguised to hide it from invading Burmese armies and eventually forgotten.

Foreigners can barely pronounce its full name – Phra Buddha Maha Suwan Patimakorn – so most people simply call it `The Golden Buddha.'

Long housed in a small, dusty chapel with room for maybe a dozen kneeling worshippers, the image is set to move later this year into a purpose-built temple that will tower over the old one. The project has been in the works for a while.

"Historic or religious sites in Thailand are registered as national treasures by the Fine Arts Department," said a project spokesperson. "Even small modifications are prohibited without a lengthy assessment process, which is why it's taken such a long time for the temple to get an upgrade."

The 600-million baht ($18.7 million Cdn.) brick-and-marble hall will be 60 metres tall with ornate flourishes particular to Thai architectural design. It will be topped with a seven-tiered metal chatra (a ceremonial umbrella-type structure which represents either enlightenment, royalty or nothing at all, depending on whom you ask). The statue of Buddha will be housed on the fourth and top floor, while the rest will be used for religious activities, a community museum and parking.

Many guidebooks, websites and Bangkok's infamous taxi and tuk-tuk drivers say that the statue is made of solid gold, and the Guinness Book of World Records certifies it as `The World's Largest Gold Buddha." But the truth is a bit less fantastic.

"Well, it's true the image is undeniably stunning," says the project spokesman, "but the only part of it that is truly 100 per cent gold is the flame-like halo on top of the Buddha's head.

However, the body was cast in an alloy with a very high gold percentage, as pure gold is too malleable even for jewellery – a large, heavy statue like this would be out of the question."

The glittering image is a remarkable sight, with its narrow eyes staring down on you. Its slender waist, long earlobes and slightly protruding belly button are all hallmarks of the Sukhothai style, widely considered to be the most graceful and refined example of Thai art and sculpture.

The statue sits in the "subduing the Mara" posture – cross-legged, left hand palm-up on lap, the fingers of the right hand lightly brushing the ground. This posture represents steadfastness, loyalty and enlightenment.

Fittingly, the temple built to house one of Thailand's most revered icons will open on the same day that the country celebrates their most revered leader – Dec. 5, 2008 will mark the 81st birthday of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Celebrations will be large and memorable – just like the new temple.

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GIRL OR BOY???

recently, i am doing research on Chinese metaphysics.... that why i been posting articles about that... i receive a lot of reponse from my last posting... so u i will continue to share more...

Enjoy!!!!

You can now do family-planning with a little assistance from the wisdom of Chinese ancients.

According to a newspaper report, there exists a graph which can predict when couples will increase their chances of bearing a baby boy or girl. The predictions are made based on the age at which a woman conceives and the month in which the baby is conceived.

The would-be mother's Chinese lunar birth year should correspond to a particular Chinese lunar month in which the baby is conceived in order to determine the baby's gender. A person's lunar birth date is always one year older than his or her age according to the Gregorian calendar that is used today, whilst the lunar month can be consulted from a Chinese lunar year calender.

One Madam Lim, who provided the chart to the newspaper, told the paper: "My friend followed the chart, and bore a baby boy when she conceived at the lunar age of 30 during the first lunar month."

The chart had been discovered in the tomb of a Chinese royalty in Beijing, China, and dates back to at least 700 years ago, and has been re-drawn by Chinese scientists.

Results are said to be 99 per cent accurate.

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lust or love

Face Reading has its roots dating back centuries. It allows a person to tell the fate or destiny of a person simply by the various features on their face. Specific traits like the distance between the eyes, the shape of the nose, the curve of the eye brow or even a scar may indicate certain events that may transpire at some point in the future.

Let me tell quote some article on how to see true love or lust?

The image shows a pair of computerised "averaged" facial photographs taken from real people's pictures. According to the research, the face on the right is of someone who is more likely to be interested in a short-term sexual relationship whilst the one on the left is more likely to be interested in a long-term relationship.

Members of the opposite sex can spot whether somebody is after a one-night stand or something more permanent just by looking at their face, scientists said on Wednesday.

On men, a square jaw, large nose and small eyes are more likely to betray the look of lust than of love.

Women found men with softer features more likely to opt for commitment.

But the Durham University-led research found that while men can judge whether a woman is footloose-and-fancy-free or not, there is no common facial detail to explain it.

about 700 heterosexuals took part in the survey carried out by Durham, St. Andrews and Aberdeen universities.

In one study, 72 percent of the 153 participants correctly identified the sexual attitudes of a group of men and women in their 20s after being shown photographs or facial images.

Published in the journal "Evolution and Human Behaviour", the research also showed that women who were open to short-term sexual relationships were usually seen as more attractive.

They tended to have wide eyes and large lips, such as the actress Angelina Jolie.

Women were usually interested in men who appeared to be more likely to want a long-term relationship.

The research tended to confirm earlier findings which found that women see masculine men as more likely to be unfaithful and worse at parenting.

The men and women also tended to opt for complete opposites.

"These will then give way over time to more in-depth knowledge of that person as you get to know them better, and may change with age."

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thailand temple

As the Thai New Year approaches next month, Buddhist monks like Phramaha Somgid from Wat Ratchabophit, a temple near Bangkok's Grand Palace, can't be busier. There are paths to sweep, pavilions to polish, incense to purchase and the daily rhythm of alms-seeking, prayer and sutra study to keep up. The lead up to the New Year celebrations from April 13 to 15 also sees Thais making their way around Bangkok's more than 880 Buddhist temples, called wats, to pray for good fortune. The “magic nine" temples WAT SUTHAT For strong eyesight WAT CHANA SONGKHRAM For the power to overcome obstacles WAT ARUN For prosperity CITY PILLAR SHRINE To dispel bad luck and attract good fortune WAT KANLAYANAMIT For safe travel WAT RAKHANG To gain friends and become popular WAT PHRA KAEO To attract wealth and prosperity WAT PHO To be happy and live in peace CHAO PHON SUA CHINESE TEMPLE To gain strength and bravery Especially busy are the nine so-called "magic" ones that are said to bestow unique powers to win friends, get rich, be brave and so on. The monk Somgid explains that nine is an auspicious number for Buddhists and its sound is similar to the Thai word for progress. Devotees say it's most effective to visit all the nine wats in a single day, although even visiting only one or two can bring good fortune too. A short taxi ride from Wat Ratchabophit to the east bank of Chao Praya River brings me to Wat Phrachetuphon Wimonmangkhalaram, or "Wat Pho" . Thais believe that paying respects at its altar can bring happiness and the promise of a peaceful life. Many tourists go there to see the 46m gilded reclining Buddha. It is often crowded at the statue's enormous feet, which is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and bears the inscriptions of the 108 auspicious characteristics of Buddha. Next, I made for the Wat Phra Kaeo, located in the outer west section of the nearby Grand Palace. Known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the stone statue is Thailand's most sacred Buddha image. The Thais believe that it bestows wealth and prosperity on those who worship it. A short ferry ride across the Chao Praya from the Grand Palace is Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. Though a much older temple, it too is said to have the power to grant prosperity. A short time later, I find myself passing through the ornate wooden entrance doors of Wat Suthat, situated near the city's centre. I have an appointment at the altar with the "god of good vision" inside its high-roofed Burmese-style wihara or central pavilion. I leave the wat with an enlivened sense of smell, thanks to pots of powerful vegetable curry which the resident kitchen staff have been busily stewing for a ceremonial feast that evening. Nearest to Wat Suthat is the formidable Wat Saket, perched on top of the Golden Mountain, with its towering trumpet-like pagoda visible from almost any point in central Bangkok. Having somehow lost my map of "magic" temples and not keen to push my luck in the congested traffic, I decided to forgo the next "magic" wat, follow my own mantra that "fortune favours the brave", and headed for the Golden Mountain, an artificial hill on which successive Thai kings have built a place of worship over the centuries. The most recent was King Rama V, who constructed the present pagoda and installed a precious relic - reputedly a piece of Buddha's collarbone - inside it. Every day, some 2,000 sightseers struggle up the Golden Mountain to Wat Saket to catch the 360-degree panoramic view of the city from its concourse - except during the wet season in August. Says Saket's monk-turned-caretaker Assajita Awale: "We don't allow tourists up onto the concourse during electrical storms. Even with our lightning rod installed, no amount of good fortune can protect you from a wayward thunderbolt." Surely no one, pilgrim or tourist, would dispute that. EBAY STORE: http://search.ebay.com.sg/_W0QQsassZnayan992007