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9 Temples Visit Tour: the Pilgrimage in Fast Life Culture

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9 Temples Visit Tour: the Pilgrimage in Fast Life Culture 9 Temples Visit Tour: The Pilgrimage in Fast Life Culture Sura Piriyasanguanpong Thai Khadi ResearchInstitute, ThammasatUniversity, Thailand -------------------------------------------- The 9 Temples visit tours have recently become popular during the past years as an activity that combines tourism and religion together. The starting point is in Bangkok before expanding to other regions. The activities are varied depending on the organizers and region backgrounds. However, it is necessary to clarify that there has been previous studies on the topic of 9 Temples visit tours. Yet, those studies focused on the activities as a form of tourism, and the analysis of weakness and strength in activity's management. Hence, the study focusing on historical and archaeological perspectives could be an important aspect which led to an understanding of the origin of 9 Temples visit tours. Besides, this might lead to more extensive considerations of the activity value and more benefits to the participants. Although the writer mentioned about the recent beginning of 9 Temples visit tours, the nature of the activities is still considered to be "pilgrimage to worship." This is an activity that Buddhists have been practiced for a long time. At least, the mention of "pilgrimage to worship" can be traced back to Tripiṭaka. Suttanta Pitaka mentioned about pilgrimages to the Samvejaniya Sathan (Four Holy Sites of Buddhism) as "a place where virtuous sons with faith should see." As a result, we can assume that the pilgrimage to worship in Thai society has existed as long as the arrival of Buddhism. This includes the pilgrimages to the Four Holy Sites of Buddhism as well as other artifacts representing Buddha, such as Buddha footprint and Buddha relics. From all these reasons mentioned above, it is worth making observations and asking research questions regarding to the transformation of pilgrimage. Before the pilgrimage turned into a one-day speedy journey, as favored by modern people living fast life, what methods of pilgrimage did we do in the past? Who went on pilgrimages? What were crucial points of transformation which made the pilgrim become as it is nowadays? The writer decided that the study on historical and archaeological perspectives can be commenced using the evidence found since Sukhothai era. There were records from the era mentioning the artifacts for pilgrimage and places where you could find those objects. Then, other evidence reflecting the forms and significances of pilgrimage in each era is also used to analyze the transformation and bring forth explanations on this current phenomenon. The scope of this study is in the context of pilgrimages for Buddhist worship only. It excludes the pilgrimages for studying or spreading religions. The research employs historical and archaeological method in studying pilgrimage styles in the central region of Thailand since Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Thonburi until current era in order to explain the 9 Temples Visit Tour phenomena via historical perspective. The Origin or Beginning of the 9 Temples Visit Tour Phenomena The 9 Temples Visit Tour is an activity that has existed just in the past ten years. Some past researches regarding 9 temples visit tour mentioned that it originated in the Buddhist Era of 2543 (A.D. 2000) by Bangkok Tourism Division and Tourism Authority of Thailand. It intended to be an activity to help stimulate economy ( Upranukrow, J. 2014, and Jangajit, N. 2013) as Thailand was going through economic recession during that period. Many small and medium businesses were forced to shut down which had impacts on all levels of society. "Feeling desperate, many people turned to varied forms of superstition. It was the period in which superstition thrived, such as the belief in Goddess Guanyin, Phra Suphankanlaya, and Preta of Ajarn Koo. (Phungpracha, E. 2007 : p. 62 in reference to Poondarikwat, T. 2543 : p.94) Originally, there was an activity similar to the 9 temples visit tour, but without any relation to number 9. The number 9 or “Kao”(เก้า) in Thai is regarded as an auspicious number. It also resonates with the word “ Kow”(ก้ า ว ) which means move forward. In the Buddhist Era of 2537 (A.D. 1994), an “astrologer”1 arranged temples visit tours to six important temples in Bangkok. The temples were chosen according to their auspicious names and famous holy artifacts. "Wat Suthat Thepvararam is the first temple which can help the pilgrims have the right viewpoint or achieve the eye of wisdom. The next temple is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn or Wat Pho which provides peacefulness and something to rely on. The third temple is Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram or Wat Phra Kaew to gain valuable gems, silver and gold. Another place is Bangkok's city pillar shrine (San Lak Muang). You should pay respect to all three pillars in order to have good pillars to support your living and work. The fifth one is Wat Chana Songkhram. The worship will bring about victory in life. The last temple is Wat Intharawihan. The worship of Luang Pho To, the big Buddha statue, over a spring of blessed water will lead to happiness and comfortability in both body and mind." (Phungpracha, E. : p. 62-63) The idea had been adopted, used and improved by organizations relating to Bangkok tourism. It was spread to other provinces as well as other beliefs (see Appendix). The overall activity of the 9 temples visit tour had been developed as followed: 1) In the first phrase, the auspicious name temples in Bangkok area had been chosen. There were only 6 temples. The interesting is that the previous researchers studying the origin of this activity claimed that it was originated by an astrologer, not Buddhism philosophy. 2) Then, the amount of temples had been increased to 9 which is an auspicious number and resonates with the word Kow (ก้ า ว - move forward). The selection criteria still relied on the "auspicious name" of temples. 1Reference from ( Phungpracha, E. 2007: p. 62) It did not mention the name of the astrologer, but some assumed that it was Suriyan Sucharitpolwong or Mor Yong, for example (Upranukrow, J. 2014: p.65.) 3) There are also 9 temples chosen according to the association with each King of the reigning House of Chakri. (There were 9 Kings from the House of Chakri then.) 4) Other Localities outside Bangkok has adopted the 9 temples visit tour to use with temples in the area. 5) The idea has been redesigned to use in the worship of other religious places and beliefs, like Chinese shrines and Hindu deities. We could say that this type of activity is highly flexible to adapt. The pilgrims can choose from the existing routes or invent your own. It can also be modified according to religious beliefs and transportation modes to destinations, such as group of places which can be reached via water transportation, public transport bus services, and metro. Research Question 1: What did Thai people in the past worship? To answer this question, the writer divides the study topics according to historical era. This can demonstrate the development of pilgrimages according to time periods. The main evidence used here is historical evidence, such as inscriptions, ancient maps, documents, etc., focusing on evidence relating to Theravada Buddhism. Sukhothai Era From historical source, the inscriptions from Sukhothai era revealed things that people in the society worshipped. They are Buddha relics, Buddha footprints, Buddha statues, Buddha amulet, the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, etc. The artifacts acquired from Lanka is especially important. The secondary important artifacts are those reproduced from original objects; for example, some significant inscriptions (see Appendix). Nakhon Chum Inscription was written in Sukhothai Thai alphabets. It was assumed to be made in the Buddhist Era of 1900 (around A.D. 1357), found in Wat Phra Borommathat, Amphoe Mueang, Kamphaeng Phet Province in the Buddhist Era of 2464 (around A.D. 1921). There were phrases mentioning about things people valued as worthy of worship which are Buddha relics, Buddha footprints, and the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. Also, it also mentioned the significance of Lanka as the original holy city, the merit of worship, and the reproductions of holy artifacts for people in other cities to worship as well. Wat Si Chum Inscription was dated to around the Buddhist Era of 1884-1910 (A.D. 1341-1367). It mentioned both Lanka and India, but the overall content regarded Lanka as more substantial in a concrete way. It revealed about Buddhist monk ethics according to Lanka way, and holy things from Lanka, like the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. Wat Pa Mamuang Inscription was made in B.E. 1904 (A.D. 1361). The inscription pillars were found in Amphoe Mueang, Sukhothai Province in both Khmer script, Sukhothai Khom script, Sukhothai Thai script, as well as one in Bali. However, only pillars inscribed in Khmer and Thai will be referred here. These two pillars had similar content, but the Khmer one also mentioned about the construction of Brahmanism statues, Shiva and Vishnu statues, and the construction of Buddha statue. The Thai inscription did not mention about Brahmanism statues, but only about Buddha statue. From the inscription, we learn about the existence of both religions in Sukhothai society. However, the supporter groups might be different. Brahmanism was more popular among the ruling class who knew Khmer language while Buddhism was more accessible to people from all classes. Mount Samanthakuta Inscription was dated to B.E. 1902-1912 (A.D. 1359-1369), found in Khao Phra Bat Yai, Amphoe Mueang, Sukhothai Province. The inscription was made on four sides of a pillar. The content was mainly about the worship of Buddha footprints which was in the same style as the footprints in Lanka.
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