May 29th, 2010
Thai Spirit Houses in Pattaya
Visiting Thailand can be an experiment in approaching contradictions, and the test is to see how judgement works in one’s own perceptions. Seeing it take hold, and watching it fade into the background when it becomes clear it does not matter, are great moments in world travel. These are, in fact, the very moments that can make a journey memorable, and to embrace the contradictions there is a kind of breakthrough in understanding.
In Pattaya, one of the most common contradictions that comes to the surface most frequently is that balance between the material world and that of the spirit. It’s a fascinating place, and can be one of the liveliest cities in the world at times. In some places, on most evenings, one can observe, or participate in, great excesses, consuming conspicuously enormous amounts of food, drink, and fun. In the same places, there might be small shrines to Buddhist spirits, and the traditions seem to suggest a release from the hold of all material things.
That the two things can exist in the same space can be a means of opening up a world view to include more things than were once dreamt of in some philosophies. In many places, especially larger buildings like hotels in Pattaya , one might find these shrines outside of the houses. These Spirit Houses are not necessarily Buddhist, and probably come from the animist traditions that precede Buddhism. There are some that will include some elements that are certainly recognizable as such, but these touches are likely to be more contemporary innovations.
In the tradition of Thai Spirit Houses , they are usually constructed so that they fall outside of the shadow of the actual house. They are, in a sense, that house in a miniature, and built so that the mischievous spirits of place will have a place to stay. There, they can be placated with food offerings, so that they will keep to their realm, and leave the living to their own devices. There are many touches all over Thailand that speak to these traditions, and hint at worlds of spirits that inhabit the waking one of the living. It suggests that the plane of experience is much more populated than one may have suspected, and there is much more in the world still to learn.
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