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dirtydog

Had to sticky this thread as it actually explains to us heathens what this is all about, ok my house we have the spirit house facing North, I did assume this would be something the Monks done, but some old guy came and done it and then ran white cotton thru the groundfloor of the building, this was a bit of a worry as I have exposed live wires on the ground floor so had to talk him thru it so to speak, unfortuneately as my place is 6 storeys high the spirit house does get shadowed by it, not anything that can be done about that though also I have a ,erm, spirit table? in the main living area, this one doesn't get much attention, infact I shall take a picture of the dust covered thing tomorrow, it is opposite our biggest tv, just thought I would mention that although it is probably not relevant, anyway so what is this one for if all the spirits are in what we call "our garden".

Thai Wife

If property space is not available, what can you do?. I've seen a spirit house on a balcony. My mother's shop has no space for one, so she puts it in the house with her. The spirits will have to understand and adapt to today's world, otherwise they might starve for the rest of their existance. I really think that by providing a place for them shows our acceptance - we cannot do more than our best. As long as we respect each other (the spirits and us), and regularly attend to them, they should not have any complaint.

This picture may explain it better than I can.



As you can see, there are other shadows crossing the path of this spirit house. Demonstrated here, is the Thai's belief in spirits, following convenience more than the written doctrine.

I know some people put a shrine on the rooftop of the building that has many stories, but that is for "PhraPhrom" (Brahma). It is the same as the one in front of the Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. PhraPhrom is one of the Hindu Gods, the creator of the Universe.

PhraPhum (PhraChaiMongKol) being the Guardian of the land must be on land, and cannot be on top of the roof. People will invite PhraProm (Brahma) to live there instead of PhraPhum.

As for the spirit table in your house, I am not sure what you have. I will wait for your pictures. Please also show pictures of your spirit house.

dirtydog

Here we have the spirit house in my miniture little garden/jungle.

dirtydog

And here is the one inside the house, got loads of tiny differant Budhha images on it.

Thai Wife

^
That is called "Hing Phra", the place where you put Buddha image(s) upon. No matter what location you choose for it, make sure that it faces north or northeast.

I see you also have "NangKwak" on it. Any other image placed on the Hing Phra, must be on a lower level than Buddha. You really should provide a different place for her, facing the door at your place of business. NangKwak is the daughter of "PuChaoKhaoKheow", the spirit who protects the forest. She is famous for bringing wealth to the business owner. With proper care for her, she can bring you more business. I can almost guarantee you will see her facing out, behind the cashier's counter, the next time you visit a restaurant.

dirtydog

I think the man statue is King Rama IV, the lady one I knew about but this is on the 4th floor, and it is pointing South so they can watch tv, if I remember rightly I suprised my girlfriend with it, didn't actually think about the placement, no wonder it is never cleaned or anything, luckily this floor is in much need of redocaration as is most of my place so that can easily be changed, also there are loads of tiny little Budhha images on it, Thai and Chinese, ok I have just had a look and there are about 50 of them, I normally buy her a few when I go away so she has a nice selection, supposedly some are antiques but I think that is probably more likely to get the gullible farang to buy them, ok tomorrow I shall give it all a clean and see what I can find in there, also seems to be a load of Thai bullet coins up there.

Thai Wife

I believe this to be a little off subject from Spirit Houses, so have started a new thread about "HingPhra".

Anonymous Coward

We had a Nang Kwak on our Hing Phra, but Ms. AC's Mom nicked it and took it to her shop; to bring in more customers, I guess.

When she was still around she sat on the base of the Hing Phra, but the two Buddha images were up on little raised platforms.

Thai Wife

I was not going to post this story until I had the pictures of the communal spirit house. But, it does not look like I will have any picture in the near future, so here we are.

The spirits for the entire village are called "TahPu", "PuTah" or ancestor in English. All of them have names, like the one near my Mother's house in Korat, named "PuIn".

Normally the house for the spirit of TahPu will be built on higher ground and toward the entrance of the village. The house would sit on 4 legs pole, gable roof, 2 meters wide, 3 meters long and approximately 1.5 meters in high. In side will contain the statue of an elephant, a house, and dolls of a man and woman. It is not unusual to find weapons, like a knife, sword or spear.



Giving a banquet to the spirit of TahPu is very important. People believe that TahPu will protect everyone in the village from all harm. Some take it very seriously, not allowing kids to play or make noise around the house of TahPu. If the spirit becomes annoyed by all the noise, he may make you sick. People will often ask for his protection when leaving from the village.

The banquet ceremony will begin after the SongKran festival. The villagers will come to Tahpu's house and start cleaning. A pig head, chicken, red and white KhaNomTom (Thai desert like dumpling), whisky, cigarettes and betel nut will be prepared.




His cloths and 3-5 small drums called "Tone" are also needed.





The important person for the ceremony is a medium, he/she may be accompanied by 2-4 followers. The ceremony will begin with beating on the drums (making music of course) until the spirit enters the medium. Next, the medium will start by wearing the prepared cloths, and then will begin to consume the food offering, by using the stick to pick through food and smell. The dancing may occur again after eating the food, or there may just be conversations between the spirit and the villagers. Some people will ask for the well being of a passed relative, while some will ask for a relative that lives in another Province. The spirit of TahPu then bestows blessings on everyone for well- being and prosperity, before leaving the medium's body.

Marmite the Dog

So, do all the Buddha images have to face north or northeast? My child-buddha faces southwest. Will I face eternal damnation in hell, or will I be blessed for giving the Lord Buddha a change of view?

And despite some of our suspicious members, I am not posting anything false or piss-taking about my Buddha statue.

__________________
There's the right way, and there's the Thai way

Marmite the Dog

Did you see this thread, ThaiWife?

http://teakdoor.com/thailands-wats-t...n-phichit.html (The Shrine @ my home town (Phichit))

stroller

In Mahayana Buddhism the historic Gautama Buddha was an incarnation of Amitayus, the Buddha facing the Western direction (there are five, one for each direction and one in the center), sitting in the lotus position with hands in his lap for meditating, and he is associated with the element of fire.
In Thailand, a Theravada country, I don't know the meaning of the directions.

Thaiwife?

Thai Wife

It mainly for the best of luck. The belief is that north and east are auspicious points. The word for north is Nua in Thai, and means above. The east is where the sun comes up, so that is the begining of light and pretty much explain itself. The west represents the darkness, the sun setting at that point, and is considered the time for evil. The word for south is Dtai in Thai, and means under. The conclusion is that if you would place anything holy or sacred, the best choice ranges between north and east.

As far as going to suffer in hell, it probably will happen anyway, but not from facing your baby Buddha to the southwest.

What I wrote is from what I was taught, and also from reference books, but I don't think they are that critical. If you are around older people that still maintain the ancient traditions, the stories will be worse. There is a lot more of do and don't, and I didn't really get to that part.


I'm sorry to say I missed seeing that thread. Sometimes there are too many things to look at on this Forum, and I often run out of time. (By the way, the food shown on GoW's post looks pretty good.)

Thai Wife

I gave some information above, but as I said, there are many do and don't stories.

I just thought of an interesting direction story. Again, north and east are good because of representing above, and the bringing of light. The west and south are bad because of representing the dark, and under.

My grandparents always warned us about laying down in the wrong direction. In old Thai tradition when laying down, you should position yourself so your head is to the north or east. This means anytime laying, not just sleeping.

When a Thai dies, and they are laid down, the head should be at the west. This is where all the ghosts are.

stroller

The North is where no light shines, sorry, I cannot agree on this.

"The Amithaba Buddha is the principal representative of the blissful pure land of the West"

Whiteshiva

Do you care to elaborate?

stroller

In a physical sense, the sun never shines from the North, so I find it an odd direction to choose.

Is this a Thai thing, or the teachings of Theravada Buddhism, how has this come about?

Whiteshiva

Well as Thailand is located south of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun can shine from any direction, including north.

stroller

I haven't noticed that, but never mind.

Our local temple is build in an East-West direction, and the Buddha statues face East.

Sorry this has nothing to do with spirit houses, I'm just being curious about some background info, which is hard to come by.

kingwilly

i agree, pagan english man that he is!

Thai Wife

Maybe part of the year at the South Pole.


I thought this was clear.
1. North = Above
2. East = Light
3. West = Dark
4. South = Under


I apologize for my English. Because the direction was before explained, I thought this sentence was OK. Maybe I should say in order, or something.

stroller

Well, yes, but where does this come from? It is quite a simplistic assertion, if I may say so.
There is a lot more to it, according to Mahayana, see - the 5 Dhyani-Buddahs.

Thai Wife

Placing Buddha has nothing to do with Mahayana, Theravada or any other variation of Buddhism in Thailand. The fate dealing with direction was one of the biggest concerns in Thailand. This Tradition has been passed on from many generations. The traditional Thai even has a list of lucky directions to travel for the day, and each day is different.

Let me clear something now. The information comes from me, using a single Thai reference book, the Thai community and their religious leaders. I lived this my whole life, and listened to my relatives, people in my village and Monks from the surrounding Thai Temples. On record, I have written a Thai history research paper, from which I was awarded an honour from Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Believe me, I need to be thought of as an authority!

The history and culture of Thailand (Siam) have been documented by other than Thai. People like the French, Dutch and British wrote a lot about Siam and its culture and beliefs. I do not want to say bad about someone, but many of these writings are not correct. They are interpretations of what they saw, and have wrong ideas about it, because they were not born into it. Most Thai culture and traditions are passed on by stories from elders, and is not written. That is why I am bothering to help tell the story I know.

kingwilly

and we appreciate it, keep going !

Anonymous Coward

Indeed. Keep posting.

Although Ms. AC was born in Thailand, all four of her grandparents were born in China. As a result, Ms. AC just doesn't have much in the way of this traditional knowledge. She was fascinated by your spirit house explanation.