Storing dead Buddhists remains

I was at the local Temple last night to see the sandcastles, not as impressive as I was hoping for, a pile of sand with some flowers on to my mind doesn't make a sand castle, but I thought I would take some pictures of where the dead people are kept.

So first up you need a nice photo of your dead relative or friend or whatever, this goes into a nice frame like this one.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...s_temple_3.JPG

To save on costs it seems that you can stick the remains of a few bodies into one, although talking of costs the monks kept stum on that, I assume you have to make a financial arrangment with the Abbott or the big boss Monk.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...s_temple_2.JPG

Here's some empty ones, obviously you have to burn the dead body first, although if it was a big farang I doubt if you could get all the ash etc in there, maybe just choose the bits you want to put in?

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...s_temple_1.JPG

Of course unused ones make handy places to store stuff, I wonder how it would go down using the soil for an English grave as a vegetable patch whilst waiting for the body.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...s_temple_4.JPG

Some of these monks must be loaded. Went to a big concert last night in a Bangkok wat, seems it was a birthday of a monk so he decided, or the wat did, to blow 400,000 baht or there abouts on a concert for a few locals. Funny thing was no monks were seen at all. This was not a tambon wat fair, just a concert for a monk who never even put in an appearance, strange.

Yes, some of the monks believed to have special powers are given huge amounts of money from laymen.

Monks in general also get a lot of stuff - which they are not allowed to sell or give away. They are not allowed to refuse a gift either... so don't be surprised if you see 5 or 6 water boilers stuffed away in a corner of a monk's cell. He would rather not have them...

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Originally Posted by Frankenstein

Yes, some of the monks believed to have special powers are given huge amounts of money from laymen.

Monks in general also get a lot of stuff - which they are not allowed to sell or give away. They are not allowed to refuse a gift either... so don't be surprised if you see 5 or 6 water boilers stuffed away in a corner of a monk's cell. He would rather not have them...

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Always thought they were allowed to give stuff away as they are not meant to own anything except a few basic necessities, at least that was the case years ago.

:yerman: 400,000 baht to entertain a few locals . you mean 40,000 baht surely. That would be max.
a lot of thais would be offering this an that for merit . Strictly speaking a monk has very few possesions ,,clothes, grub, a bed, soap ,,,pretty basic
but in thailand they seem to have a different set of rules. business like.

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Originally Posted by dirtydog

Here's some empty ones, obviously you have to burn the dead body first, although if it was a big farang I doubt if you could get all the ash etc in there, maybe just choose the bits you want to put in?

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In my limited experience (Dad & BF) most of the bones (and it is chunks of bone, folks, not nice bits of ground up ash like you'd imagine!) were scatttered in the water (Chao Praya for Dad, sea off Khao Takiab for BF). Only a very small amount was kept. That is put into small containers maybe 6 inches tall with a spire on top. That's what you put into those niches at the wat.