Living With Icons

Buddha Indicating Earth as Witness

Again I preface my remarks by saying that I have done no real research on icons in Thai life.  I base my remarks here on previous knowledge and daily observations.  Of course being brought up Catholic, I knew what icons were, even if I didn't know the word or its definition.  Any Catholic recognizes the Sacred Heart of Jesus as more than just a depiction of the human heart.  We are brought up to respect and honor the Sacred Heart as a reminder of the compassion and mercy of Jesus, whom we called Our Lord.  Yes, I knew icons growing up!

And as kids, we often had to defend ourselves against the charges of idolatry, worshipers of statues, crazy people who thought that by lighting a little red vigil candle in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother, we would get all our wishes granted.  Catholics believe in magic!  That's what those kids would say.

I always thought there was some truth to that taunt.  We believed that when the priest uttered the words this is my body...this is my blood over ordinary bread and wine, suddenly, magically, they became the body and blood of Jesus.  Really.  If that's magic, then living in Thailand is living surrounded by magic!

Thailand is a place where there are literally hundreds, no thousands of icons, big ones the height of a three-story building, and small ones the size of a grain of rice.  The subject of most of the icons in Thailand are, of course, the Buddha and the various episodes in his life.

Reclining Buddha, enormous icon

I knew that bread and wine were changed to the body and blood of Christ sacramentally.  Later, in the seminary, I learned that a sacrament is a sacred sign that brings about what it signifies.  Water signifies cleansing; thus, it is the perfect vehicle for the sacrament of baptism where one is cleansed of the effects of Original Sin.  All seven sacraments can be understood in this way.

A busload of monks, living icons

When I saw that icons are another word for sacraments, all the statues, amulets, shrines, temples, even the Buddhist monks, made absolute sense to me.  What impresses me is not that Thais are surrounded by Buddhist icons, for this is a Buddhist country, but that the Thai people live an iconic life in the same sense that a Catholic might be said to live a sacramental life.

Buddhists believe that a properly rendered Buddha image is a an actual spiritual emanation of the Buddha, which possesses supernatural qualities. Although the Buddha is not a god, Buddhists seek to communicate with the supernatural world through Buddha images, making offerings to them and praying before them.

Buddha at his Enlightenment

Icons and sacraments bring the spiritual world and the physical world together.  Seeing and worshiping the divine in the mundane is truly a joyful way to live.  One-Not-One is how this belief, this insight into reality is expressed.

In conclusion I believe that the Thai smile is iconic:  being in the presence of a Thai when he or she smiles (which is almost always), very few  can resist smiling too and feeling blessed and good about being alive.

The Thai Smile

Could the Thai smile be a result of their centuries’ long devotion to the icons of the Buddha?  Do we become what we believe and worship?  One of the attributes of the Buddha, an attribute which must (in accordance with the Buddhist Cannon) be present in any image of the Buddha for it to be a legitimate and effective icon, is the Buddha's smile.  Since an icon is, by its definition, an emanation of the Eternal Buddha, of course the Thai people, surrounded by icons of the Buddha, would acquire the Buddha smile.

It’s not a big have-a-nice-day smile. It’s more like the smile of the Mona Lisa, a great icon in Western art. Or the smile on the young Thai above playing the guitar in the park on a Sunday afternoon. I was the only one listening to him, so the smile was only for me!  Of course had anyone else been around, it would be only for them.  But the Thai smile is an iconic smile, not a personal smile.  When you see the Mona Lisa smiling at you, it's not personal; it's just iconic.

The Iconic Mona Lisa Smile

The Buddha Smile.  It's iconic

I hope I live long enough here to acquire the Thai smile, the Buddha smile....

Meet Papaya!

Thais love nicknames!  And among nicknames, they have a certain fondness for ones in English.  Why?  Why nicknames and why in English?  My comments here are not based on extensive research.  Most of what I know, or think I know, comes from my own observations and speculations.  Here's what I find fascinating about Thais and their nicknames:

• Their nicknames are not so much names as they are things.  Just a few of Thais I know personally:
• Lemon  a young man
• Apple, the woman next door
• Mango, the guy who waits on me at the supermarket
• Earn, the woman next door's little daughter
• Small, the owner of a cafe

• And here are some of the nicknames I have come across in my travels:
• Coke
• Pepsi
• Game
• Dollar
• Nut
• Chevolet
• Honey

So it shouldn't be surprising that often after meeting me and trying to say my name (George is very difficult for the Thai person to say with any kind of confidence), they will ask me, "What's your nickname?"  Thais just assume that everyone has one.  They all do!

After tiring of saying I don't have a nickname, dealing with the expression of complete befuddlement, trying to explain that only a few Americans have nicknames into their adulthood, I have chosen a nickname for myself:  Papaya.  Yeah, the tropical fruit papaya.  Why?  Well, Thais commonly have names of fruits for nicknames and also many already call me Papa, the Thai word for grandfather.  Thais will always try to figure out who you would be to them if you were a member of their family.  Actually, for a Thai to give a foreigner a title reserved for family members is a great honor.  It doesn't take long before I become Papa.  The name brings to mind Papa Hemingway and Papa Doc.

Now why do Thais have nicknames in the first place?  Two reasons:  First, the name they are given at birth is a traditional one often from the Sanskrit, difficult to say and difficult to write; Second, there's an old and sometimes present belief in the presence of evil spirits, ghosts, walking the earth looking for you by name. If you don't use your birth name, the ghosts never find you.  There's another reason based  on speculation:  It's fun to have nicknames!  For the Thai people, if something isn't fun, it's just not worth doing.

It's Official: Thailland Gave Me the Retirement Visa!

My good friend Tdaw at the Temple of Dogs.  What a smile!

Now I have a visa that is good for one year, renewable at the end of every year I live here.  Thailand wants and likes having foreigners come and live among them.  Basically, a foreigner living here contributes much to the Thai economy.  There are whole areas where if suddenly there were no foreign residents, houses would become empty, new construction would stop, and the local economy would become pretty much non-existent.

But Thailand in no way caters to foreigners as some countries do.  Foreigners who live here on the Retirement Visa are not allowed to work or to own property.  And every 90 days we have to report our present address, as well as our intention  to Immigration to continue living her for another 90 days.  Actually, only Thais can own property in Thailand.  A foreigner can own a house, but not the land on which it sits.  There's a reason why in all of Southeast Asia, Thailand is the only country never occupied by any Western power.  Never!  Japan was in that category until it lost World War II and became Occupied Japan.  I remember as a child looking at a toy and seeing the words Made in Occupied Japan.  The year was, I believe, 1950.  I asked by father what that meant.  His reply?  The Japs lost the god damn war for Christ sake!  That's what happens when you lose a war!  We won so we get to occupy Japan!  Dad was the master of the short but emotionally charged answer.  I got the message:  Don't lose the war!

Thailand was never occupied because of two characteristics, I believe.  First of all they would rather all die than have their country controlled by anyone other than Thais.  And secondly, they are master negotiators.  I think their strongest negotiating tool is their charm.  You have never really seen a smile until you have seen the Thai smile.  The Thai smile involves the whole body, mind, and spirit.  And they are not at all selfish with their smile, their charm.  Passing a Thai person on the street, a perfect stranger to you, without saying a single word, that Thai can make you want to do anything to please him!  And I don't think you have to be a people pleaser for the Thai to have that effect on you.  It happens to me every day, dozens of times.  Hundreds of times if I am out long enough!  I want to return the smile, but although I am genuine, I am not sure that my smile, like that of all the foreigners I know here, is not just my version of the have a good day smile!  It's not phoney.  It's just not as full bodied as the Thai smile.  Land of Smiles!  Thailand certainly deserves that title!

Owner and daughter at a cafe in Chiang Mai.  Thais cannot not smile!

And I live here! A full-blooded resident!

How happy I am that Thailand is so generous to the outsider. Who wouldn't be happy to live in paradise on earth!  Is Thailand perfect?  No, of course not, but it's damn close, at least for me.

Thank you Thailand!