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Offering and Transference

The Platform Door Paintings at The Preaching Hall, Wat Suthat Thepwararam, Bangkok, Thailand

Jewels of the Heart

Most of the jewels on the Platform Doors (south doors) are adaptations of ones found as raiments of the Buddha Sakyamuni and his two attendant Bodhisattvas on a huge outdoor ceremonial Thangka Painting at Pongwonsa Temple in Seoul, Korea. That is where I have studied and worked since 1986 under Ven. Manbong, a Korean Living National Treasure in Buddhist art.
     I have designed these panels specifically for this project. The jewels, which are largely variations of lotus and deva flowers, represent the gem-like teachings of the Buddha Sakyamuni; the wisdom and compassionate deeds of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; and such jewels within our own hearts that await polishing. The four different colored lotuses across the top represent The Four Noble Truths, while eight different jewels on each double door (excluding the top and bottom lotuses) represent The Noble Eightfold Path as taught by Lord Buddha Sakyamuni.
     I offer these panels as a small but sincere Dharma gift for the health, happiness and prosperity of the gentle people of the Kingdom of Thailand, one of Buddhism's greatest living jewels. And should there be any merit for these works, I transfer it to liberation from suffering throughout the universes, in hopes that all may be well and happy.
     If, while viewing these paintings, you derive even one-84,000th of the Dharmic joy that I have received while doing them, then you will be a very happy person, and we can be happy for each other. I also hope that you will, through the study and practice of the Dharma, polish the innumerable jewels within your own heart, and confirm for yourself that indeed, indeed and indeed again, "The Dharma is excellent in the beginning, it is excellent in the middle, and it is excellent in the end."
     With warmest wishes, and many thanks for visiting the Preaching Hall and Wat Suthat,

Brian Barry
Feb. 2543 B.E., 2000 C.E.
www.watsuthat.org

กก

The Doors

At the invitation of Phra PipitDhammaSuntorn, Secretary to the Temple Master of Wat Suthat Thepwararam in Bangkok, I had the rather astonishing honor of being the first non-Thai to do creative art work on a Royal Thai temple, from Dec. 1999 through February 2000. Having seen a photo of one of my Buddhist Jewels backdrop paintings (see Temple Paintings section), Phra PipitDharmmaSuntorn asked me to do a similar creative work on the inside of the south doors, to either side of Buddha Sethamuni, in the very precious Preaching Hall at Wat Suthat.
      Each set of doors is 330cm high and 160cm wide (80cm x 2), and each strand of jewels is 300cm long. In the tradition of my study, I did the paintings with water-based chemical paints mixed with diluted carpenters glue, and upon completion, glossed them over with epoxy. Each of the eight different jewels is approximately 33cm wide and 33cm high.
      Each set of doors took about one month to complete. I suppose that with more concentrated effort, I could have done them in a shorter period of time, but I was in no rush to end the total magic of working in such a hallowed and tranquil setting. The magic began at 11:15am on Dec. 22, winter solstice, the full moon of the 11th lunar month. At the very instant my brushes first caressed the beautiful teak doors, a songbird flew into the hall and serenaded the presiding Phra Buddha Sethamuni, the One who is made of opium canisters. The magic never stopped. Residing in a cell at the monastery and participating in many of the activities with the monks were also a part of this magic.
     Wat Suthat is one of the four First-Class Royal Temples in Bangkok (along with Wats Mahathat, Pho and Arun), and stunning in many ways. It is filled with countless psychological and material treasures, making it, as it names says, "the temple of many things to see."   Amongst them is the Phra Buddha Sethamuni, the presiding Buddha of the Preaching Hall.
    The great and wise King Rama III (r. 1824-1851) banned opium in 1839, ordered a nationwide confiscation, and had it all destroyed in front of his palace. He then ordered the leftover opium canisters to be melted down, cast into a Buddha and gilded. Thus he turned the remnants of a curse of the people into a symbol of inspiration and hope. This is the Buddha presiding in the hall today. On the wall opposite the Buddha are recently-done portraits of Kings Rama I, II and III, the kings responsible for building Wat Suthat Thepwararam.
     There are many, many fascinating and inspiring things to see in the Preaching Hall as well as all around the temple complex. Most of all, the temple is renowned for its overwhelming atmosphere of tranquility amidst the bustle of Bangkok. I hope you will take the time, if you're ever in Bangkok, to make a leisurely tour of this truly wondrous and inspiring temple. It is even more mesmerizing after dark as the evening chanting echoes throughout the Main Buddha Hall and into the surrounding courtyard.
     If you've never been to Paradise, it certainly is worth a visit.

I first applied a chocolate background color. In consideration of the hall in general, this was best for bringing out the other colors and matching the interior. Using an ancient method still prevalent today, I outlined each design by daubing chalk powder over a stencil, and then applied each color one at a time. Most colors were layered two or three times.

Tassles added a sense of motion as well as elegance to the designs.

Who ARE these people
and what  are they doing
at Wat Suthat?

In Bangkok, Wat Suthat's huge Ordination Hall, located behind the "Vihan" or Main Chapel, has an outer wall with gates flanked by 16 very human and humorous guardians (four for each direction). This is a genuine rarity in Buddhism, which usually has more ferocious forms from other realms poised for the protection of the inner sanctum. And more astonishingly, these guardians all feature European face, form, attire and props -- hardly something one would expect to find at any temple, let alone at one of the four first class Royal Wat of Bangkok.
      King Rama III (r. 1824-1851) himself was responsible for the placement of these grinning and gawking guardians, having them ordered from China. His nation was experiencing a lucrative export boom to China but empty ships on the return were susceptible to easy sinking in gales. As a result, Chinese statues were used as ballast to give the ships a lower center of gravity to survive storms. The many Chinese statues around Wat Suthat and other temples in Bangkok were brought to Siam this way during that period. 

     This inspired King Rama III, who gave directives to have humorously human guardians -- based on Western palace guards, policemen and soldiers -- serve as substitutes for potentially more serious and scary traditional guardians. Like the other Chinese statues on the grounds, the Western guardians are made of a concrete-like material that is often mistaken for stone after it solidifies.
      These disarmingly charming guardians hold a diverse number of objects, including muskets, swords, clubs, canes, liquor bottles and wine flasks, and even what appears to be a cash box -- eeeek, the tax collector?! To add to the amusement, stray cats who have made Wat Suthat their home often snooze under and even on these guardians from the West who came from the East.
      These guardians are the children of the brain of a brilliant and benevolent king, a monarch who directed his own globalization and humanization movement. If you're in Bangkok, stop by and say hello to these 16 very special guardians at a very, very special temple.