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Catégorie : confluence-EN
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A walk through the villages of Saraphee leads to unexpected worlds inside “ordinary” temples: elephant‑lion guardians, Hindu gods beside Buddha images, symbolic death-and-rebirth rituals, and little-known female spirits. This field journal explores how Lanna Buddhism quietly blends animism, Hindu mythology, and community life.
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On the mountain pass between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, the shrine of Chao Mae Nang Kaeo tells a story of tragic love, migration, and local beliefs. From competing legends to red phallic offerings and Buddhist influence, this small shrine opens a window onto the rich spiritual landscape of northern Thailand.
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Thailand’s shadow theatre: Nang Talung, a lively street art with satirical folk tales, and Nang Yai, a royal tradition performing the Ramakian epic. One is popular and free-spirited; the other sacred and temple-bound. Both keep ancient stories alive through leather puppets and dance.
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In 1662 in Ayutthaya, Spanish Franciscans and Theravāda Buddhist monks met beyond the limits of doctrine. Their dialogue, grounded in asceticism, poverty, and mendicancy, revealed a surprising sense of mutual recognition and spiritual respect within an Asian crossroads rich in cultural and religious exchange.
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This text recounts my encounter with the bhikkhunīs, fully ordained Buddhist women. Combining personal narrative, ancient history, and contemporary realities in Thailand, it describes their origins at the time of the Buddha, their disappearance, and their modern revival, as well as the struggle of figures like Dhammananda for the recognition of nuns.
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At first, the Buddha just wanted to teach, not pose for statues. He was represented only through symbols. Centuries later, the inspiration came… from ancient Greece!
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As an indigenous people of Southeast Asia, the Mon received Theravāda Buddhism from Sinhalese monks. Between the 6th and 11th centuries, they became cultural bearers, spreading the faith, writing, and arts. Their legacy deeply inspired emerging kingdoms. Discreet facilitators, they gradually faded, leaving a lasting mark on civilization.
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Born in 1588, the Year of the Dragon, Malika was the daughter of the King and Queen of Fang. Heir to a kingdom in turmoil, she ruled over the region that now bears her name. In her citadel, inhabited primarily by women, she trained and led an army of brave warrior women who defended the…
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texte en français – followed by the text in english Les temples thaïlandais sont réputés pour leur architecture et les belles representations du Bouddha. Mais les éléments secondaires, souvent moins remarqués, révèlent des aspects de la culture et de la spiritualité locales. En visitant le temple de Tham Ta Pan à Phang Nga dans le…
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In this text, I talk about the river island of Koh Klang, located a few kilometers south of the city of Chiang Mai. In the heart of the Northern Thai mountains, an unexpected story emerges from the meanders of the Ping River south of Chiang Mai—the story of the leper asylum, founded in 1908 by…
