Salaween.blog

A travel journal through culture and history. – blogging since 2014

Catégorie : english text

  • A Bridge over the Chao Phraya: Franciscans and Buddhist Monks in Ayutthaya – A Spiritual Exchange that Defied Colonial Logic

    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.

  • Bhikkhunī – Fully Ordained Female Monk

    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.

  • The Interfaith Pilgrimage of Wat Ket

    On September 13, 60 participants—students and faculty from Payap University and local community members—walked through Chiang Mai’s Wat Ket neighborhood. This interfaith pilgrimage brought together temples, churches, mosques, and shrines, creating a day of shared learning, dialogue, and spiritual connection.

  • From Symbol to Statue: How Buddha’s Image Shaped Devotion

    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!

  • The Mon People: Gateways of Civilization

    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.

  • The Revelation of the White Rabbit at Chiang Dao

    Un lapin blanc aux yeux scintillants bondit depuis le sud. Devant lui, le Doi Luang s’élève, majestueux, couronné de brume. Ce sanctuaire sacré irradie un silence chargé de mystère. Le lapin ralentit, sentant qu’ici, le voile de l’avenir va se lever devant lui.

  • Vilanka: The Tale of the Lawa King

    Vilanka, king of the Lawa with a broken heart, tells a historical destiny often overshadowed by a queen who took all the spotlight. Amid mountains, legends, and thrown spears, his story blends ancestral pride, betrayals, and struggles to preserve the soul of a forgotten people in Northern Thailand.

  • A trishaw in Sagaing

    Sagaing, the once-forgotten former capital of Myanmar, is now a peaceful town, home to nearly two thousand monks and nuns. But that’s not the story I want to tell you. Instead, I’d like to share a travel anecdote — a personal journey across these sacred hills, drawn from three visits through time. And while you…

  • In the Footsteps of Queen Malika in MaeAi

    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…

  • The Peace Accord of the Lawa Land

    As the ogres Phu Sae, Ya Sae, and their son terrorize the land of the Lawa, the Buddha decides to come in person to pacify these giants and establish peace agreements that endure to this day.