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Every week we publish an article about life, change and living in Thailand. This week it covers a bit of everything!

Ensuring Eternal Happiness

On Sunday morning I awoke with a start. I was going to mow the lawn, a typical Sunday activity, but my plans didn't quite work out.

I was half asleep and vaguely aware of cars parking outside and doors slamming. A little strange on a Sunday morning in our quiet little cul-de-sac where the biggest event of the week is the arrival of the bin men on a Tuesday and Friday, so it couldn't be them. And suddenly it started.... the chanting. It was quite loud and made me spring out of bed like a man who imagines there might be a coach load of Buddhist monks chanting in his kitchen. Well, it wasn't as far off the mark actually. Luckily it wasn't my kitchen, which would have been quite surreal not to mention awkward as I'd run out of T Bags, but the kitchen of the house opposite. They had just started a house blessing.

I remember hearing of this event from our friend Khun Pinsit up at our Thailand Retreat where we host Counseling Retreats and Life Coaching Holidays in the mountains. There were about 15 Buddhist monks and 2 mini buses full of friends and family all assembled to hear the Temple Abbot bless the house and in so doing ward off evil spirits and ensure eternal happiness for the current occupiers. He wound huge lengths of white cotton around the entire house and garden, looping it up into the trees and mail box, where I expect the spirits might be lurking, and through the front door, passing through the hands of all the assembled sitting monks.

I thought the chanting might go on for 10 minutes or so.....but it seemed to go on forever. I was caught in a cultural dilemma; do I carry on as normal and cut the grass or would it somehow effect the spiritual goings on across the road. Would the sound of my Black and Decker 800 interfere with the banishing of evil spirits. My wife said it might so to be on the safe side I just consoled myself with some gentle, quiet pruning, which had the added bonus of allowing me to surreptitiously observe the ceremony.

It was quite elaborate, with the saffron swathed monks sitting cross legged on the floor all over the house chanting in unison with great unabashed gusto. They really seemed to enjoy it, or perhaps it actually takes a lot of gusto to ensure eternal happiness and drive away evil spirits. I wondered where the malignant spirits would go now that our neighbours have ultimate spiritual protection. If they had any sense I imagine they would high tail it across the road out of harms way and straight into my car port. A sobering thought on a Sunday morning. As all our neighbours our Thai Buddhists I expect in time our car port will provide a much need refuge for evil.

At 12 mid day the celebrations and chanting petered out. The monks respectfully withdrew eyeing my car port suspiciously as they got back on the bus. As it rumbled out of sight down the road I noticed the sky darkening over the mountains and out of knowhere the first few drops of rain hit my face. The wind blew, the rain fell and my Black and Decker 800 remained untouched for another week in the car port. Perhaps it's about time I had a word with the Abbott.

Talk next week about life, change and what it's like living in Thailand.

Alex

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