A visit to the temple, farang style.

[Siam Sam]

I have had a very interesting and pleasant experience today. A friend of mine that lives in my block and has a Thai wife came in for a cup of tea. He suggested that he take us to the only equivalent of a Thai temple in my home town of Southampton as he had been there before and felt that it would be a good way to make my wife feel more comfortable here in the UK. It certainly worked..........

 

When we arrived at the place which was a short drive from mine I learned that the 'temple' was a converted house with a sign outside proudly displaying the fact that this was a Buddhist place of worship and school for learning about the teachings of the Buddha. At the door we were greeted by a very old man who was dressed like a Buddhist monk, although in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. He was very friendly and quickly ushered us inside after a brief wai. Inside he set about shaking our hands and telling us that he was very glad that we had come. My wife (Lin) was a little bemused as she could not understand why the monk wanted to touch us, as we all know in the LOS you can't do this so casually. He explained that it was different here in the UK. Lin was pleased to see a variety of Buddhist artifacts around the room and I could visibly see her relaxing. I set about looking at the photographs on the wall of the 'Thekchen family' and the various pictures of Buddhist importance. The man explained that this house was home to several ordained monks including himself and the temple was instructed by a man called Ven Geshe Kelsang Gyatso who was from Tibet and had established the centre in 1996. A picture of him could be seen situated up above the Buddha and the candles in front of the rooms fireplace.

 

The old man informed us that although this was not a designated time for people to come here, we were very welcome to stay for a while and talk. After a few minutes he said he had to go and talk with some of the other monks. He shuffled slowly out of the room and returned a few minutes later to inform us that in a few minutes the other monks wanted to come and talk to us. Sure enough, a few minutes later we were joined by a woman and a man dressed in Buddhist robes, although again in a fashion slightly different to what I am accustomed too. They both appeared to be English and the woman had shaved her head. We all wai'd each other and I explained to them that my Thai wife had only been living in the UK for a while and I felt it would be good to bring her here. They both agreed and said they were glad we had come. They were very friendly and told us that we were welcome whenever we liked. After a brief conversation the woman asked if we would like to see the meditation room. We were led by the woman to the back of the house which had a large room that had been converted into a Buddhist shrine and meditation room. After taking off our shoes we went inside and paid our respects to the Buddha. I asked for some luck as I have had quite a lot of bad luck since my wife has been in the UK. The woman left us in the room for a while as she said she was busy preparing food. After we left the room we went into the room we came into when first arriving and we were offered drinks which we accepted. We all talked for a while. I explained to the monk that I had been a believer of Buddhism for a while now but had so far been rather unsuccessful with my meditation techniques. She told me that I was welcome to come back to the meditation classes where I could be given some pointers. I also had a lot of questions to ask but I didn't want to appear rude and said that we would definitely come back to talk at length another time. We talked some more about the temple, karma and Buddhist teachings before we politely told them we had to leave. My friend made a small donation to the temple. I was a little annoyed as I had left my wallet at home (honest).

 

All in all it was a very pleasant experience and I could see the effect that it had on Lin as we walked back to the car with her all smiles and clutching some literature we had been giving indicating the times for the classes held at the temple. We will be returning very soon..........

Edited November 9, 2008 by Siam Sam

[Dr.Winston]

Great report. Good move Sam, to make your wife feel at home and involved in the Thai community. I hope that the run of bad luck you mentioned changes for you

[seanie]

Glad you felt better for going there mate. Didn't even know there was such a place in Southampton.

[Siam Sam]

Glad you felt better for going there mate. Didn't even know there was such a place in Southampton.

 

Thekchen Buddhist Centre

76 Whitworth Crescent

Bitterne Park

Southampton

[martin0283]

Its nice to go to the temple, i always feel so peacful with my self when im doing that........

 

cya

 

Martin

[papa_soda]

Thxs for the post Sam.Glad it went well for you both.

[LaaMok]

Great read, well done on getting your missis settled in