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Early to Rise

By Jess Smith

Published Jul 08, 2012•Updated Aug 28, 2019

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If you rise early enough in Bangkok, or anywhere in Thailand, you will see monks receiving food from Buddhists who bring them offerings.  I love to witness this exchange on the relatively small scale that it occurs every day.  So when we saw that there would be a gathering of 12,000 monks near the Asok BTS in downtown Bangkok, Frank and I decided it would be too amazing to miss.  Even though it required that we get up at 6am on a weekend.  Just to make sure we were prepared, I picked up a bunch of packets of rice to donate.  (Turned out that rice was the most ordinary of offerings that people made…I saw many packets of noodles and all sorts of prepared dishes being handed out.)

When we got there though, it turned out that it was clearly best for us to join the peanut gallery (i.e. late-arrivers who didn’t make it until 6:30) on the walkway overlooking the ceremony rather than making our way down into the mix.

At the start of the ceremony, the monks sat facing the audience (dressed in white).

The monks, while chanting, filed out very slowly in long rows and lined either side of the walkways that had been set up.  It was beautiful to hear and see.

Once they were all in place, everyone around them placed offerings in their bowls.

It was hard to believe that the road normally looks like this….

 And with that, I’m off to eat a little Indian food and soak up the last of my Sunday.  Hope you had a good weekend!