Wat Buddhapatipa Thai Temple

The first of our class trips to the temples of London was the Wat Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon, south London on Friday May 7. We were met by Phramaha Paisan Khemacaro - one of the temple's monks and a very friendly fellow. We all sat together in the temple itself, before the enormous shrine of the Buddha and amidst the murals of the temple walls. The vibrant murals depict scenes from the the Buddha's life, as well as various scenes from around time and space including the faces of Charlie Chaplin, Margaret Thatcher and other well-known characters. Some of the great structures from around the world, such as the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, are also included in the paintings.

Paisan began by explaining Buddhism as he sees it, as a monk of the Thai Theravāda tradition. He tells us that the man Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was just that; a man. He explained that when Lord Siddhartha broke the cycle of Samsara (the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), he left the world and the universe and is, effectively, no more. It is the ambition, we're told, of the Buddhist monk to do the same: to bring an end to suffering, to attain Nirvana.

He explained that many lay Buddhists believe that when the man Siddhartha died (in around 410 BCE), he became a god, and that praying to him can help in their lives, or that he can offer some kind of protection. They believe in certain miracles such as that when the prince Siddhartha was born in a forest in India, he immediately began to walk and that where ever his new-born feet touched the ground, there sprung forth a lotus flower to cushion his tiny feet.

When certain of my class pressed him about his idea of God, Paisan explained that, as a monk, he does not trouble himself with such questions or beliefs. There is no question of God for him - no concern of any divine creator and sustainer. Ever-grinning, he teased my students as they earnestly and avidly attended his words, explaining that it was his parents that created him. He explained that asking questions about who or what created us was not unlike a warrior, struck by a poisoned arrow, inquiring of his doctor first about the nature of the poison, or the name of the man who fired the arrow, before allowing the doctor to treat the injury or purge the poison.

After answering some more questions and discussing Buddhism a little further, he kindly demonstrated a chanting of the Pali canon for us. It was lovely to hear and he clearly enjoyed giving the demonstration. Then we all went out to explore the beautiful four-acre site of the temple, from the ponds and gardens, to the little thoughts and messages inscribed on tablets here and there and the many little shrines, statues, gods and memorials about the place.

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The temple is open to the public at weekends and there are free meditation classes offered on certain evenings. For more information: http://www.buddhapadipa.org/