Friday, January 20, 2017
Second Hike up Doi Suthep, Wat Phalad, and Thich Nhat Hanh
After a class at Wild Rose Yoga a couple of days ago I met Elliott and Amy, a couple from San Diego, now living and teaching in China. They are here in Chiang Mai doing rock climbing, yoga, and wanted to see the temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. I told them hiking up the mountain was a possibility, and they were interested, so we made plans to meet for breakfast today at Blue Diamond and then do the hike. We did meet at Blue Diamond and were joined by Claudia from Columbia for breakfast and the hike up the mountain.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
I documented my hike up Doi Suthep to the temple a week ago when I hiked up the mountain with my Australian friend, Tom Dickson. The jungle looks the same, so no pictures of the jungle as we hiked up the mountain today.
Fortunately we started from the trail head fairly early at about 8:45, before the day got too hot. It took us about 40-45 minutes to hike from the trail head to Wat Phalad. It was a nice morning for hiking, but I was already sweating. After a short break at Wat Phalad, we continued up the mountain. I warned the group that the next 200 meters getting to the road was VERY steep and off we went. It was very steep, it was hot, and we sweated ... a lot. It took another 70-75 minutes of steady walking/hiking up the trail to get to the temple area. We were all hot and sweating.
The temple is Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, often called "Doi Suthep." In Thai, "doi" means mountain and "Suthep is the name of the mountain, so Doi Suthep is really an indication of the mountain. But "Doi Suthep" rolls off the tongue easier than Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and people almost always know when you are referring to the temple or the mountain.
These doors of one of the smaller viharn (worship halls) always attract me to take a picture. I just love the dancing four-armed thewada (angelic beings that live in the heavenly realm...angels) on the doors. Seems to show a sense of humor by the designers and artists. And I love the peacock motif above the door. This is also seen at a few other temples, and I do know know the true meaning of the peacock.
Inside the center courtyard on the temple, there are several niches almost like small viharn. This is the Buddha statue in one, one of my favorites.
I saw this ivory-colored, stone Buddha statue, on a pallet-jack off to the side of one of the viharn. I have never seen this before, so it must be in the process of being installed. This statue is very beautiful, and a striking stone carving.
Another view of the main chedi. Always stunning and beautiful, especially so today with the bright sun between the clouds.
The seven-headed Naga serpent at the base of the long stairway (about 300 steps long).
After being tourists, viewing the temple and taking pictures, it seemed to be time to start the hike down the mountain. Going down is easier on a hot day than hiking up. We got from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep to Wat Phalad in just less than an hour, and we deliberately kept the pace slow.
As the story goes, when the relic of the Buddha was being put into the chedi at Wat Suan Dok, it split into two pieces. One piece was placed in the large chedi there, and the second piece was placed on the back of a white elephant. The king said that wherever the elephant stopped, a temple would be built with a chedi to house the relic. The elephant walked all the way up Suthep mountain, sat down, trumped three times, and dies. This is where Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was built.
Along the way, where Wat Phalad is now, the elephant supposedly slipped at the waterfall in the creek, maybe fell down, and then proceeded up the mountain.
A friend told me that Chiang Mai elders said that the word "Pa-lad" originally comes from Chiang Mai word "Pa-Lert." "Pa-lert" is a Chiang Mai word which means "to slip." Over time, the word "Pa-lert" changed to "Pa-lad." At the same time, "Pa-lad" in Bangkok dialog means 'steep cliff' or 'Waterfalls cliff." So the nickname of the temple being Wat Palad makes sense.
The actual name of the temple is Wat Sakithakame Vanaram. Breaking down the formal name: Sakithaka is the second insights stage of the four stages leading to the enlightenment (awakening) in Buddhism before reaching Nirvana. Vana means "Forest" in Thai. Ram comes from India word - "ashrams." Vanaram thus means an ashram in the forest.
Regardless of how the name evolved or came to be, Wat Phalad is a beautiful and peaceful temple in the forest/jungle. Because few tourists visit this temple, it is a quiet, often only the jungle sounds are heard.
This is one of several smaller viharn at Wat Phalad. I do not think I have ever seen the doors open, so I do not know how it looks inside.
The paintings on the doors are quite beautiful. Old style, but probably restored within the last 10 years.
Back to Wat Phalad. Another of the smaller viharn at Wat Phalad. Notice the peacock icon on the face of the top part of the roof. Very similar in style to that at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
You can see that this is in the jungle.
Behind the viharn in the previous picture is this old chedi. Again, the jungle is evident and close. Wat Phalad is a temple in the jungle.
This viharn is open-air, no walls. Beautiful wood floor, and natural beams holding up the roof.
After our break at Wat Phalad, we headed down the trail back to where we started, then walked to the Chiang Mai University area where we got a red truck to take us back into the old city. We were hungry, so we went to Ole' for organic Mexican-style food, right across the street from Street Pizza. Ole' was as good as I remember from last year.
After the late lunch/early dinner, I had time to get back to my room for a shower and off to Wild Rose Yoga for the Warrior Flow yoga session with Rose teaching. What a great day!
Next: Searching for Evidence of the Second City Wall
Fortunately we started from the trail head fairly early at about 8:45, before the day got too hot. It took us about 40-45 minutes to hike from the trail head to Wat Phalad. It was a nice morning for hiking, but I was already sweating. After a short break at Wat Phalad, we continued up the mountain. I warned the group that the next 200 meters getting to the road was VERY steep and off we went. It was very steep, it was hot, and we sweated ... a lot. It took another 70-75 minutes of steady walking/hiking up the trail to get to the temple area. We were all hot and sweating.
The temple is Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, often called "Doi Suthep." In Thai, "doi" means mountain and "Suthep is the name of the mountain, so Doi Suthep is really an indication of the mountain. But "Doi Suthep" rolls off the tongue easier than Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and people almost always know when you are referring to the temple or the mountain.
After being tourists, viewing the temple and taking pictures, it seemed to be time to start the hike down the mountain. Going down is easier on a hot day than hiking up. We got from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep to Wat Phalad in just less than an hour, and we deliberately kept the pace slow.
Wat Phalad and Thich Nhat Hanh
We crossed the main road, went down the very steep section, and arrived at Wat Phalad (sometimes spelled Wat Palad). This is a unique temple, seldom visited by tourists, but just off the main road to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.As the story goes, when the relic of the Buddha was being put into the chedi at Wat Suan Dok, it split into two pieces. One piece was placed in the large chedi there, and the second piece was placed on the back of a white elephant. The king said that wherever the elephant stopped, a temple would be built with a chedi to house the relic. The elephant walked all the way up Suthep mountain, sat down, trumped three times, and dies. This is where Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was built.
Along the way, where Wat Phalad is now, the elephant supposedly slipped at the waterfall in the creek, maybe fell down, and then proceeded up the mountain.
A friend told me that Chiang Mai elders said that the word "Pa-lad" originally comes from Chiang Mai word "Pa-Lert." "Pa-lert" is a Chiang Mai word which means "to slip." Over time, the word "Pa-lert" changed to "Pa-lad." At the same time, "Pa-lad" in Bangkok dialog means 'steep cliff' or 'Waterfalls cliff." So the nickname of the temple being Wat Palad makes sense.
The actual name of the temple is Wat Sakithakame Vanaram. Breaking down the formal name: Sakithaka is the second insights stage of the four stages leading to the enlightenment (awakening) in Buddhism before reaching Nirvana. Vana means "Forest" in Thai. Ram comes from India word - "ashrams." Vanaram thus means an ashram in the forest.
This is one of several smaller viharn at Wat Phalad. I do not think I have ever seen the doors open, so I do not know how it looks inside.
Thich Nhat Hanh Connection to Wat Phalad and Me
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist who was exiled from Vietnam in 1968 after his outspoken opposition to the war saying that both sides were oppressing the people. Thich Nhat Hanh now lives in Plum Village in southern France, but is currently in what is known as Plum Village Bangkok in Thailand as part of his recovery from a severe stroke two years ago. To try to summarize his life would be almost impossible. He has written more than 100 books, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King (no award was made that year), and continues to be an inspiration to many (for good reason).
Four years ago when I was in Chiang Mai, I attended the Green Papaya Sangha, a meditation group that meets every Thursday at the Yoga Tree yoga studio. The leader, Steve Epstein said, "we meditate in the style of Thich Nhat Hanh" to which I said to myself, "I have never heard of Thich Nhat Hanh, but I'm game..."
After returning to the U.S. and asking a people I know through yoga, it seemed that everyone but me knew who Thich Nhat Hanh was and what he had done. So I did some research, and I learned that Thich Nhat Hanh was making a visit to the U.S., including being on the Oprah television show. More importantly, Thich Nhat Hanh was going to be at Deer Park, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monastery outside Escondido near San Diego, in September for two weeks. All of the programs at Deer Park would be in Vietnamese except one day, "A Day of Mindfulness" in English. A friend and I were the second car in line at the parking lot at 6:30 that morning. There is something very powerful about doing a silent walking meditation with 1000 people up a small hill to where Thich Nhat Hanh is standing. We then went down to the meditation hall, where Thich Nhat Hanh addressed the group and led us in a few short meditations. A memorable day!
When I returned to Chiang Mai, I was talking with Steve Epstein, leader of the Green Papaya Sangha about temples I liked, and I mentioned that I liked to go up to Wat Phalad to meditate because of its beauty and peacefulness. He asked me, "did you know that Thich Nhat Hanh used to live there?" It turns out that after his exile from Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh lived at Wat Phalad for 2, 3, or maybe 4 years.
So, in just a year, I went from not knowing who Thich Nhat Hanh was to sitting in meditation with him at Deer Park near San Diego, to meditating at Wat Phalad in Chiang Mai where he once lived. An amazing journey!
You can see that this is in the jungle.
After our break at Wat Phalad, we headed down the trail back to where we started, then walked to the Chiang Mai University area where we got a red truck to take us back into the old city. We were hungry, so we went to Ole' for organic Mexican-style food, right across the street from Street Pizza. Ole' was as good as I remember from last year.
After the late lunch/early dinner, I had time to get back to my room for a shower and off to Wild Rose Yoga for the Warrior Flow yoga session with Rose teaching. What a great day!
Next: Searching for Evidence of the Second City Wall
