Silence of the Buddha-Tree -- Text and photo by Vincent Lim

Vincent Lim enters the lost world of Ayutthaya and attempts to decipher the enigmatic silence of the Buddha-Tree.

I have seen pictures of it numerous times in websites and postcards, and yet our first encounter was nothing short of enigmatic------ the serene head of a stone Buddha (top) nestling snugly among the strangling roots of a banyan tree. How did it come to be what it is today? The somber Buddha remained tight-lipped. Surely it did not happen by chance. If only it could talk, one wonders what stories it would tell. The stone Buddha did not speak up when Burmese soldiers viciously sacked the glorious city of Ayutthaya and laid it to waste two hundred and forty years ago. Nor did it protest when a bird unceremoniously deposited a seed on its head, which started sprouting roots all over its body. It held its peace despite being photographed by hundreds of trigger-happy tourists each day. There is pathos and dignity about its silence. I was left to figure out what the city of Ayutthaya used to look like from my own imagination.

Profiting from its strategic location on expanding trade routes between China and India, Ayutthaya capitulated to become the capital of the Thai kingdom from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Its great wealth attracted traders from all over the world, including Chinese, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French. These expatriates lived in their own ethnic quarters, and had their own docks for exporting rice, spices, timber and hides. A vast and amphibious city with an impressive 140-kilometer network of canals, it was aptly known as Venice of the East at that time. Ayutthaya was so well-endowed with temples that sunlight reflecting off their gilt decoration was said to dazzle from three miles away. Its Golden Age came to an abrupt end in 1767 when Burmese soldiers sacked Ayutthaya and took tens of thousands of prisoners. The devastated city was abandoned to the wilderness. Today, Ayutthaya is an atmospheric site with grand brooding red-brick ruins rising out of wide grassy spaces to evoke the city's bygone grandeur------ a veritable graveyard for temples.

I spent a full day exploring the nooks and crannies of Ayutthaya. Trying my best to avoid disturbing a meditating monk (pix 1) , I gingerly ascended the imposing whitewashed Mon-style chedi of Wat Phu Khao Thong (pix 2). My effort was amply rewarded with a particularly romantic view of horses and cows roaming freely on the countryside and herons circling the cloudless blue expanse above. Next, I found myself clambering around the haunting ruins of Wat Thammikarat (pix 3) , its roof long since collapsed, leaving the pillars and walls exposed to the elements. In front of the temple, a badly-weathered stupa stood forlorn, accompanied only by faceless stone lions. The three grey Ceylonese-style chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet (pix 4) have stalwartly resisted the ravages of time to dominate the skyline to the west with their dramatic silhouettes. Si Sanphet was the grandest of Ayutthya's monuments and is still one of the best persevered today. I came face-to-face with the largest bronze Buddha in Thailand at Viharn Phra Mongkol Bophit (pix 5)----- its flashing eyes inlaid with mother-of-pearl staring down at me from a lofty 35 meters above. At Wat Lokkayasutha, devotees eager to create merits plastered flimsy gold leaves on the massive head of a 42-meter Reclining Buddha (pix 6)----- the second largest of its kind in Thailand. The hexagonal pillars behind the image are believed to be what remains of a colossal ordination hall. Silence now fills the void where there used to be resonance from hundreds of monks intoning Pali chants together. Perhaps no other monuments epitomizes Ayutthaya's nostalgic atmosphere of faded majesty better than Wat Phra Mahathat (pix 7). On a broad grassy complex, dozens of bricks spires tilt at impossible angles and numerous headless Buddhas (pix 8) can be found scattered around like spare parts in a scrap yard------ an eerily surrealistic sight.

To the casual tourist, Ayutthaya provides a welcoming relief from the chaos and noise of Bangkok 80 kilometers away. For the Buddhist, it also serves as a poignant reminder of the ultimate fate of all conditioned things.

Glossary

Chedi : A bell-shaped monument that may contain a relic of the Buddha or the

ashes of a king or an important monk, similar to a stupa or pagoda in other Buddhist countries.

Mon : One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were

responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in present-day Myanmar and Thailand.

Phra : An honorific term.

Stupa : Similar to a chedi.

Viharn : The sermon hall of the monastery that is open to lay people.

Wat : A temple or a monastery.