In the gardens of the Buddha

In the build up to Christmas this year, I have managed to maintain some equanimity. This is the first time in years that I haven’t dreaded the arrival of Christmas. Partly, this is the influence of my  blogging, where I am required to focus on the present and the task at hand. Even so, there are moments when I want to flee Christmas; all of it, the commercial and the religious.  Such a moment happened on Wednesday, so we took ourselves off to the Wat Buddhasamakhee on Marshlands Road. Here there was respite under the peaceful gaze of the Buddhas.

I love the openness and the clean, clear lines of these monastery and Temple gardens. They lend order and simplicity to life but, at the same time, allow for the accumulation of everyday chaos, evident in the children’s toys abandoned exactly where a child would naturally leave them.

This is a pathway to the Temple.

Here is a  closer view  of the Temple. There is a wonderful orchard  behind the Temple as well as retreat rooms. Chillies, and even banana plants, grow in the huge tunnel house.Here is a view towards the road

And this is a view of the newly constructed, mandala shaped rose garden. It is a work in progress, bordered by bricks and weeds.

A new version of a stone wall now separates the rose garden from the road. (There used to be a fence of tall trees.)  It doesn’t separate the roses from the traffic noise, however, so a certain amount of tranquility is lost from that area. It is interesting, though, to watch the traffic travelling by as if they were driving along the stone fence. .  

The animal menagerie continues to grow and gives new meaning to the life of plants.

The sky was a soothing blue during our visit.  The golden lamp bearers looked like glittering jewels on high, though you wouldn’t guess that from this photo where the golden effect appears tarnished.

Away from the main rose garden, I found this beautiful rose with deep fiery colours,

lighting up the sky, as if it were nature’s very own candle.

© silkannthreades