Open Collections

Main Guanyin (觀音) Altar in the Niao Shi Temple (鳥石寺) (ศาลเจ้า โอวเจียะ หยี่อาเนี้ยเก็ง) (Sanchao O Jia Yi Ania Keng)

From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)

The Niao Shi Temple (鳥石寺) (ศาลเจ้า โอวเจียะ หยี่อาเนี้ยเก็ง) (Sanchao O Jia Yi Ania Keng) is a Guanyin (觀音) temple in a quiet neighborhood in Bangkok, Thailand. According to the temple caretaker, the temple was established 200 years ago by Teochew Chinese (唐人) (ชาวเถิง) people. The temple is run by a committee whose membership is passed hereditarily, but at the time fieldwork participants visited in May 2023, there was only one surviving committee member, whom the temple caretaker deemed "too old to walk." The temple is known in the neighborhood for effecting miracles. The caretaker told participants stories of how people who wish to sell their land bring signs reading "SOLD" and leave it in the temple, and then their property is sold, after which the templegoers come back and burn the sales certificate. Some other templegoers claimed that they put the names of ill family members under Guanyin altar, and their family members miraculously recovered. It was said that the CEO of a large grocery store chain called Makro came to pray at this temple when he was a taxi driver, and as he regularly prayed, he became more and more wealthy. He now returns to the temple once a month to donate and help the caretaker renovate certain spaces. There are two regular chanting groups of roughly 60-70 people who frequent the temple. The groups are made up of both older men and women who wear white and speak Chinese. Each of these groups comes around only once a month. The temple is open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. The following images show the main Guanyin (觀音) altar in the Niao Shi Temple (鳥石寺). Image 01 shows a clear overview of the altar. Image 02 shows the same altar, but with fieldwork participants Saly Sirothphiphat and Kira Johansen talking to the temple caretaker. The temple caretaker has been taking care of the temple for thirty to forty years, and before he became the official caretaker, he was the apprentice of five other past temple caretakers. He shared a powerful story of how he came to revere Guanyin: he said that he was fleeing political conflict, and prayed to Guanyin and promised that in exchange for her protection he would dedicate his life to her. He got out of the conflict safely, and decided to become the caretaker of this temple. He noted that before becoming this temple's caretaker, he would pray in Thai Buddhist temples, but has since "converted." In this statement, he is likely referring to converting from Theravāda Buddhism, which is the main school in Southeast Asia, to Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is the main school in East Asia. His regular duties consist of preparing tea and maintaining the temple. He sleeps in the temple and is paid through the donation money given to the temple. On either side of the altar box are pillars with dragon motifs. These can be seen throughout the temple. Image 03 shows a closer perspective, with the temple caretaker cut out on the left portion of the shot. Image 04 shows a close-up of the figure in the right corner of the altar box. Image 05 shows the items to the right of the main crowned Guanyin figure, including a figure who holds axes in both of his hands. On this side there are lotus flower candles, lotus flowers in vases, and other candles. Image 06 shows the main crowned Guanyin figure, adorned with strings of pearls around her neck and a large Thai flower offering, otherwise known as Phuang Malai (พวงมาลัย). Above her, and on her crown, it says 佛, meaning "Buddha." The temple caretaker specified that this statue used to be black, and they used to call her "black Guanyin,", but they have since repainted her a golden color. This was a part of a miracle story the caretaker told in which certain templegoers prayed to Guanyin for winning lottery ticket numbers, and when they won, they came back to paint different items within the temple gold as a form of donation to the temple. Image 07 shows the smaller golden crowned Guanyin in the middle, also adorned with strings of pearls and a multicolored robe. Around her hand is also a Thai flower offering (Phuang Malai). In front of her are red candles with 興發旺 "prosperity" and incense sticks, and two red pineapples. Image 08 shows the items to the left of the large Guanyin figure, featuring another guardian deity, lotus flowers, and a candle which reads, 招財進寶 “attract wealth and bring in treasures." Image 09 shows the large figure in the back left corner of the altar box. Image 10 and Image 11 show the fruits at the front of the altar box, which include stacks of peaches, oranges, some grapes and pomegranates. In the back of Image 11 there is a tray filled with makeup, which is a unique offering given to Guanyin in this temple. Image 12 shows a close-up of the dragon motif on the left pillar near the altar box. Image 13 shows the inscription above the altar box, which reads 慧日重光 "Wisdom shines brightly again." Below this inscription are golden birds. Image 14 and Image 15 show the box's bottom section, with the characters reading 佛光音照, meaning "the Buddha's light shall shine omnisciently." Metadata created and compiled by: Kira Johansen

Bangkok (Thailand); 13.719533; 100.482269

chi; tha

Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0441507

Non UBC

Faculty; Graduate; Undergraduate

DSpace