At Home in the Universe

September 24, 2016

In Buddhism, a ceremony known as Khuan Baan Mai is performed (in certain regions) ... to protect the house and its inhabitants. The ceremony is performed by a group of nine monks, who must be invited to the house early on the morning of the ceremony.

• The monks then perform a ritual involving sacred lustral water and wax candles. As the wax melts and drops into the water, it is believed to wash away evil and sorrow.

• The monks also chant prayers in the Pali language, while passing a white string through each of their hands. The vibrations from the chanted prayers are believed to pass through the string, protecting the houses and its inhabitants.

• After the ceremony, the monks sit down to a meal prepared by the host family and their friends and neighbors.They must finished their meal before noon. Then one monk sprinkles holy water in each of the rooms of the house, before they all leave.

• Once the monks leave, the rest of the guests sit down to eat the remaining food. In the afternoon, they perform the thread ceremony, where the guests wrap a white thread around the homeowners and offer them their blessing.

                                                                                    WikiHow

Our driver, Mick, was excited to be buying his first house.  It is a momentous occasion, especially in Buddhism, and religion is a big part of the process.  The monks must be consulted to determine the proper day and time to enter the home for the first time.  Mick's father determined from the monks in his village that September 19th was the auspicious date.  On that day, they brought a small Buddha relic to the house and spent their first night.

The official blessing ceremony took place on the following Saturday morning.  A couple days before, Mick had to go to the temple to borrow the ceremonial tables, cushions and other items necessary.  The stage was set for the five monks that would visit.  They were having five instead of nine because of space limitations, and the monks told them nine or five were their only options - numbers are significant.

The day before the ceremony, we had a substitute driver, as Mick and his wife would be busy preparing.  We were honored to be invited to attend the ceremony, and the same substitute driver came and picked us up for the event early Saturday morning.  When we arrived at the house, several friends were already present, including Mick's father who was visiting Pattaya for the first time.  Women were in the kitchen preparing food.    We got a quick tour of the house - an attached, two-story, two-bedroom home about twenty minutes from our place.

Soon Mick was on his way to the temple to pick up the monks.  It was fun imagining five monks in our car, and wondering what the conversation, if any, was like.  While we waited for their arrival, some of the men set about hanging a plaque on the front of his house, and a dozen people had a dozen different ideas about where it should go.  They were considering a spot dangerously close to an electrical conduit, but wisely moved it over.

We sat at one of the tables outside and attempted communication with Mick's dad.  Our substitute driver tried to interpret for us, saying he was inviting us to come visit him in his village in south Thailand.  A little while later, the same driver interpreted, "He wants to know when you are coming!"  Our "interpreter" gave up after a while, but that didn't stop Mick's dad from carrying on a very animated, one-sided conversation with us.   It was clear where Mick got his gift of gab.

They were still up on the chair hanging the plaque when Mick and the monks (sounds like a singing group) returned.  I expected everyone to stop and pay respects, clearing away all the shoes that had accumulated in front of the door.  But the monks, in their saffron robes, just stepped over the shoes and entered.  They settled on their cushions and began the ceremony.  We were all seated at tables just outside the door, but a few of us went inside and sat on the floor along the opposite wall to participate.  Thais often squat or sit on the floor, but I was not so accustomed, and luckily found a corner wall to lean against.

The lead monk began chanting, with the other monks responding.  At one point, Mick had to light a candle, and the melting wax was dripped into a basin of water.  Later, some of us were given bowls of cooked rice from a huge rice cooker, and we spooned that rice into the three silver vessels for the monks.  Tim was brought in to do the same.  The entire time, everyone made an effort to keep their head below the monks', sometimes crawling across the floor, sometimes just stooping low as they walked.  The monks chanted some beautiful verses in the ancient Pali language.  I noticed a younger monks stumbled a bit through some of the words, still learning.

Click here to hear Monks Chanting

For the next part, we went back outside to the tables, and the monks were fed.  Buddhist monks are not allowed to eat after noon, so there was a careful effort to have them fed at the proper time.  Then the food started coming out to the tables for the guests.  There were many things I didn't recognize, and some were familiar.  The fish that Mick's wife had shown me earlier, caught by Mick, was prepared especially for Tim and me and our western tastes.  Mick was careful to make sure some less spicy food would be available for us.  The fish was quite tasty.  It was still morning, but the beer and booze were already open; Thai-style, as Mick would say.

In the middle of eating, we stopped and participated in more of the rituals.  The monks chanted some more, and everyone was generously sprinkled with water by the head monk.  He then climbed up to the plaque that was hung earlier, and put white dabs in a specific pattern on the plaque, adding some gold leaf at the end.  A few of us received a small vial of water in a small bowl, and, at the appointed time, slowly poured the water into the bowl.  I think this was in memory of our loved ones who had passed, as it was when I went to the temple for Mick's birthday.  I then followed the others' lead by taking a piece of banana leaf and going to a potted plant across the road.  The water in the little bowl was poured out onto the banana leaf so it could run down into the roots of the plant, and some words I couldn't understand were spoken.

It was finally time for the monks to return to their temple, and for us to return to the feast, after the flies had tested everything for us.  We were served a dessert called Bua Loy Taiwan, colorful little balls of rice flour and mashed taro flavored and colored with different vegetables or juices, and topped with an egg and a sweet coconut milk mixture - quite tasty, in my opinion.

Once Mick returned, we politely said our goodbyes and made our exit.  We wanted them to be able to relax and enjoy their party without having to worry about taking care of the boss.  Apparently the party went on well into the night.

God bless their new home!

My attempt at writing their card in Thai -

lots of copying involved