Author: Masahiro Matsushita

Of the nine prefectures in northern Thailand, Chiang-Rai has the famous Golden Triangle. Chiang-Mai prefecture is the second largest city in Thailand, and as the name suggests, it was the last new city (Chiang-Mai) during the Lanna Thai dynasty.

If you compare these two prefectures to Japan, the difference between Kyoto (Chiang -Mai) and Nagano (Chiang-Rai) lies in the climate and personality. What the two prefectures have in common is the landlocked prefecture that borders Myanmar, which are probably the Mecca of Japanese long stay visitors (especially about 4,000 in Chiang-Mai and about 400 in Chiang-Rai).

In particular, quite a number of women from around Chiang-Rai went to work in various parts of Japan when they were in the Dust Bowl days, became close Japanese men and got married, returned to their hometowns, and lived with husbands.

Chiang-Rai and Chiang-Mai is often mistaken for “Chennai” in India. When I booked a flight ticket to Chiang-Rai in Japan, but I almost made a mistake for Chennai India.

Chiang-Rai Prefecture has many historical heritage sites during the Chiang-Rai Dynasty (the founding was King Mengrai).
The two prefectures are sandwiched between steep mountains and are more than 200 kilometers apart. Roads are widening now, and railroads from Bangkok are being considered in the future. Chiang-Rai, the northernmost part of Thailand, is a prefecture that has the momentum and competitiveness to catch up with and overtake that Chiang-Mai.

＠In Mae-Sai, the border town between Chiang-Rai and Myanmar, the validity of VISA for land routes has been changed from 15 days to 30 days from November 2013 when entering Thailand.

@VISA conditions change from time to time in Thailand under the military government. VISA extension for land route is currently restricted to twice a year (visa free entry: 30 days * 2).

@The missing case of 12 soccer boys and 1 coach in Tham Luang (King’s Cave: [Tam = Cave, Luang = King’s]) on the outskirts of Chiang-Rai prefecture is the first resolved safely in nine days. (July 2, 2018)
There was quite a lot of access to this BLOG (post) as well. There are many caves in the towering mountains along National Highway 1. It is often a cave temple*.

It is a cool and quiet space where you can meditate. I presume that the reason why the children entered the cave was just for fun. Please note that there is a lot of rain in Thailand (flash floods).

Having an interest in such local information in Japan might be only if it includes information on incident or accident.

＊A meditation temple on the mountain of WAT JAPAN (Japanese Temple of Thailand), there is also a cave meditation ground in the Anakaric temple in the Tham Patong Village.

There are always fights with water (flash floods), wild mice, scorpions, ants, mosquitoes, etc. I hope you know about a life like this.

http://marsk.html.xdomain.jp
http://kawai.servebeer.com/~masahiro

Living in Thailand’s burning land makes me want to feel like watching the snow. Hokkaido seems to be the first candidate zone for foreigners who live in countries are located south from Taiwan where there is no snow. This year, I was back in Japan in early March. When I said, “I was there to escape the bitter cold,” I was often considered an odd individual.

Karuizawa, which was developed by a foreigner, is well known as “summer cottage area”. It is well known that wealthy people like entertainers go to Hawaii to spend the winter.

Recently, it has been popular among Australians for the good snow quality in Hokkaido. It is the opposite season in the land behind Japan, and in winter Hokkaido, summer escape type foreign villages such as skiing seems to be appearing.

I am a visitor of Hokkaido who will enjoy hot springs and local famous food. In the past, I only enjoyed the snow, and sometimes I enjoyed delicious fish, ramen and beer on a one-day tour.

At the beginning of March this year, I enjoyed staying overnight at Lake Shikotsuko. The domestic flight to Chitose was nearly empty.　And there were only 6 guests at the hotel due to the corona situation. There were individual guests, apart from a couple.
It was popular as a hot spring for beautiful skin, so I was pleased even if I was wrong.
I was able to enjoy the same slow and casual feeling that I had in Thailand.

Birds can be seen flying from the large windows of the cafeteria. Binoculars are also provided. You can also see the names of the birds. There was a thought out to enjoy in such a winter.

I couldn’t make it to the shore of the Lake Shikotsuko because of the snow. But I enjoyed a walk on the road to the national highway where the snow had been removed.

Why not study Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, Buddhism’s homeland, and challenge yourself to improve your personality and knowledge!

Experience and study (training) for men over 20 years old are the goal of one panther (basically 3 months [90 days]).

However, it is possible to have a Thai priesthood even for a week. You may be worried about it, but please collect essays and other stories from experienced people and information about it.

1. The advice of a Thai guarantor (guardian) or an experienced person is important for the processes leading up to the priesthood.

2. Memorization is ideal, but caution is necessary, for the priestly formula (to kudo [priesthood]) is confirmed by a question-and-answer session in Thai (Pali-language).

3. Compliance with the 227 precepts and sutras in Thai textbooks will be achieved through everyday efforts and dedication.

4. With physical strength, energy, adaptability, and receptivity, living in hot climate, Thai foods, and wearing a yellow priest’s robe will be “getting used”. (The problem disappears once you get used to it).

5. Training points differ depending on such individual temples policy of large-scale, local, academic, meditation, others and priests.  
(pre-selection required) 

6. The required money may be 20,000 to 50,000 yen when entering the priesthood, and after that there is a certain income from donations.

7. You will have free time except for the morning and evening chanting and alms (Bodhisattva) practices, academic time and work such as Buddhist studies.

＠If you have any questions on the above mentioned, please feel free to contact me through the comment section.

When you are on the JR Takasaki line or on the national route No. 17, you may see a large statue of Kannon (the Goddess of Mercy) in the distance. One day I wanted to go to the place of the statue once. On the way back from Kusatsu Onsen (a famous hot spring), I usually take the Kan-Etsu Expressway, but this time I thought that’s not interesting, so I took a local street instead.  Meanwhile, I found the statue on the way, so I stopped by.

It is worth noting that although it was Saturday, there were few worshippers and some souvenir shops and restaurants in Monzen-machi (a temple town) were closed.

This is a branch temple of the Shingon Buddhist temple (Jigenin) and a tourist temple that brings out the happiness of this world (Kannon is the goddess of marriage and love).

Among the 20 Kannon statues, there are Buddhist Bodhisattva and Myojin (god), and Buddha and Saint (Kukai, Nichiren) statues, and there are many Bodhisattva statues who believe in the Shingon sect, but for some reason other denominations. There was a statue of Nichiren, but there was not a famous statue of Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaisajyaguru).

The correct name is “Byakue Kannon”(Pandora vasini). Currently, the statue is not the most highest (now, “Ushiku Daibutsu” is the highest in Japan with a height of 120 meters, and there are many Kannon statues in Hokkaido, Sendai prefecture, etc.). And so on. It was a day when I felt “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Since I did worship, I was able to return home safely. After putting the car in the parking lot at home, I enjoyed drinking very much.

＠Byakuikannon is said to be pandara vasini in Sanskrit.

In Japan and China, the Kannon Bodhisattva is said one of the 33 Kannons.
Also, it is known as Daibyakue Kannon, Byakue Kannon, Byaksho, Byakue and Pandora.

In the esoteric Buddhism (Garbhadhatu Mandala), it also appears in the lotus division under the name of the Bodhisattva Shirodokoro.
And it is said to have been worshiped in India for a long time.

After being incorporated into Buddhism, she became the princess of Amida Nyorai, and after being revered as the mother of the Goddess of Mercy, she became worshiped as one of the transformations of the Goddess of Mercy.

The figures can be divided into two forms: those drawn on a mandala and those of standing statues such as Takasaki Kannon, which are commonly seen today. The white robe Kannon image depicted in Japan’s “Garbhadhatu Mandala” is a two-armed statue sitting on the lotus position, with a Varada　Mudra on the right hand and a Lotus Flower on the left.

The form of the statue that is commonly seen today is said to have been established in China, with one face and two arms, wearing a white cloth from the head and wearing a white robe. The white robe is not the Buddhist stole or the clerical garment worn by the monk, but the white robe worn by the lay followers.

＠Takasaki Byakuedaikannon （pandara vasini in Sanskrit）is a statue of Byakuedaikannon setup in the Takasaki Kannon Mountain Hills in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture.

It is located on the summit of Mt. Kannon at an altitude of 190 m (in the precincts of Koyasan mountain Shingon jigen’in), and from the top floor (the position of the shoulder of the Kannon statue), you can get a full view of the city of Takasaki, the main mountains of Gunma prefecture, and even Yatsugatake Mountain.　This is known as “Takasaki Kannon”.

Takasaki citizens call it “Kannon-sama”. A reinforced concrete Kannon statue built by businessman Yasusaburo Inoue in 1936, it is 41.8 meters high and weighs 5,985 tons. At the time of its construction, it was the largest statue of Kannon in the world. The interior is divided into 9 layers, and 20 Buddha statues are enshrined.