elgordo38 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Moonmoon said: I am sure some high profile rich people or criminals are involved in some money laundering with the temple as well. That is why they want to protect the temple at all cost. Why does any buddhist need any temple or structure to bow down n pay worship to any statues? I tot all you need is a bodhi tree for some meditation is enough. For years I bowed down to the booze bottle till I figured out it was trying to kill me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krataiboy Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) A 350 billion baht monument to decadence and an affront to the anti-materialist creed which is at the heart of Buddhism. Edited February 20, 2017 by Krataiboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETERTHEEATER Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 9 hours ago, smutcakes said: Complete rubbish it cost 350 billion baht to build. That would make it the top 5 most expensive buildings ever. I think that the 350 billion refers to the cost of the whole shebang covering 2100 rai and not just the 'flying saucer' Of course, that roof could be sheathed in gold......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooHaa Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 so where are the pictures? seems rather a pointless thread without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEVUP Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 22 hours ago, fruitman said: How much did it cost to build the Taj Mahall ?? India has more palaces, some took 30.000 workers 20 years to build....that also can't be cheap. Yes its amazing how things soon add up A bit like Chevron building a gas plant that ended up costing more then the space station & then have the hide to blame labour costs ( which is only 2 perc) of costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaZa9 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Jeez , its almost as bad as Catholicism ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 On 2/20/2017 at 1:07 PM, smutcakes said: I still don't believe it. 2,000 rai rather of swamp land in Pathumthani, 1 or 2 million per rai. they have not spent 300+ billion on buildings. In another thread one of the "faithful" is claiming that there are 8 solid gold Buddha statues, weighing a ton each. I think that may be an exaggeration - but there could certainly be some very high value "fixtures and fittings". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12DrinkMore Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 They should be living as paupers and all the money should go into the education system. All religions are leeches on society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dwyer Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 It's certainly attracting a lot of attention !I drove past there this morning, got stopped around 7 or 8 times by army checkpoints.The amount of news teams, reporters, police and army is amazing !Everybody hoping to get their share of the 350 billion baht [emoji51]Sent from my iPhone with the usual amount of sincerity and sarcasm [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowofacloud Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I wonder if this isn't a bit of a witch hunt... Two fairly balanced opinions from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-liusuwan/inside-the-commercialism-_b_9812786.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-liusuwan/why-is-wat-phra-dhammakay_b_10422798.html If you believe the author, the main problem of the temple is that it is big and has a lot followers. And it is not as lavish as the latest news may suggest (the first article actually has some photos), feeds the poor twice a day and doesn't do anything against Buddhist principles. Additionally, most of the hundreds of charges brought against the temple size minor (building law infractions and the like). Of course, I will be happy to be proved wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smutcakes Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 2 hours ago, shadowofacloud said: I wonder if this isn't a bit of a witch hunt... Two fairly balanced opinions from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-liusuwan/inside-the-commercialism-_b_9812786.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-liusuwan/why-is-wat-phra-dhammakay_b_10422798.html If you believe the author, the main problem of the temple is that it is big and has a lot followers. And it is not as lavish as the latest news may suggest (the first article actually has some photos), feeds the poor twice a day and doesn't do anything against Buddhist principles. Additionally, most of the hundreds of charges brought against the temple size minor (building law infractions and the like). Of course, I will be happy to be proved wrong. Nice to see you have time to join TVF Phra. God speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsonandson Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 The temple has a 1 ton solid gold statue inside. If this is true then the current value of 1 ton of gold is 64 million USD. Over 2 trillion baht. Here's a picture of the gold statue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveAustin Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 I still don't believe it. 2,000 rai rather of swamp land in Pathumthani, 1 or 2 million per rai. they have not spent 300+ billion on buildings.It's not just about the land. Instead of guessing why don't you click through the op and read about the mammoth amount of palatial buildings and gold that is amassed there? I don't get folks' fixation on an aspect of a story and getting bent out of shape. $10B ain't much for what is essentially an opulent town paved with gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveAustin Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 The temple has a 1 ton solid gold statue inside. If this is true then the current value of 1 ton of gold is 64 million USD. Over 2 trillion baht.Billion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USPatriot Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Good to see the donations going to a good cause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowofacloud Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 (edited) 14 hours ago, daveAustin said: It's not just about the land. Instead of guessing why don't you click through the op and read about the mammoth amount of palatial buildings and gold that is amassed there? I don't get folks' fixation on an aspect of a story and getting bent out of shape. $10B ain't much for what is essentially an opulent town paved with gold. Have you been to any Theravada temples in Burma for example? Plating stuff in gold is their SOP... They even have special craftsmen, working near temples, hammering gold into ultra-thin leaves. And wealthier citizens don't have to resort to buying leaves, as they can buy and donate in bulk. The size of this temple is also not that astonishing - take the Shwe Dagon temple in Yangon for example... And IRRC one of the domes in the Shwe Dagon is gold plated. The problem is really not with Dhammakaya, but with the approach to merit in Theravada Buddhism, which leads to situations, where big temples will amass huge amounts of donated wealth (not just money, but also different implements made of precious metals). The approach, where a monk acts as a proxy between a layperson and their karma - in essence, the monk is doing most of the work for the layperson - chanting, meditating etc. and receiving a donation in return. But this kind of shortcuts are also found in Mahayana - take prayer wheels or prayer flags. As a Soto Zen Buddhist I also find the Theravadan practices stinking of nam pla (at least some of them)... But as I said, this case is just a symptom of a general trend - it is shocking, due the size of the temple and the number of its followers, but it is nothing out of the ordinary, Edited February 22, 2017 by shadowofacloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowofacloud Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 14 hours ago, smutcakes said: Nice to see you have time to join TVF Phra. God speed. 5555, nice one. yours truly, phra shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowofacloud Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 14 hours ago, Wilsonandson said: The temple has a 1 ton solid gold statue inside. If this is true then the current value of 1 ton of gold is 64 million USD. Over 2 trillion baht. Here's a picture of the gold statue. Yes, and the dome is really a nazi spaceship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheruser Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 A cursory glimpse at the picture confirms that money doesn't buy taste. Hardly one of the finer buildings in the world to marvel over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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