Buddha Park
A group of us took a public bus to the Buddha Park.’, an outdoor collection of huge concrete sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu deities, as well as real and imaginary beasts. The reclining Buddha was Built in 1958 by mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, who left the country after the communist take-over, and in 1978 established a similar but more impressive park (Sala Keoku or Sala Kaew Ku) across the river in Nong Khai, Thailand. The bus stopped at Friendship Bridge to drop off passengers to Thailand.
“Buddhism in Laos
There lived in the middle of the fourteenth century, Fa Ngoun, a descendant of a royal family of Laos. He spent his earlier years in exile in Cambodia with his father. Fa Ngoun was looked after by a Cambodian monk who later took him to the court of the Cambodian king. There he married a princess who was a devout Buddhist. With the help of the king of Cambodia, he later returned to Laos to rule over it. At his wife's request, Fa Ngoun invited Buddhist monks from Cambodia to teach in his kingdom. Thus Buddhism was brought to the people in Laos. In a later period, the Thai Buddhist tradition also influenced Buddhism in Laos. The structure of the Sangha in Laos followed closely that of Thailand. Many monks were also said to have gone to Thailand to study.”
“Buddhism is the primary religion of Laos. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada tradition. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits. During the 7th Century, tantric Buddhism was also introduced to Laos from the kingdom of Nan-chao, an ethnically Tai kingdom centered in modern-day Yunnan, China. The Nan-chao kingdom also likely introduced the political ideology of the king as defender and protector of Buddhism, an important ideological tie between the monarchy and the sangha in much of Southeast Asia.”
There lived in the middle of the fourteenth century, Fa Ngoun, a descendant of a royal family of Laos. He spent his earlier years in exile in Cambodia with his father. Fa Ngoun was looked after by a Cambodian monk who later took him to the court of the Cambodian king. There he married a princess who was a devout Buddhist. With the help of the king of Cambodia, he later returned to Laos to rule over it. At his wife's request, Fa Ngoun invited Buddhist monks from Cambodia to teach in his kingdom. Thus Buddhism was brought to the people in Laos. In a later period, the Thai Buddhist tradition also influenced Buddhism in Laos. The structure of the Sangha in Laos followed closely that of Thailand. Many monks were also said to have gone to Thailand to study.”
“Buddhism is the primary religion of Laos. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada tradition. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits. During the 7th Century, tantric Buddhism was also introduced to Laos from the kingdom of Nan-chao, an ethnically Tai kingdom centered in modern-day Yunnan, China. The Nan-chao kingdom also likely introduced the political ideology of the king as defender and protector of Buddhism, an important ideological tie between the monarchy and the sangha in much of Southeast Asia.”
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