Reborn Thais queue up for coffin therapy

Published on Saturday 27 September 2008 19:55

IT IS the ultimate in second chances: a Buddhist temple in Thailand is offering, for a small fee, an opportunity to die, rise up again newborn and make a fresh start in life.

Nine big pink coffins dominate the grand hall of the temple, and every day hundreds take their turns climbing in for a few moments as monks chant a dirge. Then, at a command, the visitors clamber out again cleansed – they believe – of the past.

It is a renewal for our times, as recent economic hardship brings uncertainty and people try seeking a bailout on life. In growing numbers, they come here from around Thailand to join what has become an assembly line of resurrection.

"When the economy is down, we latch our hopes onto some supernatural power," said Ekachai Uekrongtham, a writer-director whose film The Coffin, now in Thai cinemas, revolves around such funerals for the living.

"When I went in I felt warm, and when I came out I felt released," said Nual Chaichamni, 52, a masseuse, who said she liked the feeling so much she had done it six times. "As I lay there and listened to the chanting of the monks, I felt relaxed," she said. "When I got up, I was thinking of good things, thinking of the Buddha image in the hall. I felt good."

Buddhism in Thailand can take strange forms, embracing animism, magic – and the entrepreneurial ethos of many senior monks. Many Thais say that the true spirit of Buddhism is being lost. Many temples have become centres of enterprise that reflect Thailand's wider economic growth, selling amulets, holding boisterous fairs and telling fortunes.

The Wat Prommanee temple, 66 miles north-east of Bangkok, has offered its daily resurrection service for more than three years, and its clientele keeps growing, said one attendant, Pradap Butcharerm. On weekends, as many as 700 people a day pay 180 baht each, a little less than 3, for the ceremony and much more for amulets that are auctioned off by temple acolytes. "We have only 50 of these, a limited edition, the price is up to you!" they cry.

As the number of visitors has grown, their dip into the supernatural has become a touch perfunctory. Now a monk with a bullhorn herds worshipers through the row of coffins, nine at a time – into the coffin, down on their backs, eyes closed, shroud on, shroud off, up on their feet, quick prayer and scramble out into a new life. The whole process takes a minute and a half.

A cardboard sign warns visitors not to stand behind the coffins, where bad karma sucked from the "dying" devotees may still be hovering.

The rebirth ceremony is unusual, but not surprising, said Suwannan Sathta-Anand, associate professor of philosophy at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "People are looking for their own expression of Buddhism that could be relevant to their lives," she said.

Along with the religion of their past, a tide of modern capitalism has seized the imagination of Thais as their country has rapidly developed in the past three decades. Two years ago, Thailand was gripped by a frenzy for an amulet called Jatukam, which came in versions called "Super Rich", "Immediately Rich", "Rich Without Reason" and "Miracle Rich".

When they flock to be reborn at Wat Prommanee, what Thais want is to load the dice in their favour, as well as seek help for life's everyday aliments.

Jirapat Winarungruang, 37, a lawyer, recently completed a transformation begun four years ago when he changed his name from the less auspicious Suthep Wina. His new name includes the suffix rungruang, which means prosperity. One half of a person's destiny is determined by his name, Jirapat said, the other half by his date of birth. When he arose from the coffin, born again, he said, the last vestiges of the old Suthep Wina would be gone.

Woraphot Sriboonyang, 30, an engineer, said he had come with Jirapat and four other family members to rid himself of bad karma. Within a few weeks, he had suffered a break-in and a bad car accident.

Chalida Muansawang, 33, a hairdresser, brought her 12-year-old daughter, Saksithorn, in the hope that a few moments in a coffin would help cure her hyperactivity. "I'm excited and a little bit scared," said the girl, who proceeded bravely through the process, her mother in an adjacent coffin.

Waiting for the afternoon shift to start was the entire 36-man Royal Thai Army soccer team. "We'll lie in the coffins and then we'll go to practice," said one of the players, 22-year-old Nippon Khamthong. "We just want to win tomorrow."