Throughout Ayutthaya’s varied history though, one thing has remained constant: the Buddhist Faith. What Westerners might see as slow deterioration and nature’s reclaimation of the land, Buddhist might view as an opportunity to deepen their faith; as the Buddha taught, the very nature of life is impermanence and the focus of existence is non-attachment.
If the juxtaposition of a stone face and tree roots was not message enough, there was also the vermilion-shrouded reclining Buddha (one of several in the city) at Wat Yai Chaimongkhon to hammer the point home.
At the end of the day, it was a blue-eyed cutie who taught us the invaluable lesson: everything is temporary and to live in the moment.
