by Tracy Vanity
And now for another installment of a Buddhist hell road trip. I told you there were a lot of Buddhist hells around these parts!
This time I went on a trip to Suphanburi province about 2 1/2 hours from Bangkok to visit the “Hell Temple” or Wat Phai Rong Wua (วัดไผ่โรงวัว.)
This is the 3rd Buddhist hell I’ve seen and it’s by far the most incredible. The number of enormous grotesque statues depicting various torments for sinners, packed into one hell park was incredible.
As soon as you walk in, you’re bombarded with tortured statues. There’s so much going on that pictures are but a small reflection of the total splendor of this particular purgatory. This is something that is best experienced in person. But for those who can’t make it to Thailand, I’ve done my best to capture the essence of this wonderful hell land for you.
Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple Suphanburi Hell Temple
Unlike the previous Buddhist hell, which had descriptive plaques giving you some context, no explanations were given for any of these statues. None were needed. Since I knew the general idea behind Buddhist hells, (this is what happens to your soul when you commit adultery, lie, cheat, murder, harm animals, etc.) it made more sense to me than to my friends who joined me on this road trip and had no fucking clue what was going on. Whether you generally understand the context or not, there is no shortage of WTF.
I was happy to see not one but TWO trees of adultery!
Trees of Adultery Trees of Adultery Trees of Adultery Trees of Adultery Trees of Adultery Trees of Adultery
There were also two giant ghosts, bigger than trees, that have been in every hell I’ve visited but these had skull faces and giant detailed genitalia.
Giant Ghosts Giant Ghosts Giant Ghosts
The familiar variation of the animal head people which are a personal favorite:
Animal People Animal People Animal People
Something I hadn’t seen before was this box of old crumbly human bones. The sign says to donate to the dead who do not have family.
Human Bone Exhibit Human Bone Exhibit Human Bone Exhibit
I took about 1,000 pictures with an old waterproof Fuji. I tried to narrow it down. I will leave you with some miscellaneous pics of tormented souls in Buddhist hell.
Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls Tormented Souls
Until next time Bizarros! …BTW 7 Days Until Halloween!
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