Getting The Right View in Ayutthaya Thailand

How certain places can expand your mind and heart as well as your camera lens

The steep stairs and towering walls of the temple Yai Chai Mongkhon created a profoundly narrow view. It focused my eyes on the grounds below like a filtered camera lens.

Life is all about perspective I thought as I carefully descended the narrow steps. I was aware that my feet were larger than each step and that I could easily fall if I was not careful.

A narrow view of life can be like a prison if we are not careful. Where we hold on so tight we restrict our own freedom. Our ability to see beyond our own filtered lens.

The freedom to consider other views and look at different perspectives. Not just believing ours is the only one worth having.

As I continued to mindfully explore the lush and scenic grounds of the temple where monks would often meditate, it seemed like a metaphor that being mindful of the narrow step and steep incline could be somewhat precarious.

Just as life can be precarious.

We never know what can happen in life. There is no guarantee that we will be alive tomorrow. We should therefore be grateful for life each day and savor its special moments.

Nothing is permanent.

This view on life creates greater awareness because we do not take each day for granted but celebrate it. Not with champagne and material rewards but with a quiet appreciation of just being.

We can stop for moments during our busy lives and look up. Take our heads out of the sandbox and breathe in deeply. Remembering that we are much more than this physical body.

Remember our awareness and expand our consciousness.

Buddhist Temples teach this by default

Wat (meaning temple) Yai Chai Mongkhon is one of the oldest temples in Thailand. It is right next to the ancient city of Ayutthaya, the previous capital of Thailand before it moved to Bangkok.

It is also, a well known meditation retreat where monks and lay people (which means non-monks) would practice this ‘right view’ and the expansive levels of awareness and mindfulness that deep meditation and contemplation can bring.

Perhaps this is why the energy is so peacefully palpable here. It is soaked not just in history, but with an energy of mindfulness and reverence for life.

Monks are continuously chanting Sanskrit texts and projecting loving kindness to all living beings. And have been for hundreds if not thousands of years. That energy is in the DNA of the land and the architecture.

You cannot help but feel it with the core of your being if you take the time to really absorb it.

It is fundamental to have the right view in life. It is the starting point for any form of personal and spiritual growth. Your view will dictate how you grow.

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You can read more of my travel experiences in Thailand and the amazing things I have learned there at my profile here on Medium or over at my blog DJ Hopkins