Buddha with a beat – Wat Suthi Wararam transformed
It’s Visakha Bucha Day like you’ve never seen it before.
Bangkok’s Wat Suthi Wararam has unveiled a bold and modern makeover to entice young people and a new audience to Buddhism. Wat Suthi Wararam is coming alive with Monks chanting to electronic music, projection mapping and a digital art exhibition.
“Bodhi Theatre: Buddhist Prayer Retold” combines vivid animation and Buddhist chants set to electronic dance rhythms in a contemporary effort to attract more people to the teachings of Buddha.
Visakha Bucha Day is one of the most important Buddhist holidays in the Thai calendar and this year it takes place on May 19, 2019. It is important as it was the day of three important incidents that occurred during the life of Lord Buddha. They all happened on full moon of the sixth lunar month.
The show will be presented every weekend until June 9 at Wat Suthi on Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok.
Traditional and ornate on the outside. Funky and modern on the inside.
Abbot, Phra Suthee Rattanapandit says, “The aim is to encourage more young people to study Buddhism at the temple.”
“We teamed up with young artists and designers who used modern technology to create this contemporary digital art in the temple. The artwork is intended to help people more easily understand Buddhist teachings.”
Supported by the National Innovation Agency, “Bodhi Theatre” was conceived and executed by a network including the Why_Not Social Enterprise, Awakening Creative, Another day Another render, Art of Hongtae, Korky and What_If.
Thawatchai Saengthamchai, managing director at Why_Not and manager of this project, acknowledges that it’s not easy changing the “young generation’s habits”.
“But we decided to find a way to modernise the temple experience to attract a changing society. We selected hi-tech tools to get people back to the temple.”
The team has not only re-visualised and simplified a complex message, but it also created fun activities for visitors to the temple. They can paint cloth bags and send themselves best wishes on a postcard stamped with the chant’s emblem.
All proceeds from the sale of coffee go to the temple. Admission to the event itself is free, but seats can be booked in advance at BodhiTheater.com.
The show runs every 35 minutes from 2 to 6pm.
SOURCE: The Nation
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