The David Beckham Temple: Wat Pariwat

Our final stop on Saturday's walking adventure took us to Wat Pariwat. From the outside, it looked like a fairly standard Buddhist temple, except for the whitewashed wall with golden gables surrounding the complex.

The sun continued to beat down, scorching our already overheated small group of adventurers. We had walked a long way that day... longer than any of the previous trips I've taken with them! By the time we arrived at Wat Pariwat, we were overheated and exhausted, but ready for one final surprise.

Wat Pariwat

From a distance, the prayer hall at Wat Pariwat looked fairly normal, if more colorful and ornate than a normal Thai temple.

the temple looks normal from a distance, if a bit colorful

Up close, however, you start to see more and more details. My first sign that this wasn't a regular temple was the rabbit-headed statue sitting against one of the pillars. What was this place?

up close, it starts to look different from the temples I've seen

Things got even stranger the closer we got! It's like one of those "magic eye" posters from the '90s. Remember those? The longer I looked at the temple, the more crazy things that I saw! Like, for example: Superman and The Wolverine!

Superman and Wolverine 

Or Captain America and Popeye the Sailor Man!

Captain America and Popeye the Sailor Man 

Many of the temple's pop culture references focused on American superheroes, but there were distinct Japanese influences too... like this Pikachu!

Pikachu

But it wasn't just pop culture represented at Wat Pariwat. There were all sorts of mythical beasts from Thai Hindu/Buddhist cosmology too. Overall, it seemed the theme of the temple was "superheroes", and the way that the idea is reflected across cultures.

you could say the ornaments at Wat Pariwat are... interesting

The interior of the temple, though adorned with colorful 3-D images from Buddhist mythology, is fairly orthodox (though unusually bright and colorful). A large golden seated Buddha stands in front of a celestial mural, while clouds and angels dance around him.

inside the temple hall

The walls are covered in depictions of stories from Buddhism, as well as stories from the various lives and reincarnations of the Buddha.

the interior was beautifully decorated

Noi, our guide, explained that the designer of the temple is an artist who hoped to spread Buddhism through the use of his art and pop culture. The temple reminded me a bit of the White Temple in Chiang Rai. The White Temple also uses modern art and pop culture to synergize with Buddhist motifs to create a funky and cool blend of old and new in order to teach visitors more about Buddhism.

the main Buddha image inside the temple

Interestingly, there was even an image of Albert Einstein along one of the walls.

Albert Einstein and the Buddha

decor at the temple

We spent about twenty minutes exploring the small temple, but we could have spent a lot longer. Unfortunately, we never found the temple's namesake!

the temple hall and a segment of the ceiling

The temple got its nickname due to the small golden statue of the famous footballer David Beckham, who stands alongside the angels and spirits at one of the Buddhist shrines at the complex. Unfortunately, that part of the temple was closed that day! It's too bad... the golden David Beckham statue is what put the temple on the map in the first place. I wonder if he knows about this temple... How weird would it be to find a golden statue of yourself at a temple?

up close at the temple

It's not just pop culture represented, though. If you search, you'll find other figures from world mythology. I spotted a few Egyptian gods, and a kappa (a Japanese water spirit). This temple, while still distinctly Thai, is adorned with gods and spirits from world mythology.

figures from Egyptian and Japanese mythology adorn parts of the temple

The most interesting and controversial statue at the temple is this figure of the Buddha represented with the head of a water monitor.

It's worth noting that in the Thai language, the worst curse word and insult is to call somebody a water monitor. That's because they are seen as one of the lowest creatures, and the furthest away in the cycle of reincarnation from reaching Nirvana. Needless to say, depicting the Buddha as a monitor could be seen as quite a controversial move.

The purpose isn't an insult, though. It's meant to show that even Buddha, the ultimate enlightened being, had gone through the cycle of reincarnation just like every other living thing. At one point in his cycle of reincarnation, he had even lived life as a monitor lizard.

It's a lesson in humility, if nothing else, and a message to respect all other living things. Even the lizards deserve dignity and respect, as they, too, are on their journey towards enlightenment and Nirvana.

a water monitor?