FAQ

Moral Entertainment – The Buddhist Hell Parks of Thailand

Publication date: 2021

Studia Religiologica, 2021, Volume 54 Issue 3, pp. 195 - 216

https://doi.org/10.4467/20844077SR.21.013.16550

Authors

Roman Husarski
Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University, Grodzka 52 31-044 Kraków
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9264-6751 Orcid
All publications →

Titles

Moral Entertainment – The Buddhist Hell Parks of Thailand

Abstract

Visiting Hell parks is a popular pastime in contemporary Thailand. Situated near Buddhist temples, these gruesome sculpture gardens depict the Buddhist vision of Hell. These grotesque and violent sculptures are usually seen as an oddity and a form of low art. Perhaps for this reason, they are rarely studied by scholars. This article focuses on the parks as modern entertainment. Usually found in rural areas, these spots try to answer the challenges of the commercialisation and globalisation of Thai society. A detailed analysis of four Hell parks, Wang Saen Suk, Wat Pa Lak Roi, Wat Pa Non Sawan and Wat Pa Thewapithak, shows that these religious amusement parks serve not only as means of entertainment but are also places of Buddhist morality.

* This work was supported by the Jagiellonian University’s Council of Students’Academic Associations as part of the Badanie nieortodoksyjnych świątyń buddyjskich w północno-wschodniej Tajlandii i Birmie [Study of unorthodox Buddhist temples in Northeast Thailand and Myanmar] Grant.

References

Anderson B., The Fate of Rural Hell: Asceticism and Desire in Buddhist Thailand, Calcutta 2012.

Ashitsu Z., The Fundamental Teachings of Buddhism, “The Monits” 1894, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 163–175 [published: 2015].

Baker C., Phongpaichit P., A History of Thailand, Sydney 2014.

Bernstein A.E., The Formation of Hell: Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds, London 1993.

Bielo J.S., Ark Encounter: The Making of a Creationist Theme Park, New York 2018.

Boike R., Sprenger G., Configurations of Religion – a Debate. A DORISEA Network Discussion Opened by Boike Rehbein and Guido Sprenger, “DORISEA Working Paper Series”, P.J. Bräunlein, M. Dickhardt, A. Lauser (eds.), 2016, no. 24, special issue.

Boyer P., Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, New York 2001.

Braarvig J., The Buddhist Hell: An Early Instance of the Idea? “Numen” 2009, vol. 56, no. 2–3. DOI: 10.1163/156852709X405008.

Brereton B.P., Phra Malai Texts – Telling Them Apart: Preface or Performance, “Journal of Mekong Societies” 2017, vol. 13, no. 3. DOI: 10.14456/jms.2017.22.

Brereton B.P., The Phra Malai Legend in Thai Buddhist Literature: A Study of Three Texts, Ann Arbor 1992.

Chaturachinda K., Boonthai N., Unsafe Abortion: An Inequity in Health Care, Thailand Perspective, “Journal of Population and Social Studies” 2017, vol. 25, no. 3, http://www2.ipsr.mahidol.ac.th/journal/PDF/Scopus/JPSS-v25n3_7_Unsafe Abortion.pdf.

Chua L., Building Siam: Leisure, Race, and Nationalism in Modern Thai Architecture, 1910–1973, Ithaca 2012.

Collins S., The Story of the Elder Māleyyedeva, “Journal of the Pali Text Society” 1993, vol. 18.

Comaroff J., Epilogue: Defying Disenchantment: Reflections on Ritual, Power, and History, [in:] Asian Visions of Authority: Religion and the Modern States ofEast and Southeast Asia, C.F. Keyes, L. Kendall, H. Hardacre (eds.), Honolulu 1994.

Crispin P., Gods and Rollercoasters: Religion in Theme Parks Worldwide, London 2019.

DeCaroli R., Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism, Oxford 2004.

Gardiner E., Buddhist Hell: Visions, Tours and Descriptions of the Infernal Otherworld, New York 2012.

Góralczyk B., Zmierzch i brzask. Notes z Bangkoku, Toruń 2009.

Graham P., Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art: 16002005, Honolulu 2007.

Green R.S., Thai Buddhism in Horror Films: Nang Nak and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, [in:] Buddhism Goes to the Movies Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice, R.S. Green (ed.), New York 2013.

Grieser A., Johnston J., What is an Aesthetics of Religion? From the Senses to Meaning – and Back Again, Berlin 2017.

Hanks M., Merit and Power in Thai Social Order, “American Anthropologist” 1950, no. 1913.

Heijdra M., The Legend of Phra Malai, Princeton University Graphic Arts Collection, Princeton 2018.

Igunma J., A Buddhist Monk’ s Journeys to Heaven and Hell, “Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities” 2017, vol. 6(1).

Jackson P.A., The Enchanting Spirit of Thai Capitalism: The Cult of Luang Phor Khoon and the Post-Modernization of Thai Buddhism, “South East Asia Research” 1999, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 5–60.

Jacobsen K.A., Three Functions of Hell in the Hindu Traditions, “Numen” 2009, vol. 56, no. 2–3. DOI: 10.1163/156852709X405071.

Jakubczak K., Pozorne i rzeczywiste podstawy wspólnoty chrześcijańsko-buddyjskiej, [in:] Benares a Jerozolima. Przemyśleć chrześcijaństwo w kategoriach hinduizmu i buddyzmu, K.J. Pawłowski (red.), Kraków 2007.

Janssen P., Thailand Takes a Long-Term Gamble on Isaan Region, “Nikkei Asian Review” 2016, November 2.

Jerryson M., If You Meet the Buddha on the Road: Buddhism, Politics and Violence, New York 2018.

Keyes C.F., Merit Transference in the Karmic Theory of Popular Theravada Buddhism, [in:] Karma: An Anthropological Inquiry, C.F. Keyes, E.V. Daniel (eds.), Berkeley 1983.

Kitiarsa P., Magic Monks and Spirit Mediums in the Politics of Thai Popular Religion, “Inter-Asia Cultural Studies” 2005, vol. 6, no. 2. DOI: 10.1080/14649370500065920.

Learman L., Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization, Honolulu 2005.

McCargo D., Buddhism, Democracy and Identity in Thailand, “Democratization” 2004, vol. 11(4). DOI: 10.1080/1351034042000234576.

McDaniel J.T., Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museums, Monuments, and Amusement Parks, Honolulu 2017.

McDaniel J.T., Spectacle Attractions and Buddhism in Southeast Asia, “DORISEA Working Paper” 2015, vol. 18, no. 15.

McDaniel J.T., Strolling through Temporary Temples: Buddhism and Installation Art in Modern Thailand, “Contemporary Buddhism: An Interdisciplinary Journal” 2017, vol. 18(1). DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2017.1308687.

McDaniel J.T., The Agency between Images: The Relationships among Ghosts, Corpses, Monks, and Deities at a Buddhist Monastery in Thailand, “Material Religion” 2011, vol. 7, no. 2. DOI: 10.2752/175183411X13070210372706.

McDaniel J.T., The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand, New York 2011.

McMakin P.D., Calabrese A.M., Buddhist Visions of Heaven and Hell in Thai Art, np 2018.

Monthīan B., Apinan P., Montien Boonma: Temple of the Mind, London 2003.

Nantavatanasirikul V., The Buddhist Ethics Approach on Abortion in Thai Society, “Journal of Population and Social Studies”, 2017, June 7, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2982600 [accessed: 23.10.2022].

Neuman S., Female Prostitution in Thailand – Looked upon a Victim-Agent Framework, Växjö 2012.

Nukkpidet, Wạd s̄æns̄uk̄h s̄uthṭhiwrārām chlburī wạd s̄wy thī̀ theī̀yw kıl̂ krungtheph chm pratimākrrm h̄æ̀ng ṣ̄ās̄nā [Wat Saen Suk, Suthiwararam, Chonburi, a beautiful temple to visit

near Bangkok], https://travel.trueid.net/detail/8l6eW1B6OP4b [accessed: 28.05.2020].

O’Connor R.A., Interpreting Thai Religious Change: Temples, Sangha Reform and Social Change, “Journal of Southeast Asian Studies” 1993, vol. 24, no. 2.

Pellegrini A., ‘Signaling through the Flames’: Hell House Performance and Structures of Religious Feeling, “American Quarterly” 2007, vol. 59, no. 3. DOI: 10.1353/aq.2007.0067.

Sadakata A., H. Nakamura, Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins, Tokyo 1997.

Shariff A.F., Rhemtulla M., Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on Hational Crime Rates, “PLoS ONE” 2012, vol. 7, no. 6. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039048.

Siklós B., The Evolution of the Buddhist Yama, “The Buddhist Forum” 1996, vol. 4.

Stevenson J., Sensational Devotion: Evangelical Performance in Twenty-First-Century America, Ann Arbor 2013.

Tarnbiah S.J., The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of the Amulets, Cambridge 1984.

Taylor J., Buddhism and Postmodern Imaginings in Thailand: The Religiosity of Urban Space, New York 2008.

Taylor J.L., Embodiment, Nation, and Religio-Politics in Thailand, “South East Asia Research” 2001, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 129–147.

Teiser S.F., ‘Having Once Died and Returned to Life’: Representations of Hell in Medieval China, “Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies” 2006, vol. 48, no. 2. DOI: 10.2307/2719317.

Umavijani M., By the Clemency of Hell, Bangkok 1977.

Walters J.S., Gombrich R.F., Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, “Philosophy East and West” 2006, vol. 40, no. 2. DOI: 10.2307/1399233.

Wilmer F., A Thai Monk Brings Hell to Chang Mai, “Roads & Kingdoms” 2015, August 25, https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/nsfw-the-hell-temple-of-chiang-mai/ [accessed: 20.05.2019].

Yeoh B.S.A., Teo P., From Tiger Balm Gardens to Dragon World: Philanthropy and Profit in the Making of Singapore’s First Cultural Theme Park, “Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography” 2006, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 27–42. DOI: 10.2307/490966.

Information

Information: Studia Religiologica, 2021, Volume 54 Issue 3, pp. 195 - 216

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

Moral Entertainment – The Buddhist Hell Parks of Thailand

English:

Moral Entertainment – The Buddhist Hell Parks of Thailand

Authors

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9264-6751

Roman Husarski
Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University, Grodzka 52 31-044 Kraków
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9264-6751 Orcid
All publications →

Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University, Grodzka 52 31-044 Kraków

Published at: 2021

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

Roman Husarski (Author) - 100%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English