Buddhist Temple Wat Dhammarangsee

As a Christian with an enquiring mind, I visited Wat Dhammarangsee with my Buddhist friend to observe the spiritual practices of another religious faith. Wat Dhammarangsee is located close to public transport - the indomitable 902 bus - in Forest Hill. As a Buddhist temple of Thai tradition, the altar inside is an impressively elaborate aggregation of gold statuettes, flowers, vases and other miscellaneous but religiously significant objects, set at the end of a large carpeted room similar to a church (only without pews, stained glass windows, etc). When we visited there was no service, ceremony or event on, but a helpful lady who seemed to be associated with the temple in some way was happy to have a quick chat about Buddhism and the temple. Wat Dhammarangsee had a very welcoming vibe, and we were allowed to sit on cushions in front of the altar reading texts undisturbed. Although this did not strike any chords with my own Christian beliefs, ...read more