Karma at Thailand's Wat Phai Rong Wua: A walk through Buddhist heaven and hell

A giant guardian stands menacingly at the entrance to Hell's Garden

One of the things I find curious about Buddhists, particularly Thai Buddhists, is that although Buddhism has no god (except for the inclusive nature of prayers that are directed toward Hindu gods), the supernatural is a large part of Thai life, and includes animist beliefs, spirits (a great many Thais are obsessed with ghosts) and the belief in heaven and hell.

For this reason, there are at least nine "Hell's gardens" around Thailand, where dozens of gruesome scenes are depicted in order to warn people about the consequences of being tempted to indulge in unethical behavior during their time on Earth. The idea of heaven and hell, is of course, not unique to Buddhism, but I have yet to see anything quite like these "gardens" anywhere else.

At Wat Phai Rong Wua is one of Thailand's most popular Hell's gardens, located on the grounds of the temple, and a stone's throw away from a very large what could be called "Buddha garden", where at least a hundred large Buddha statues sit in a serene park. The statues are in reality repositories for the ashes of the deceased, and in some cases the bodies, if a Chinese burial. Each statue is unique: they are not mass produced.

My friend Jeff Harper and I recently decided to explore Suphanburi Province about an hour's drive northwest of Bangkok. Hell's garden was on our list of things to see and we made it there just before sundown after roaming around the area. WARNING: the scenes depicted are quite gruesome and may offend some sensibilities. We found the place fascinating despite the nature of it, and it taught me a bit more about Thai culture and Buddhist beliefs.

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On the grounds of the temple and across the street from "Hell's Garden" is a large field with hundreds of Buddhas sitting serenely in rows of content meditation.

The Buddhas house the ashes of deceased people, or in some cases the body or bones of a person, as in the statue on the right, which is Chinese style.
Thais cremate; Chinese bury.

The Buddhas are more or less the same size, but no two are alike.

Dominating the scene is a huge Buddha, several stories high.

A short walk across the road from the serene Buddha park is Hell's garden. It is striking in its single-minded tour of people's ideas of the ultimate punishments. It is difficult to understand how they came up with some of these! No captions are necessary, so I will just leave you inside Hell's garden...

Feeling a little playful, and perhaps a bit sacrilegious.

Two amused monks survey the scene, not seemingly worried, and why should they be?

So there you have it: karma extremes in one place. Both aspects of the temple grounds are worth a visit. Then, if a believer in the afterlife, you will probably reflect on your life!