Cultural Tour 4

Wat Thai Buddhist Temple Los Angeles

San Fernando Valley, California

Wat Thai Buddhist Temple Los Angeles.

Prayer Alter.

I reviewed several different Buddhist Temples located in Southern California and I chose to visit the Wat Thai Buddhist Temple over all of the others because it was my impression that it focused on the culture of Thailand specifically however while visiting this temple I walked around the property and was able to see several other smaller temples that were dedicated to Chinese Buddhist traditions as well. This was very insightful as this religion based on peace was open to inclusion of other versions of belief, all within one working temple.

The temple itself is beautiful. Our tour guide had us note the architecture of the main temple and the upward pointing gold embossed roof corners as a way to be closer to heaven. He further explained that the huge giants outside the main temple were traditionally placed at the entrance to protect the temple and the monks that dwell within. The uniquely detailed designs and colors of the buildings and statues stood out as a testament to how deeply the monks and other Buddhists take their beliefs.

Our guide added that all homes and businesses in Thailand install a small version of the temple or god figure in order to watch over them. Additionally, they place offerings of food and incense throughout the week at these alters. He explained that superstition and belief in luck is very prevalent in the religion and so sometimes corruption can come from this. He explained that sometimes businesses will ask for a picture photograph of people seeking new employment and they must send this to the business owner before they are allowed to interview. Essentially they are looking to have the most beautiful people working for them because this is seen as bringing good luck and success their business.

In traveling to the temple I began to understand how important it is to consume a culture before entering into business with someone as the culture can reveal deep insights into how the business may or may not work. I would recommend this to anyone seeking to do business abroad as well as locally here in the United States. Simply thinking with Western ideas and concepts cannot be expected to be the only pathway to success for working in Asia any longer.