September 6th, 2005 | The lowdown by Aliwyn Cole

The Temple of Hell.

The Temple of Hell is located at the end of soi (street) 19 in Bangsaen - only six streets away from me. A friend at work tells me I should take a look, and informs me with amusement that the sculptures depict gore and suffering, as is typically associated with Hell.

I wonder at the depiction of Hell in Thailand. After all, Thai Buddhism dictates that the after-life is reincarnation. If you have been 'bad', you come back as a lower life form, and if you are 'good', then you come back as a higher life form. The mention of 'Hell' in the depiction of the after-life at this temple is, by all accounts the influence of Christianity.

I am curious, so I take a stroll down there after breakfast. It is rainy season at the moment, so it is cool enough to walk in the morning. When I reach soi 19, it only takes me five minutes to walk to the bottom of the road, where I find the Temple. It is quiet and a little bit unkempt. Stray dogs look hopefully at me as I donate my twenty baht at the entrance, and walk in. Cages of chickens is the first thing I see, kept by the monks for eggs and meat, no doubt. Although Buddhism traditionally does not allow harm to other life forms (with buddhists therefore vegetarian), this is not the case in Thailand, where monks live off donations and what they tend themselves.

I walk up a quiet little path, listening to the birds tweeting and chickens clucking, and see two tall statues, with garish faces and great long tongues hanging down to their groins. One is a woman, with an inflated belly, over which peer her ribs. The other male statue is skinny, with protruding ribs and dark circles under his eyes. Both faces are intense and quite grotesque. Below the couple are enclaves of various suffering. One of them has a man in the centre, lying down and surrounded by men with a great big saw, which they are using to cut him in half. Another has a dead woman lying on the ground, her face twisted in agony, and what looks like a crow eating her entrails. One man is having his hands chopped off; while another is having his heart hacked into. The tall man and woman with the long tongues appear in different forms of suffering around the grounds. Blood and suffering is the main theme of this Temple. Some statues have the head of various animals, suggesting lower life forms. The guides of what you have to do to become the animal are written underneath each one.

Words of wisdom and warning are written under some sculptures, in incorrect but understandable English. Most warn against drinking and deviation, gambling, being mean to your parents, killing and stealing.

I walk out of the area of Hell, and down the path to the left, which is lined with statues depicting the creatures of Chinese astrology. Underneath each one are details of 'lucky' months and years for sign, and a request for the donation of one baht for every year of your age. I donate my thirty two baht and leave. That's enough of Hell for one day.