Temple Talks

After spending the summer traveling throughout Asia, I concluded two things: money isn't necessarily correlated with happiness and one's faith in something can give them a sense of security. I went to visit just one of the many beautiful temples in Bangkok, Thailand. This temple was known as 'Wat Pho,' or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple was filled with tourists, not knowing the meaning of it all but just taking pictures to check it off their bucket lists. When I entered the temple with the reclining Buddha itself, I was standing next to a man who was praying. I assumed he was one of the few locals I saw in the area. He seemed very happy and I couldn't help but stare and he turned around and asked me if I knew what day it was. "Tuesday," I answered. "Today is our king's birthday and I have come to pray for my family, "he replied. We got into a conversation about religion and he mentioned to me how he works full-time as a driver, and his family isn't doing so well. Therefore, he barely sees them so he can work during the week and put food on the table for them. However, praying and the thought of seeing his family that one day a week keeps him going. I asked him if he's happy and he said, "I am always happy because I pray." This man barely had food to feed his family, but he was one of the happiest people I had met. In that moment I realized it's important to have something to believe in. In the western world, science has replaced religion and we always try to uncover the truth and have disbelief about certain things. However, for this man, religion brought him happiness. There may not be a key to happiness, but dabbling in different cultures may give you some ideas.