I returned to the same Wat yesterday where I'd previously seen the sign: 'We have not gone beyond decay.' In the last 36 hours or so, more hand-written signs on wood had been nailed to the trees!
It was dusk and the monks, both the children and adults, were clearing garden plots and cleaning pots, hands in the earth mucking about, literally, their saffron robes all muddy and wet and there was lots of laughter as they squirted water at each other and did some mud-cake throwing.
I was the only person there, sitting on a bench a little way back, out of sight, taking advantage to go bare-footed on the soil and get a bit of grounding in! lol
Some of the things the new signs said: 'The Wise Master Themselves' 'Everyone is a fool but nobody is a fool forever.' 'If there is nothing that you like you must (it would be good to) like the things you have.'
Earlier that morning I got to hang out with mums, babies and toddlers where we sang and played. The mums sell crafts at the market. We did an exchange of a Lao word for an English word. We enjoyed hearing each other's attempts so it mostly turned into a laughing session. Learning through laughter, laughter and intent, to-ing and fro-ing, taking turns is always so good. The mums have these most beautiful hand-made little suits that their babies lie sleeping in, attached to their hearts and chests, while we seesaw back and forth between singular Lao and English words. Facial expressions, looks and laughter connecting us and these tiny little babies lying sleeping soundly through-out it all. And little sensible toddlers, lol not whipping up any storms or tantrums, just bogeying to the Lao and English music on in background. Or plonking down on the ground to play with the first thing they see.lol
The Wats are like public park where anybody can go and sit on the beautiful hand-made wooden and stone circular benches. I'd love to have taken photos of the monks and their playful, yet functional activity, but they were enjoying themselves so much that who the heck needs photos! With increasing numbers of tourists here, they're paparazzi-ed out of it! There were two or three temple dogs, beautiful sandy-coloured dogs who lie around sleeping wherever the monks are. Sleeping, and lying still even when the monks before them were, giddily, in full throes of kicking up a playful gardening-storm.
The day ended in a Chinese restaurant eating some fried rice. On paying the bill at the counter, there was a stuffed white fox (or maybe imitation :)) and a stuffed crow sitting there looking as if they'd flown right in out of a parable and plonked themselves there! lol And maybe they did! lol
