Friday, February 11, 2005

Kanchanaburi 2

On the second day, we went to a sacred cave where we found a statue of Quan Yin. I just remember the name because Mom had a porcelain statuette on her coffee table of Quan Yin. Her version had a hand that detached. Jude knew the story and told us that Quan Yin was so giving that she allowed her hand and her eye to be removed to save others. She was rewarded for her noble act by receiving a thousand hands and a thousand eyes.

When we got to the bottom of the cave, one of our team; Eyelet (whom I remembered by thinking "I yell it", looked at the statue and said Quan Yin reminded her of her homeland Israel and the story of Lot's wife who was changed to a pillar of salt for daring to look back rather than continuing with her journey on faith. I took this picture of Eyelet by the statue. Eyelet is a brave woman. She is travelling for three weeks in Thailand, alone, and she misses her daughter very much. She told me she cried for the first three days and was thinking of going back early. I meant to tell you this Eyelet. I have never thought of going home early but I didn't realize what a shock I was experiencing in this exotic land until it occurred to me that I was having trouble chewing. It suddenly occurred to me that I was so tense for the first three days that I was clenching my teeth in my sleep and my jaw swelled up. We all have our ways of dealing with our fears and finding our way. Shalom my dear friend. I wish you well on your journey.

As we were leaving the cave I took this picture of the wall near the statue. I liked the formation of rock but I never saw this image until I looked at it on my camera screen later, nor did the others who were there with me. Before I tell you what we saw in this image perhaps you could tell me what you see.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Stevie,
That bottom photo is very bizarre! I see a whole bunch of things: a man tipping his head back with his hands in front of him, laughing/praying (left side near bottom), a peacock (middle), a fire (bottom, almost right), skulls and cobs of corn hanging all over the place.... the list goes on and on. Ok, someone else have a turn at this cosmic photo....

J.P. said...
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J.P. said...

I see a majestic combination swan/dove, the face of a young man with white background and the apparition at the bottom appears to be surrounded by tall candles.

somsoc said...

For what it's worth, I see a man with a beard sitting in a meditative position in the center of the picture. Your adventures are inspiring. The people you are meeting look like they would make great traveling companions.

Steven said...

I just received a letter from eyelet, father. He says he's been reading the blog and thanked me for taking care of his daughter. I certainly can't take credit for taking care of anyone but I'm honored that he follows the journey. He must be very proud to be the father of such a beautiful Soul. Shalom.

Anonymous said...

I also see the figure in a meditative position in the centre of the photo, with his head turned slightly to his right, perhaps looking at the figure reclining on his back with his hands resting across his chest, one leg dangling in the pool. What a journey you are on!
-Meg