Dragon Swallows the Sun: Wat Lao Buddha Phothisaram

Wat Lao Buddha Phothisaram, a Laotian community Buddhist Temple on the landing approach to Atlanta, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.

There were times when it was believed by some that the Solar Eclipse was caused by a Dragon swallowing the Sun. It was a sign of impending doom, of desperate change, as one world concludes and is replaced by another.

The airplane is a symbol for escape, the romantic tendency to always want to be in the place where you are not.

Be it the back of a Dragon or a Boeing 737, there is always that moment of wonder as we leave the bounds of the Earth, where everything seems possible.

But nothing last forever. We must return to the earth from which we sprung.

I am sure to become old. I cannot avoid aging.

I am sure to become ill. I cannot avoid illness.

I am sure to die. I cannot avoid death.

I must be separated and parted from all this dear and beloved to me.

Whatever actions I do, good or bad, of these shall I become their heir.

(The Five Remembrances, Upajjhatthana Sutta)

#travel, #buddhisttemples, #atlanta