What would a visit to Bangkok be without a Spirit House entry. So here’s a good one.
We recently bought a large building on a major street adjacent to the rest of our acute care hospital campus. (A major renovation is starting soon.) It was owned by Honda and will be turned into one of Bangkok’s largest outpatient clinics. 7-storeys high and huge in every direction, this building clearly needs a substantial and caring group of Spirits to take care of it.
A double set of Spirit Houses has been placed in front of the building and both the large and small versions are beauties. What is particularly nice about these are the incredible and highly detailed figurines placed all over the two houses.
Instead of dwelling on the two actual houses, I thought that you’d like to see the little figures that help the Spirits within take good care of our new building.
There is also a photo (slide 15) that shows one of our staff cleaning the area. That’s done every day. A lot of care is taken to make sure the Spirits have clean and shiny quarters. Of course, in addition to a washing, a Fuller brush is also used for sweeping. (Slide 16)
What always interests me is how respectful Thais are when it comes to Spirit Houses. Coming from the west, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that the small figurines would be stolen or vandalized. But they’re not. People seem to respect the sanctity of the contents of Spirit Houses and so the little dancers and animals can feel safe that they will not be removed or damaged.
In slide 17 you will see some offerings to the Spirits. The one that particularly intrigues me is the handful of cigars. I guess the people who placed them as an offering were not yet aware that the building is owned by a healthcare company. We hope our Spirits don’t smoke. But in making the offering, I suppose it was the thought that counted. However, smoking is bad even for Spirits.
Let’s hope that during a massive renovation that’s soon to start, the Spirits in the two houses, along with their tiny friends, provide great protection for the workers, future patients and staff.