Thursday, October 4, 2018

Visiting Dr. Laow at Wat Mahathat Temple/Carlos Pueblo


Visiting Dr. Laow at Wat Mahathat Temple/Carlos Pueblo

Dr. Laow is the head monk of Wat Mahathat Temple at Burton Upon
Trent, Staffordshire, England just south of Birmingham. I met him about
4 ½ years ago at the campus of Oxford University and would like to continue
our conversation in regard to the Buddhism. Finally, I was getting very closed
to his temple and made up my mind to pay him a visit. I took a train from
Birmingham and after 5 stops reached Burton Upon Trent station. I walked
and passing by a Coors-Molson Beers plant on my way to the city center to
take a bus to advance more to the Temple. Burton has been in brewing
beers business since 1777 and Coors has merged Molson in 2006. I didn’t get
a sample testing at this plant like the one at Golden, Colorado.

Another bus continued to take me further more in to the farm land. I saw
village after village, lamb farm one after one. I was out a stop away from the
Temple; therefore, I marched again to my final destination. The Temple has
been converted from an old mansion with acreage deep in the village; therefore,
the location is lonely and far away from the city. Dr. Laow had had some visitors
from nearby Birmingham, from Ireland, several monks from Thailand, of course
myself from Texas.

I was invited to a lunch with fellow visitors after those monks finished their
mid-day meal according to the Buddhist discipline. A Birmingham family provided
the food for that day. The couple invited me to get a ride back to Birmingham;
however, Dr. Laow had arranged an afternoon visit to a Cathedral nearby at a
township called Lichfield. It was raining that day.

Lichfield Cathedral have served the community for more than 1,300 years and the
Cathedral, a huge one, has been built for nearly 1,000 years. A new Icon, a portrait
of Jesus and His Mother Maria, was ready to be installed by a group of artists from
Greece. Dr. Laow introduced us to the head artist and he introduced us their work.
I am very impressed that a small city like Lichfield can host such a huge church
with a red Cardinal’s office.

Dr. Laow had his driver sent me to the train station of Lichfield and advised me come
through that station and he would send a driver to pick me up next time. He also indicates
that he does have room for me to stay for up to two days.   

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