Buddhist Temple Built from Beer Bottles

Now, this is pretty special. Who says Buddhists don't indulge in beer? I do wonder though - how long did it take and how much did it wind up costing...

Reminds me of the community facility made in the UK out of beer crates. How resourceful is a bottle of brew?

Brilliant :) Alot of happy monks. Budweiser and Chang should sponsor them :)

Very nice! It looks amazing.

I LOVE this! Thanks for posting it. I think it's a beautiful representation of the treasure in most peoples garbage. I wonder what it looks like inside on a really sunny day? way to go monks-!!someday I'll have a bottle home to live in too! yeah! :)

Wow, I want to build my own beer bottle temple. Better get started emptying bottles!

I lived in Sisaket for a while and went to this temple. The photos here are great - very difficult to get good shots there. There are so many more buildings than you see here though. There are at least 8 buildings. I'll have to find my photos and put them up on my blog. That's great this post has so many Diggs.

For those of you that haven't visited Thailand's northeast - you really must as it's where traditional Thai values remain. The people are pure honey and you'll see what Thailand used to be like, not what it's become in Bangkok and other big cities. :) Vern

That's totally awesome and beautiful @ the same time. I wonder how they'd repair broken bottles though.

Wow! That's amazing. And to think of all the building materials I wasted in college when instead I could own my own home now.

The building looks beautiful and artistic! But why beer bottles, of all items on earth?That, i can't comprehend!

I hope they are not judgemental Budhists: 'He who lives in a glass house..."

Far-out ! I just hope they're not judgmental Buddhists: 'He who lives in a glass house...'

Why beer bottles Rampantheart? Because they are less filling. The house is very cool by the way. I bet it took forever to put together.

Beer bottles for any making any other centres or houses or buildings would have been acceptable. Except, for building a holy house where the Buddha sits and monks pray??? It may be economical or cool; but still this is a holy place, a serious place...some stuff are never ever meant to be mixed up.

I think this is beautiful. Must be amazing when it catches the sunlight.

And plenty of Buddhists drink beer, it is only Monk's who take precepts not to take intoxicants.

As for the whole sacred/profane holy/inappropriate debate I think Buddha would have been rather pleased that these bottles were being recycled and put to such good use. And transformed into something beautiful.

Michael

Lay Buddhist follow the first 5 precepts. The fifth being "I shall abstain from taking intoxicants that cloud the mind and cause carelessness" So yes some Buddhist do drink alchol but perhaps a skillfull question would be. Are they Buddhist in name only?

If your going to go trough the effort of being a Buddhist why pick and choose the guidelines you want to follow? If one wants to drink, then drink. When one is ready they can come back to Buddhism. The fact is alcohol causes a lot of suffering everyday. (50,000 deaths per year in the U.S.A. alone) not to mention all the alcohol related domestic disputes that destroy families.As Buddhist our 'goal' is to end suffering within ourselves as well as the world. Not create it (In the form of negative Karma)

Metta

Who says they drank the beer? Quite possible that empty beer bottles are in plentiful supply locally

Quite amazing. I wonder if this building has been evaluated for how long it is expected to stand. That is to say, if one glass breaks, does it threaten the whole structure? How long can such a structure be expected to survive the elements, let alone vandalism or earthquakes?

@Metta:

I've always taken the precepts to be more focused on avoidance than abstinence. They are all obstacles to clarity and should be avoided, but there are countless obstacles to clarity in this life and one cannot continually focus on overcoming those obstacles without *that pursuit* becoming an obstacle as well. The rare slip won't kill you and isn't cause for self-flagellation.

Also, can you think of a better way to keep that precept in mind than a constant reminder of it in your house of worship?

I want to say something all profound and appropriately appreciative but I just keep coming back to WOW!

Great post - thank you.

now that's pretty amazing. Reusing scrap resources for the betterment of people...

Awesome!

A lot of the posts have had to do with the issue of whether to "mix" beer with religion. Although the quote below is not grounded in Buddhist philosophy, one of my American founding fathers stated it best:

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin