Toh Chatah Chiwit (ต่อชะตาชีวิต)

Thai. ‘Renew Life's Destiny’. Name of an unconventional ritual in which a Buddhist monk performs a symbolical burial for a living person. It is done to break with one's old life, or at least the intention to do so, and at the start of a new chapter in ones life, e.g. on a special birthday. A lay person will lie down, either in a coffin or on the floor underneath a white sheet, thus symbolizing death. After the monk has chanted an incantation and performed some rites, the person involved rises again, and is symbolically reborn as a new person. However, not all Buddhists believe this practice to be beneficial and some even think it may invite bad karma, due to its association with death, while many also believe that laying down in a coffin alive is tantamount to challenging ones fate and may actually invite a premature demise. First, the person undergoing the ritual will lit some candles and three incense sticks, while kneeling down and saying a prayer, followed by an aphiwaht to show of respect. Then the monk is offered some flowers and a monetary gift. The person will then lie down while performing a wai and is covered by a white sheet, akin to a corpse, after which the monk will chant an incantation and perform some rites. Then the sheet is removed, the person reverses and covered once again, and the monk repeats the ritual, now from the side of the feet. When all is done, the person involved rises again, and is symbolically reborn as a new person. Then a kruad nahm ritual, commonly used in Buddhist funeral ceremonies, is performed, in which water from a small metal flaks is slowly poured into a small corresponding bowl (fig.). To finalize the ceremony, the monk will give some nahm mon, i.e. ‘blessed water’, to the participant, who will pour it over the head and wash the face with it. When a coffin is involved, people undergoing the ritual lay down in the casket while performing a wai and holding a lotus flower, a small candle and three incense sticks, and the open coffin is then covered with a white sheet, rather than a lid, after which a similar ritual is as described above is performed by the monk overseeing the ceremony. In a similar practice, people may lay in coffins in order to meditate. Compare with seubchatah. See also TRAVEL PICTURE and WATCH VDO (1) and (2). 回