Ron Emmons          Writer & Photographer
  • Blog
    • Introduction
  • Teaklord
    • Description and buying options
    • News of Teak Lord
    • The Making of a Book Cover
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 1
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 2
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 3
    • Review of Teak Lord
    • Teak Talk
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Periodicals >
      • A Culture Blossoms
      • Black, White and Blue
      • Deep in the Delta
      • Strange Town
      • Blissful Bloom
      • The Wonder of Water
      • Striking Signs
      • A Hike up Chiang Dao Mountain
      • Quirky Chiang Mai
      • Trailblazer
      • On the Road to Rio
    • Digital content
  • Portfolio
    • Searching for Shangri-La
    • Travel
    • Biography
    • Nature
    • Buddhism
    • Photography
    • Article List
  • Short Stories
    • Beyond the End of the Road
    • The Green Monkey's Tale
    • The Red Lion's Tale
    • Eruption in Ethiopia
    • First Flight
    • As Dawn Breaks over Choroni
    • The Hungry Eye
    • On Spirit Mountain
  • Biography
    • Ron's CV

Welcome!

What an amazing world we live in...to watch an audio slideshow introducing my website, please click here.
Open slideshow

That Blissful Smile

5/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Enigmatic expressions on faces at the Bayon hint at a long-lost knowledge.
Picture
I was sorting through my images recently, looking for some good shots of Angkor to upload to image banks, when I was struck yet again by that blissful smile on the faces that gaze down from the towers of the Bayon, the centrepiece of Angkor Thom in Cambodia.
Picture
Originally over fifty towers featured four faces looking in the cardinal directions. Now only 37 towers remain, yet wherever you wander in the Bayon, these faces are looking at you.
Picture
Or are they? As you approach these two-metre high heads, you realize that their attention is elsewhere. The closed eyelids, relaxed features and slightly upturned lips suggest nothing less than a state of bliss, the attainment of Nirvana, of Enlightenment, of total mindfulness. Even patches of lichen do not disturb them.
Picture
Though they are often referred to as Buddha heads, they are thought to represent Jayavarman VII, the all-powerful Khmer ruler in the 12th century.
Picture
What baffles me is this—how could Khmer stone carvers convey such a facial expression if they had not experienced this serene state for themselves? And if they had experienced such bliss, how come this knowledge got lost down through the years?
Picture
When Henri Mouhot visited the site in 1860, he asked “What has become of this powerful race, so civilized, so enlightened, the authors of these gigantic works?” Over 150 years later, his question echoes through history.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Ron's Blog

    Categories

    All
    Buddhism
    Hiking
    Historical
    Myanmar
    Nature
    Personal
    Photography
    Post Apocalypse
    Publishing
    Reviews
    Social Issues
    Thailand
    UK
    Vietnam
    Writing

    Picture

    Ron Emmons 

    is a British writer and photographer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

    Categories

    All
    Buddhism
    Hiking
    Historical
    Myanmar
    Nature
    Personal
    Photography
    Post Apocalypse
    Publishing
    Reviews
    Social Issues
    Thailand
    UK
    Vietnam
    Writing

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    July 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    March 2011

    RSS Feed

Text and images copyright © Ron Emmons 2000-2023

Contact details:

Ron Emmons
122 Moo 7, San Pisua,
Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand.

Tel/Fax: (66-53) 115150
Mobile: +66-841758104

ron@ronemmons.com


Contact Ron
  • Blog
    • Introduction
  • Teaklord
    • Description and buying options
    • News of Teak Lord
    • The Making of a Book Cover
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 1
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 2
    • Tracking the Teak Lord 3
    • Review of Teak Lord
    • Teak Talk
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Periodicals >
      • A Culture Blossoms
      • Black, White and Blue
      • Deep in the Delta
      • Strange Town
      • Blissful Bloom
      • The Wonder of Water
      • Striking Signs
      • A Hike up Chiang Dao Mountain
      • Quirky Chiang Mai
      • Trailblazer
      • On the Road to Rio
    • Digital content
  • Portfolio
    • Searching for Shangri-La
    • Travel
    • Biography
    • Nature
    • Buddhism
    • Photography
    • Article List
  • Short Stories
    • Beyond the End of the Road
    • The Green Monkey's Tale
    • The Red Lion's Tale
    • Eruption in Ethiopia
    • First Flight
    • As Dawn Breaks over Choroni
    • The Hungry Eye
    • On Spirit Mountain
  • Biography
    • Ron's CV