Wat Phanan Choeng,the Buddhist temple on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River makes me wonder. The temple which was built in 1324, some 26 years before the city of Ayutthaya was officially founded, has a big gilded 19 meter high seated Buddha from 1334 CE which King Mongkut called Phra Puttha Thrai Ratana Nayok. I remember getting down from our boat, rushing; and then someone gestured us to go into the temple where we came to this big, golden Buddha which towers over the prostrated devotees and the men who were cleaning it. I suppose the gilded Buddha was much revered. There is a story that tears flowed from its eyes to the navel prior to Ayutthaya being attacked and destroyed by Burmese in 1767 CE. I wonder about the Buddhists' views on phenomenon like this.
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