above Villagers commute
to their homes near Wat
Khun Samut TrawatBRENT LEWIN is an award-winning Canadian editorial and
commercial photographer based in Bangkok, Thailand. His
work has been featured in National Geographic, the New
York Times and Time, among others. More of his work can be
viewed on his site, http://www.brentlewin.com.“Families used to have homes
there. You see, when we hurt Nature,
Nature comes back to hurt us”challenge to try and fix up the temple,” recalls Somnuk.
He ended up staying for four months, and not only revived
Buddhist life in the community, but began renovations on
the temple, raising the floor of the prayer room by almost
a metre to protect it from flooding at high tide.
After seeing that Somnuk was capable of living in the
temple, the residents invited him to stay full time. “I didn’t
have anything else to go home to, so I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Somnuk adds, laughing.
Somnuk admits that it’s difficult to explain his reasons
for staying. “I feel very removed from my former life, but here
I have freedom: no family, no wife, no distractions, no weight
on my back. My only goal in life now is to keep this temple
alive. It’s important for the community, since they’ve already
lost so much and face many challenges, and it makes me feel
good to be a part of something positive.”
Over the course of 15 years, Somnuk and volunteers have
helped by planting mangrove trees around the perimeter of
the temple, as well as building a stone barrier that protects the
grounds from the waves. An undated photograph showing
powerful waves battering the temple hangs in the prayer room
as a reminder of what he is up against.
While logistically challenging to visit, Wat Khun Samut
Trawat sees a handful of mostly Thai visitors every year
who are keen to marvel at this temple in the sea and leave
donations for its ongoing renovations and protection.
After a peaceful night spent at the temple under the stars,
Somnuk gestures at the sea that surrounds us on all sides and
laments: “This all used to be a forest.” Shaking his head and
pointing to the vast stretch of the Gulf of Thailand before us,
he says: “Families used to have homes there. You see, when
we hurt Nature, Nature comes back to hurt us”. ag