joe

I was hoping to buy a copy of a buddha in Bankok, but have heard conflicting reports as to the legality of this. <BR>some people say absolutely not allowed, while others say that copies are allowed to be taken out of the country. <BR>Does anyone have first hand knowledge? <BR>will customs be able to tell if something is a copy? <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance

Meg

We just asked an antique dealer about this a few weeks ago. Buddha images are not supposed to be taken out of Thailand - period. The dealer told us that Thai people don't buy Buddha images in any form because they get theirs when they make donations to their temples. All the Buddhas that are for sale are bought by tourists or foreign dealers. The dealer said that customs rarely does anything about this - even when a foreign dealer has an entire compartment full of Buddhas. We have purchased Buddhas in one form or another on both trips to Thailand - even antiques and never had a problem.

Traci

We also were reluctant to bring out a small non-antique Budda, but were confused as little shops geared for tourists had them everywhere. We asked many shops and they said to tell customs you got it a road stand. We had no problems either. I can't speak to antique Buddhas. Hope this helps.

Rak

Hi all, <BR> <BR>I'm a Thai myself and would like to give a brief discussion on the buddha image issue in Thailand. <BR> <BR>First, Meg has got the point that Thai people simply do not buy buddha to decorate their home. Think of it this way, say, you have just built a new house and given a nice and cozy stone wall interior to your living room. The stone wall warms your heart already, but you still feel like there should be something to enhance or capture the "scene" of your living room. Would you then go out and buy and an "exotic-looking" cross and hang it in the middle of that lovely stone wall ? <BR> <BR>My guess is that, you wouldn't, unless you are a serious Christian that is. <BR> <BR>The same connection holds between Thai people and the Buddha image. Thai people see the Buddha image as sacred and religious. Hence they would prefer to be "receiving" it from their spiritual icon - the temple - rather than "buying" it from an antique dealer. <BR> <BR>Someone might have seen Thai people do actually "exchange" ( a technical term used among Thais instead of the term 'trade") a small image of something similar to the Buddha image (it's supposed to be worn with a necklace), they are not the Buddha images per se, it's actually the image of some living (or recently dead) popular monk. Most of the Thai who trades these miniature image do so because they believe it brings luck. These kind of activities are popular among middle class and lower-middle class workers who, unfortunately, has received only a limited amount of education. <BR> <BR>The law has forbidden any export of Thai Buddha because there has been a big devastation of the Buddha images all over the country during the past three decades. Some poor thieves will sneak into the ancient temple at night, use the chain saw to cut off the head part of the buddha image and sell them to the antique store for some studpid price (like, from $1000 to like, whatever, since they are not supposed to be sold anyway, it's plain selfishness) And it is these Buddha heads that is making the antique dealer a big fortune, and also a big shame to all Thai people. <BR> <BR>Therefore, the government has set up the regulation to make it illegal to take the buddha image out of the country. But yet, due to all of the corruption and the weakness in the society. These laws has never been really enforced. <BR> <BR>So I guess what I'm saying is... after you have read this story and still would like to buy that piece of ancient buddha's head from your favorite antique store, go ahead, but beware of the fakes (won't matter much anyways in terms of the sentimental value), after you have got it, fly back home, put it in your living room and turn on your TV so you can catch up on the latest travel show on the E! channel. But if you wanna truly appreciate what Buddha means and what his messages are, go to the temple, make a donation, have the buddha image been given to you and learn one thing or two about life on the other parts of the world. <BR> <BR>The customs won't bother you anyway. <BR> <BR>Ciou, <BR>Rak

Meg

Rak - I have a question about amulets. I read that there are several Thai magazines devoted to collecting amulets that provide information about the ones that are very valuable. Do you know the name of any of those magazines or some place that I could get information about how to distinguish a valuable amulet from one that is not? We enjoyed browsing the amulet markets on a recent trip and just wanted to learn more about them. Thank you for your post.

Deus

Rak: Thank you for your post. Its good to have a reminder that we are going to learn about and appreciate other cultures, not to just get souvenirs. Leave your destination with somthing more valuable than a buddah head. Leave with respect for their beliefs.

Suzanne

The issue is not only whether it's a copy or not. All Thai antiquities are protected, but dealers know what to do to get things out. But it may cost you. <BR> <BR>Thais do not block people from bringing back buddhas if they think the traveller will be using it for religious purposes. You'll have no problem with one, maybe two buddha in your luggage as long as it is a full buddha and you state that you'll be using it for religious purposes. If you try to bring back a buddha head, you'll likely have it confiscated. A buddha head is a definite red-flag because it shows disrepect. They don't like the idea of a buddha head turning into a lamp base or book end. It's still a religious object to them. <BR> <BR>Mail is another option and I've been told they don't check as rigorously as they do luggage.