Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    THE Buddha amulet, which is called plah keang in Thailand, has been a tradition for Buddhists in Thailand since ancient times. People believed that wearing an amulet would either endow the owner with a protective quality or herald good luck and fortune.

    These days, when high-profile Chinese celebrities have turned to wearing the amulet as a fashion statement, the market in China has begun to take off. It is hard to say whether wearers are “believers” or “just trying to look good,” but there is definitely nothing trendier than these colorful and mysterious Thai Buddha amulets.

    In Shenzhen, the number of stores selling the amulets and other Buddhist products from Thailand has increased sharply since last year. “In the neighboring area of my home, three stores have opened on one street since last year,” said a plah keang lover surnamed Wang.

    It is said that there was once a renowned monk in Thailand who was invited by the king to go to the sea area when a deadly drought afflicted the nation. Unable to bring the large Buddha statue to his home, he dreamed of the Buddha statue telling him he could make a small model of it with the clay from the temple, and to bring that instead. He did so and the drought subsided. The king then asked him to make more and spread them among the common people.

    Most of the amulets can be made from metal or precious stones. Today, a majority of them are still a combination of clay and incense ash. They have different designs and colors, each of which are said to help fulfill their wearers’ different wishes.

    Average prices for the amulets sold in Shenzhen are about 2,000 to 5,000 yuan (US$325-813). “Some very special amulets made by renowned Thai monks can be sold for 20,000 to 50,000 yuan or even millions of yuan. Even the cheapest amulets are about several hundred yuan,” said Wang.

    The online shopping website taobao.com also shows how prosperous the market is — altogether there are nearly 4,000 shops selling Thai amulets, and the most popular shop has sold over 7,000 pieces in the past month.

    Similar amulets to those worn by celebrities are often sold for a higher price. Other factors such as the fame of the designer or the age of an amulet can decide whether an amulet sells for several hundreds or millions of yuan.

    Many businessmen see big business opportunities from the trend. “Most of the amulets sold on the mainland are not really made by special monks. In a wholesale market for tourism-products in Thailand, you can see Chinese people buying many amulets at only about 10 yuan per piece. These people take the amulets back and sell them for thousands of yuan,” Wang said.

    In Wang’s opinion, the Buddha amulet is more of a “religious belief.” “Many Buddhists in Thailand wear the amulet inside their clothes. It is something religious, and so it is better to keep it close to your heart. But nowadays many wearers don’t even believe in Buddhism and only wear it because it is fashionable,” he said. “Some only buy them for the purpose of showing off their wealth, and don’t even care whether or not the amulets have been blessed.”