Old news but interesting...

The UFO seekers flocking to a remote Thai hilltop in search of Buddhist aliens

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/thailand-ufo-buddhist-aliens

Nakhon Sawan

CNN

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A hilltop in central Thailand is attracting UFO seekers who believe extraterrestrials hover above a huge Buddha statue, send telepathic communiques, walk across nearby sugarcane fields and use a crocodile-infested lake as a portal from their planets – Pluto and Loku.

Though it may sound like science fiction, a small group of individuals claims messages from aliens arriving in spaceships include plenty of traditional religious teachings too – leading them to believe they are actually Buddhist.

It’s all happening three hours by road or rail north from Bangkok in Nakhon Sawan – which translates to “City of Heaven.”

Without all the UFO hype, it’s just a laid-back small town. But followers believe that if you meditate on Khao Kala hill, outside of Nakhon Sawan, you could hear the talkative silver creatures as voices in your head, speaking whatever language your thoughts usually chatter.

They do offer a disclaimer, saying there is no guarantee you will see UFOs or aliens, which are described as unpredictable, speaking or appearing spontaneously and disappearing after a few hours.

Government attempts to ban gatherings

The group’s activities have gotten them into trouble with Thai authorities in recent weeks.

Government officials reportedly grew alarmed when UFO seekers began crowding onto Khao Kala hill to see and talk with aliens, possibly endangering the area’s official “protected forest area” status.

Visitors are allowed to climb to the top of the hill and view the large Buddha statue and nearby “Buddha footprint,” which are places of public worship. But the law forbids anyone from living or staying overnight in such zones, including previous UFO seekers who pitched tents at the site.

In August, about 40 officials, including members of the Forestry Department, disbanded a group of Thai enthusiasts at the top of Khao Kala, and petitioned a court to ban mass gatherings there.

‘Embrace the cosmic laws’

Wassana says Pluto’s alien leader also told her that Buddha was “the greatest human mind,” and “never spoke to humans about paying attention to extraterrestrials, or about trying to communicate with them,” but did tell followers “to embrace the cosmic laws.”

Mind-melding communiqués from Pluto to Wassana include lots of advice about “karma,” “reincarnation,” “greed,” “fear” and other Buddhist concerns, she says, as well as the altruistic thought-bubble that you shouldn’t worry about Earth’s Apocalypse from nuclear war, climate change, mutant diseases or other “catastrophes.”

That’s good news in this Southeast Asian country where 95% of the population is Buddhist.

It may also give followers legal and social protection if their UFO group gets too popular. Thai authorities and society frown on anything they perceive as a cult that veers too far from traditional religious beliefs and becomes influential.

Buddhism is open to the possibility of extraterrestrials, ghosts, spirits and other non-human life, but warns against being sucked into an invisible cul-de-sac of absurd illusions.

When asked about Thais seeing UFOs and communicating with aliens, Buddhist scholar Veeranut Rojanaprapa, who has a PhD in philosophy and religion from St. John’s University in Bangkok, tells CNN Travel: “We don’t need to know if it is real or not, if it’s a fake story or it’s reality. Buddha taught us that maybe the one who says that he thinks he can directly speak with the alien, or he believes, he hears them.