A Light That Floats Away

This weekend was a blend of happiness and sadness.

My child’s visit brightened my world and rekindled a quiet spark within me. In Thailand, the holiday of Loy Krathong (ลอยกระทง) fell on November 5 this year. It is an annual full moon festival celebrated across the country. Loy (ลอย) means “to float,” and krathong (กระทง) refers to a small decorated basket, usually made from banana leaves (ใบตอง), flowers, or other natural materials. I remember, as a child growing up in Thailand, making these krathong from banana leaves some years and from thin paper in others.

In the evening, people gather by rivers (แม่น้ำ) and ponds to float their krathong, a gentle act of gratitude and release. It is a way of honoring Phra Mae Khongkha (พระแม่คงคา), the goddess of water, thanking her for the life she sustains, and asking forgiveness for any harm we have caused to the rivers. It is also a symbolic letting go of negativity and of the burdens we no longer wish to carry forward.

My child and her friends are organizing a Loy Krathong celebration at their university (here in the U.S.), and she has been looking for a traditional Thai dress, sabai (สไบ). As I reached out to friends in the community to borrow one, I learned some sad news. There had been a robbery at LP Chalee Hermitage earlier in the week. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I was told that a group of robbers came by boat, broke into the bank area, and stole gardening tools and some cash from LP Chalee’s kuti (กุฏิ), a monk’s small dwelling.

The news unsettled me. I felt disbelief. How could such a thing happen in a sacred place? But then I thought of Loy Krathong, of how we float away what no longer serves us. Maybe, beyond the beauty of the candles and flowers, the festival invites us to look deeply at what must be released inside ourselves: fear, anger, greed, and ignorance. These are the roots of suffering that can lead to unwholesome actions.

It also reminded me of the story of Angulimala. When the Buddha encountered Angulimala, the murderer, he said, “I have stopped, Angulimala, you stop.” The Buddha’s stopping was not about stillness of the body but about a turning of the heart, a release from the cycle of anger and violence. The suffering.

Maybe that is what Loy Krathong teaches us too. To stop. To pause in the current of our lives. To let go of what drags us down. Floating a basket down the water becomes a quiet promise to begin again with lighter hands and a softer heart.

Life is not easy, but it is indeed precious. Each of us walks paths shaped by our choices and actions. For those who committed the robbery, may you find peace within yourself and the courage to stop, to let go of the harm that binds you to suffering. When we fall, we can rise again if we choose to. It may not be easy, and sometimes we need others to help us stand.

For those affected by this event, may your hearts find calm. May the Dharma be your refuge. Our community is built on love and held together by compassion. It can be rebuilt as our hearts join once more.

As the Buddha taught, “Give, even when you have little.” Generosity is not only about money or things. It is the willingness to offer compassion and kindness.

Loy Krathong