GOLD LEAFING THE BUDDHA

Whenever I go to the Buddhist temple, I would go and look at the statues that have been rubbed with gold leaf. I know that it is something good to do and that one would get blessings for it. I also discovered that in some temples there will be Buddha statues that are known to be efficacious for certain ailments – covering the back of the Buddha with gold leaf is said to heal back pain. Not satisfied I surfed a couple of sites and got the following information:

Gold in the form of a thin leaf is an item valued for its purity as a religious offering and for its power to placate spirits and request favours. Postage-stamp-size booklets of gold leaves are always on sale along with incense, flowers and candles at temples and shrines for use as daily offerings.
One way for Thai Buddhists to show their respect for a person or concept is to make merit by affixing small squares of gold leaf onto images of Buddha or other sacred objects.
Even the act of making gold leaf earns merit for individuals. Sheets of gold are pounded to .000005 of an inch. The leaves of gold are made by two poundings with wooden mallets. It takes about five hours of hammering to complete one pouch of gold leaf. Then the job passes to the delicate hands of young girls to slice up squares of 2.5 centimetres and put them on waxed paper and stacked in booklets ready to sell.
Information from: "Thai Studies Through Games" Book 2 by Assist. Prof. Wadee Kheourai.

Sold in little booklets, tiny squares of wafer-thin gold leaf are traditionally pressed on to Buddha images. In part this is done because Thais feel it is appropriate that the image is thus richly adorned, though there is a certain belief attached to the practice. If a person places gold leaf on a Buddha statue, it is believed he or she will receive certain benefits. There are three especially important places to put the gold leaf: on the mouth so that the giver will be blessed with good speech or sweet talk; on the head so as to become more wise; and on the chest over the heart to ensure a good heart in the sense of both health and kindness.
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