Cosmological parks, striking outdoor installations found across Thailand, bring the cosmological realms to life through immersive, three-dimensional imagery. Built alongside temples, these spaces offer visitors the opportunity to engage in devotional activities, making visiting them a meaningful experience that extends beyond their educational and entertaining properties. While the parks depict a wide spectrum of stories, ranging from episodes from the Buddha’s life to scenes from Thai literature and local history, this talk foregrounds their most striking and compelling components: the depictions of the apāya, or lower realms of woe. It traces the symbolic journey that visitors undertake through these realms, beginning at Yama’s Land, where kammic deeds are assessed, moving through Dantesque unsettling infernal zones that visualize the hells, and emerging into ghostly landscapes inhabited by wandering spirits.

By analyzing imagery, spatial layout, and both traditional and popular cultural influences, the talk shows how these parks mobilize shared knowledge and vivid visualizations to make Buddhist cosmological teachings tangible and experiential. Through this interdisciplinary lens, cosmological parks emerge as key sites for the transmission of Buddhist teachings, where the structure of the cosmos is localized and reinterpreted within Thai cultural contexts while incorporating regional vernacular traditions and symbolic motifs. In doing so, the talk demonstrates how contemporary temples actively engage modern visual culture to reinforce ideas of kamma, morality, and the perils of rebirth in the lower realms, while guiding ethical reflection and conduct among their audiences.