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Monks


Julian2

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How do you address a monk? There's a cheery one comes in for his cigarettes when I'm having a beer in the village and always says hello. I asked the Mrs but she was a bit 'Thai' about it and said she didn't know, she didn't normally talk to monks, meaning of course she didn't want me talking to them.

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In my experience, like many other social aspects of Thai life, proper usage of titles like Luung Pho depends on many complexities that many of us do not readily recognize, such as age, status, the monk's position in the hierarchy, etc.

 

Unless you follow someone else's example of using such titles for the monk in question, it is best to use generic thaan. The word is used the same as the word khun, only it is more respectful. If you know the monk's name, e.g. Buntaa, you would adress him as thaan Buntaa.

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Is that Arjan, same same teacher Flash?

 

 

It comes from "ajariya" -- Sanskrit or Pali (forget which). In the not so distant past, all teachers were monks. The term for a teacher -- khru -- comes from "guru".

 

Generally speaking, an ordinary teacher with say A level type qualifications is a khru. A teacher with a university degree is called acharn/ajarn (however you want to spell it.) But nowadays virtually all teachers have at least a BEd/BA/BS. Those teaching primary school will still probably be called khru, and those teaching secondary or higher will be called acharn.

 

When I came to Thailand in the 1970s, being an acharn carried a lot of respect, since only about 1% of the population had a university education. With all of today's rachaphats and the private "universities" cranking out graduates, perhaps 10% have some sort of degree and the title acharn carries a lot less weight for teachers.

 

 

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In my experience, like many other social aspects of Thai life, proper usage of titles like Luung Pho

 

It is "Luang Pho" as flashermac also pointed out, used about a high ranking monk like the head of a temple etc. Luang in this context meaning great.

Same word as in Sanam Luang, Nai Luang etc.

 

cheers

hn

 

 

cheers

hn

 

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