Brink15 Posted August 23, 2002 Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 Agreed. I met this monk at Wat Kata who was at least 60 lbs overweight, on his two meals a day, and had a huge stereo and television set. One might hope this guy was just doing his three-month obligation to make merit. Unfortunately he had been in the monkhood for years. I met this great monk at the Wat on Koh Tao. He was very well educated and had a very realistic view of the world. He sat me down and straightened me out on the difference between those on the path to enlightenment and those using time in the monastery to avoid life in the real world. He also said pretty much what you just posted. That many monks feed the people's superstitions, as they believe this is what people want. I used to have conversations with Thai friends about Buddhism and the monkhood, but I stopped. Even guys who had done the obligatory three months knew less about Buddhism than one can learn by picking up one of those little booklets at Wat Mahathat. Aside from being able to recite some Pali. If I had the time I'd like to buat for three months just to learn first hand. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted August 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 Phrased the question accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted August 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 Many commentators on all this mixing of beliefs, think actually Buddhism is merely a layer over all the superstitions and animist attitudes thais had built up hundred of years before from all the regions they came from in SEA. Thais are good formal/protocol buddhists but that's about it. Actually, Buddhism and brahmanism were the religions that suited the royal classes, and it was instituted from on high. A very lofty religion that could be fed easily to the masses while instillating a sense of awe for the rulers and upper "sangha", always deemed at the top of the Buddhist pyramid. religions always serve an earthly purpose. It is rather common these days, to have thais tell you that Buddha is like God, which is about as strong a misunderstanding you can have about B. When we meet, we'll go on over 60 minutes, no problem.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted August 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 What many monks are doing I think it is to suit the people belief. It's a shame. ----------------------------------- The goal to achieve is so life-withdrawing and individual, there was no way people could appreciate it as the Buddha taught it. I understand that the building of good moral character took over nirvana reaching. And since, basically, it is a very individual and godless "religion", it could also accommodate all the other belief systems that other religious institutions in the world are so keen to suppress as anathemic to their credo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted August 23, 2002 Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 P127, I can see it now. Seated in a corner of Woodstock. In walks one the board members. Looks in the corner and says "who are the two guys in the corner?" "Oh, that's P127 and Brink. They've been debating the philisophical foundations of Eastern religions and their applications in modern society. We've tried to send a few BGs over to interupt but they don't seem to notice." Meanwhile in the corner: "Did you see the ass on the last chick they sent over?" "Maybe she's got secratary's spread?" "I say we keep up the debate until they send some stunners our way." "So where were we? Oh, yeah so Buddha started his studies in reaction to faults he found in Brahmanism...................................................." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiGirlLover Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 To regain face you must go to the nearest karaoke bar and sing 20 renditions of "Hotel California". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted August 24, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 yes, but then i could not look at my regained face in a mirror for a long time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 Doxy wrote:>> Huh? The sooner we accede to a value system that at the extreme permits honor killings...? What exactly is 'better' about that? True. What gets me about cultural and/or religious beliefs (when saving face), is where is the correlation between the "crime" and the punishment rendered. ie, in Muslim/Arab world you can stone to death the adulterer or fornicator. Is there a matter of degree? Same sentence for a murderer and rapist as the fornicator? If that's the way it is, what interpretation of all scripture is correct. I'm not an athiest, I believe in a God, but I shy away from organized religion and it's interpretations. >>>I reckon so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 the most extreme cases of Jay rawn i've been witness to involved thais. A few years back I witnessed an incredible scene at a Pattaya beer-bar. I knew most of the BGs as well as the cashier, which made it that much more interesting. A farang customer ordered a drink and apparently got served twice, by two different BGs, which resulted in an additional bill for 40 Baht that someone (not the farang) had to pay. For the next 30 minutes, the two BGs and the cashier were yelling and screaming at each other. I thought there'd be violence. Now, I may not understand much about the Eastern concept of face. I don't know if they lost face for their behavior. But I certainly thought to myself, next time a Thai girl gives me a line about jay roon, just remember this scene... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 Brink15: I met this monk at Wat Kata who was at least 60 lbs overweight, My last Thai language teacher was a Thai monk who'd spent several years in the US. Very nice guy and a great teacher. He was very openly disillusioned about the state of Buddhism as practiced by most Thais. As well as about Thai politics, but that's another story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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