Guest Posted July 26, 2001 Report Share Posted July 26, 2001 I guess this is a question for those of you who are either expats or who get out of the bar areas and get to know and talk to the "normal" locals! As we all know, Budhism is quite visibly widespread and adhered to in the LOS - but has anyone met any atheist Budhists? I would guess that their must be at least some and am curious as to whether viewing Budhism as load of superstitious mumbo jumbo is more likely amongst the more educated Thais or is it a case that Budhism is basically accepted without question. BTW their is no real reason for this question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted July 26, 2001 Report Share Posted July 26, 2001 quote: Originally posted by David_66_UK: I guess this is a question for those of you who are either expats or who get out of the bar areas and get to know and talk to the "normal" locals! As we all know, Budhism is quite visibly widespread and adhered to in the LOS - but has anyone met any atheist Budhists? I would guess that their must be at least some and am curious as to whether viewing Budhism as load of superstitious mumbo jumbo is more likely amongst the more educated Thais or is it a case that Budhism is basically accepted without question. BTW their is no real reason for this question! David I can only talk about my own experiences. When I was living in Chonburi, my wifes sister stayed with us for a couple of years and my wife used to really take the piss out of sis-in-law for the incense, drinks at the deity etc etc..a totally non religious point of view. But.............when things are not going to well (like earlier this year when her nephew died in M/C accident) she is straight up-country to the wat in her home village. So IMHO it is not a question of belief or denial, but more a question of how much they worship on a day to day, week to week or year to year basis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2001 Report Share Posted July 26, 2001 Buddhism is actually an agnostic religion. When the Buddha was asked about the existence of a diety he 'maintained a noble silence'. However many scholars believe the Buddha was a natural atheist, since the existence of God goes against the Law of Dependent Origination, which is a fundamental Buddhist principle. Buddha is on record as saying that prayer is a waste of time. The Thais are not pure Buddhists. Thai Buddhism is a mixture of animism, Brahiminism and Buddhism with animism probably predominant. 95% of Thais are Buddhists of one kind or another. Many farangs too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2001 Report Share Posted July 26, 2001 I'm going to have a wild stab in the dark here....... O.K. One thing that I have observed as a (sometimes) ideology that replaces traditional spiritual beliefs in Asia is adherence to communism/socialism/maoism (call it what you will). I have met several people in deeply religious India who are members of leftist parties who renounce religion as a form of elitist social control. Thailand has not had an especially long tradition of leftist politics, save for the insurgencies of the 60s, 70s and eighties. In any case it only involved a few thousand hard core members, tops. As such Iwould deduce there is no other belief system likely to challenge the dominance of Buddhism in Thailand. Moreover, being only a recent entrant to the community of developed(or should that be developing?) nations, the traditions of secular scientific thought are fairly new. Most Thais I know are only a bad experience away from traditional village superstitions and as such hold to spiritual beliefs quite firmly. I am not profffessing to be any expert on Thai culture, but I am merely deducing from what I have experienced. Please correct me if I am wrong. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 Has anyone had any dealings with the Dhammakaya movement? see: http://www.concentration.org/_intro.html I think they put a lot of emphasis on meditation, but I'm not sure if they are mainstream or some kind of cult-peter quote: Originally posted by Snake Head: 95% of Thais are Buddhists of one kind or another. Many farangs too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 Dhammakaya has really got a lot of bad press, since it's sort of the Thai yuppies new faith. Yes, it's a bit removed from traditional Theravada Buddhism, but that hardly seems grounds to go after them the way the Buddhist hierarchy has. Main reason seems to be that the hierarchy is dominated by a lot of intolerant old bigots. They could do a lot better by going after the monks making aulets, magic potions, etc etc -- all of which are contrary to the Buddha's teaching. As for as the meditational practices of Dhammakaya, I've heard plenty of praise for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabii Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 David, Yes, all of them. By definition. Budhists do not believe in God. The believe in the wisdom and the teachings of the Buddha, which does not involve God or a supreme being. They do believe in 'gods', as another level of being (above earthly humans) on the path to enlightenment, but that is not the same thing as God. Regards, JEff quote: Originally posted by David_66_UK: has anyone met any atheist Budhists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Jaganath69: Thailand has not had an especially long tradition of leftist politics, save for the insurgencies of the 60s, 70s and eighties. In any case it only involved a few thousand hard core members, tops. Jaga[/QB] and what about the estimated up to a few hundred thousand killed thais, the countless sympathisers in the cities and villages in these decades who did not go into the djungles but still supported the ideals of the communists? in these days of economical and social collapse the voices of the nationalists are getting strong, but i have met many people who talked again about communism. just look at nepal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Flashermac: Dhammakaya has really got a lot of bad press, since it's sort of the Thai yuppies new faith. Yes, it's a bit removed from traditional Theravada Buddhism, but that hardly seems grounds to go after them the way the Buddhist hierarchy has. Main reason seems to be that the hierarchy is dominated by a lot of intolerant old bigots. They could do a lot better by going after the monks making aulets, magic potions, etc etc -- all of which are contrary to the Buddha's teaching. As for as the meditational practices of Dhammakaya, I've heard plenty of praise for them. would be nice if they would get rid of the guards in front of their temple who screen out the poor and let only the people in who are able to make the big donations. i have even met monks who have not been allowed entry because they came from simple forestmonastries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 Thanks all for the help to an idle query. I am now firmly on the road to enlightenment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.