Thai Monks behaving badly?

[Guest]

newspaper people get things wrong rather often, especially when writing articles about events when actually not having been present (happens more often than you think), or completely inventing them.

 

i can only say that being at those sort of rites is fascinating in the extreme (especially once you got over the fist shock, and the urge to spill your guts all over the place). difficult to explain - many levels, from the voyeuristic to the cultural, a powerful metaphysical experience.

[Guest]

but then, i have to admit, it is known that black magicians (or better: plain maniacs) have murdered children for all sorts of weird purposes, out of which boiling and making a potion of the corpse is but one of the many perversions.

but that happens in many cultures, in the west as well. but personally, i would classify that as a comletely mistaken understanding of anything resembling religion, an aberation.

[Guest]

very interesting article, but it fails to mention that there is a third kind of gumarn thong, the today in present thailand most powerful one.

it is the one i have described, the naturally mummified babycorpse found generally in the graveyards of the unclaimed dead during the festivals of cleaning them up, called "ngan lang batcha".

those corpses are very rare (and only during very few festivals they are found), and they get rarer because nowadays most babycorpses are packed into plastic bags before buried (which leaves instead of a preserved corpse a rather sickening reddish brown soup emanating the worst imaginable vapours) and are treated with the utmost respect until they will be also part of the funeral. the temples where those are stored have to be extremely careful because of theft. in the black amulet market the moneys paid are for those corpses are astronomically huge.

[Guest lazyphil]

Sick fuckers if you ask me and no point to it, seems religion absovles people of any wrong doing!....I can understand Medical students needing to get familiar with the human anatomy though and people giving up their bodies for the.

[Guest]

well, as a fellow sick fucker, i have to say that i do not see any sort of "wrongdoing" there at all. therefore, no need for any absolution.

a corpse is nothing than a bit of flesh and bones, and some liquid. point. that what was once human is not contained in that vessel anymore.

and sad a religion which is so cleaned up that it only contains repetative worshipping to an imaginary god, without the deep metaphysical experience, especially the proper preparation for death - the only sure thing in life.

[Guest lazyphil]

Well thats your opinion on dead bodies, I have been to a Thai funeral of a close relation of my Mrs and I saw nothing but respect for the body, no boiling of his bones, I would imagine the family would be extremely angry if monks did what the picture showed. Bodys to anatomy depts to research for the greater good of all of us is fine, sitting around human parts like Hyenas on the savannah is repugnant, and I know about death and have seen enough, not just Thais get close up and personal with it!

[Guest]

>>>Well thats your opinion on dead bodies, I have been to a Thai funeral of a close relation of my Mrs and I saw nothing but respect for the body, no boiling of his bones, I would imagine the family would be extremely angry if monks did what the picture showed.<<<

 

 

well, you might be surprised...

it is not that the monks do that against the will of the deceased or his/her family. and i can assure you that this a very regular feature in many temples here.

also, the graveyard ceremonies are performed on ceremonies of the unclaimed corpses where the families were either not interested in the corpse, too poor, or not to find. these ceremonies are performed in deep respect for the deceased, with humor and joy so that the deceased can have a proper buddhist funeral.

 

i do not see anything "wrong" there at all, just because other cultures have different rites for their dead than us does not mean that we have any right to judge that as "repugnant" and such. would you not get pissed off when people of other cultures would deem western rites as "repugnant"?

we are not talking here about some weird secret cults and subcultures in thailand, what i have talked about is still rather mainstream, and open to everybody.

[Pescator]

Hi FlyW,

 

we are not talking here about some weird secret cults and subcultures in thailand, what i have talked about is still rather mainstream, and open to everybody

 

Sorry about being persistent, but are you talking about the boiling of babies here?

Because I for one find it very hard to believe that that is a common practise or rather mainstream as you put it.

 

Cheers

Hua Nguu

[Guest]

in those festivals it's a very practical thing. babies, adults -they are all unclaimed corpses deserving a funeral.

now, when a corpse is rotting it is in certain stages very difficult to get the flesh off the bones - hence a bit of boiling.

also, after the flesh is cut off the bones, the bones will be bioled throughly again, bleached, set out to dry, stored, and then finally given a funeral.

the only babycorpses which are not getting boiled are the gumarn thongs. when, after storing them for some time, they are given a funeral as well - they are put intact and dressed on top of the pyre.

 

it is mainstream as thais from all walks of life do partake in those ceremonies (ask your wives - some of them or their familymembers might have taken part).

[Guest]

Hi Fly,

 

Where in the F***K do you get this knowledge from?

 

I do apprieciate you sharing your brain here. I don't want to give you a swelled head, but thanks for sharing your outstanding knowledge here. You can be a real pain is the ass sometimes, but at times like these, you do redeem yourself...........a little.

 

Honestly, thanks for taking the time to post this, for us.

 

No Khon Thai I know, knows this stuff. How is it, that you do?

 

Common.....inquiring minds want to know.

 

HT