Guest lazyphil Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 <<To LP: this is not our world, that is what is fucking fascinating about traveling>> I asked my Mrs like KS and she had no clue to what this was. Yes its our world what are you talking about fella. I have seen plenty of Thai life with all respect to you including the cremation of one brother in law which was a very moving and facinating experience. Yes I'm interested to learn and read about this and just because I find it horrible doesn't mean I disrespect it. Get out of my skin???? I've procreated with a Thai, lived in the slum, helped a family out of it, ate all the weird food, sat next to a dead monk in a glass casket laying in state as I was eating Pad Thai at the temple in Pathum Thani where I saw my other brother in law become a monk three years before. I love Thai culture and stuff and have been in the heart of it!!....but I stand by that boiling human bones is very odd and has nothing to do with western outlooks, thats a cliche kopout! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 web page Second pic is a Thai 'nun' (female monk) who is going to be used in some ceremony (she's dead, of course). Talked at length with gf about this tonight. Confirmed everything Fly has said here, although not nearly as informed as him. She said are old customs, but still practiced there, on a fairly regular basis. Nun (I didn't even know they had female monks in Thailand) in pic, is near her home town of Ang Thong, not far from BKK (2-3 hours). Pieces of her body were cut off by various monks, and thought to be very sacred. FYI....top pic is of two Myanmar girls who broke into a house a house, and killed two people ( 1 a baby) while robbing. White powder on their face, is common for Burmese girls, as my gf says. Some apparently walk down the street like this. I'm facinated by this. I know is common in Thailand during Songkran, but I'd love to know what is the deal with this in Myanmar, and it's significance? 3rd pic is a lady who went to an out-house bathroom, and was atacked by a boa constrictor snake. Snake ate her hand, and was rescued from death, by arraiving police, and film crew. G'f has been adamate that people in Thailand are actually eaten, and swollowed by these snakes. She sent me a pic not long ago, of a snake cut open, with a human body inside. I thought at first, was staged, but appearenty not. Video of this woman's ordeal will be on the internet next week. :: I'll post here, when I get the link. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 HI, "White powder on their face, is common for Burmese girls" Fairly common for many Thais as well. It supposedly cools the body. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 those things were shown in "luang ching pan jor" - a great TV program here. all the weird shit, and lots of crime. as far as i know the whitish yellowish powder burmese girls (and other ethnic minorities such as the missus occasionally) like to apply to their faces are herbal cosmetic powders to soften and whiten the skin. and yes, snakes eating humans happens occasionally all over south east asia. i have seen the incident you talked about on TV, the old lady had a shit in the toilet. the snake was about 4,20 meters long (i don't think big enough to eat a human). the snake swallowed her hand and was curled around her hand and one leg, and was somehow stuck there (as was the lady). the old lady had only minor injuries on her hand from the teeth of the snake. >>>Nun (I didn't even know they had female monks in Thailand) in pic<<< there is only one ordained female monk here in thailand (maybe by now a few more) wearing yellow robes. i have met her once, a very interesting and nice lady. she was ordained in sri lanka and has a very interesting biography. she for example has studied in the famous shantiniketan university in west bengal/india, and speaks english with an indian accent. the nun in question here was a white robed not fully ordained nun. after the photos appeared in the media, and created a brief shitstorm including groce accusations that the nun was murdered and eaten in the temple, they went to investigate the reality, and of course what came out was that all was perfectly alright, following thai buddhist traditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 another interesting, and very horrific, incident shown at the same "luang ching pan jor" was a recent incident where a moneylender ordered her look nongs to cut the hand of one of her debtors, a lady selling fish in the market. she then rushed to the hospital with the cut off hand, which the attackers have thrown into a waste basket. unfortunately the wound got infected and the doctors were not able to reattach the hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Hi, >>>>those things were shown in "luang ching pan jor" - a great TV program here. all the weird shit, and lots of crime.<<< Yes...I get a full report every day. >>>>>and yes, snakes eating humans happens occasionally all over south east asia. i have seen the incident you talked about on TV, the old lady had a shit in the toilet. the snake was about 4,20 meters long (i don't think big enough to eat a human). the snake swallowed her hand and was curled around her hand and one leg, and was somehow stuck there (as was the lady). the old lady had only minor injuries on her hand from the teeth of the snake.<<<< As I said, quickly responding reporters were quick on the scene, and shot a video of the whole thing. Not up on web yet, but is due to be posted by next week. >>>>there is only one ordained female monk here in thailand <<< My gf's sister went to do this. She only lasted 4 days. Two types, from what tirak says. One shaves head, the other doesn't. The one that doesn't, wears a white robe (don't know about the other). Very strict. Cannot eat past afternoon (which caused the demise of sister-in-law ), etc. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 [color:"red"] But my gf has lived there her whole life, and woud have no idea what you are taking about. Can that just be chalked up to a , "Thirst of knowledge"?, on your part? Sorry...not meaning to pry. Just courious. [/color] HT, I just read some of the posts and I will try my best to give you some information here. First: Unclaimed bodies- What Fly described about the "cleaning up" unclaimed bodies are correct. The bodies are boiled to get rid of the flesh so they can cremate the bodies and people who do this feel that they are doing a great merit. A great merit is achieved from "giving proper burial/cremation in this case". Second: Disect bodies in temples- With my limited knowledge, the bodies are processed so they can have skeltons to pray/meditate to understand one of the Buddhism deep(and hard to understand) subject of "plong sankhar or anatta" - which means (my interpretation - our bodies without skin is just guts and bones which is supposed to make us less greedy and stop us from getting carried away with our lust. The bodies used to be done by a hospital at one time to the best of my knowledge but I guess this is better for them to see the real thing? :(Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Thanks Jasmine. Fascinating stuff. Did you ever witness, growing up there? So monks in pic are really not sadistic monsters? They really believe they are providing a great service, which great merit will be bestowed upon them, for doing? That would explain the appearant jubilation on the face of the man, holding the head. Maybe hard for a westerner to comprehend, but I am getting my head around this. At first sight, would seem as a rouge bunch of monks, killing people for cannibalistic rituals. Thanks for your insight, as always. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Hi again, plong sankhar. So the skin holds significant value? More so, than just bones and guts? Or are the bones, more significant? HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 >>>With my limited knowledge, the bodies are processed so they can have skeltons to pray/meditate to understand one of the Buddhism deep(and hard to understand) subject of "plong sankhar or anatta" - which means (my interpretation - our bodies without skin is just guts and bones which is supposed to make us less greedy and stop us from getting carried away with our lust.<<< lots of different methods of performing those meditations. can reach from the usual method of meditating using photos of corpses up to a nowadays outlawed but still common technique, sitting over a long period of time in many sessions on a decomposing corpse. and all in between. as you said the aim is to stop feelings of lust, as one monk explained me, that he was taught when ever he has feelings of lust coming up he visualises the object of his lust aging, dying and decomposing. also the loss of fear of death, fear of malevolent spirits and such are benefits of that particular meditation. in the tantric tradition (both hindu and buddhist) where the main emphasis is put on transformation of energies for spiritual development, practicioneers make use of the energies derived from those particular meditations. fascinating is the extreme left handed tantrism, especially the aghora cult, where those meditations are brought to unbelievable extremes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.