Jawnie

Hilarious what passes for news, especially about YL and Thaksin. The Nation has been spinning the 'Thaksin clone' lie since the moment YL announced for office. It doesn't really matter if she gets advice from him...that is her privilege as PM, she can get advice from whomever she wishes. All Thais knew she was Thaksin's sister and they voted for her anyway. The Nation: get over it...move on.

This article is just one more example of Thais being poor sports and bad losers.

Well at long last, the younger population are seeing the damage that their greedy seniors are doing. Lets hope that they can do something................maybe form a party on Anti Corruption. There are plenty of young people suffering from corruption

Yeah, it is very much to be hoped that initiatives like this can succeed and grow.

Agree completely. Moreover, these students should be demanding that anti-corruption efforts include under-cover sting operations. In Thailand, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Sting operations are ideal for Thailand and no one would see it coming - they really work. I'm sure there's plenty of people who would cooperate, it doesn't take an army, only a few truly committed individuals.

I'm guessing you had a good connection with a local practise oriented sangha when you were in the west and that's what you're missing.

To be honest I've never expected to have that in Thailand, I've never expected to have the fellowship of like minded people which is possibly one of the reasons why I've never been willing to move here permanently.

Thailand (and SE Asia in general) is a great place to do retreats as you've pointed out, and while I've met some good Thai Buddhists I don't think any have the slightest idea what really motivates a farang to practise Buddhism. Even the retreats are very different than in the west, much less opportunity to really talk about things.

I think you should follow the Buddhas advise and be an island/lamp unto yourself, don't expect to have the support of like minded people in Thailand while still making the most of the opportunities you can.

Interestingly enough, I started my practice after reading a book (probably out of print) by Stephan Levine called A Gradual Awakening. That put me on the path. As far as having like minded individuals around me, man...I've live a good part of my life in rural Christian Bible Belt areas totally devoid of anything "heathen"

Years later I came across Being Dharma with was a compilation of talks by Ajahn Chah from Wat Nong Pah Pong, and through his compassion for all humans, even us Farangs, establish Wat Pah Nanachat in Eastern Issan.

Now this is the type of monk I'm looking for. Not some English speaking Dharma master, but a simple monk who is willing to allow us farang to bridge that gap -- and to help us do it. So who is my teacher -- Ajahn Chah although many years after his passing. But it's through my readings of the translations of his talks that lead me to Dharma as I understand it. And it's my own personal meditation practice that I've verified the "truth" of his teaching. sila, samadhi, panna. Breathe. Be aware. That simple.

As far as being a "lamp unto myself" outside of the Sangha, here is something I wrote to someone else and feel free to comment on it:

Now Sangha. Why didn't Buddha just teach the Double Gem: Buddha and Dharma? Isn't that enough? The Buddha verified the path, and the Dharma shows us the way. So we should all be able to go forth individually and walk the path. Buddha did it -- why not everyone else? But wait? What did Buddha do after enlightenment?

What did he do? Walk around in a state of enlightenment like a spiritual singularity. Did he teach the concept of Dharma and then tell his disciples to go walk the road alone?

To "be a lamp unto yourself", of course. Meditation...Samadhi an individual journey. No one can do it for you. All the Dharma talks in the world aren't going help you evolve. But -- humans are social creatures. Why didn't Buddha just say: "Well, here's that path. Now strike out on your own, find a nice cave or forest, and "GOOD LUCK TO YOU."

That's not what happened. The Sangha happens, the third leg of the Triple Gem.

If we are human, we can walk that path. If we are human, we should be accepted into the Sangha. If there are wise Thai monks still in existence in this country, such as Ajahn Chah, then there should be Wats like Wat Pah Nanachat in Northern Thailand, Central Thailand, and Southern Thailand -- not just Eastern Issan.

I just believe in my heart that the gap between Thai and foreign Theravada Buddhists is a bridgeable gap. Funny! I've been asking myself the same question over and over since I came here -- "What is my purpose in life." And tonight I think the answer just occurred to me.

I have researched this a bit, and I believe that originally as set up by Buddha, the term "Sangha" referred only to the community of monks and nuns. It appears that the term has evolved in some quarters and today some people use it to refer to lay Buddhists also. This may partly explain why the OP and others, chiefly foreigners, half-way expect the monks to teach them advanced Buddhism deeper and deeper. Traditionally, the lay folk just kept the precepts and gave alms and support to the monks, for the most part anyway. This is still the case in today's Thai Buddhist society.

For what it's worth.

The lay sangha is just that, lay - without monk/nun vows. In any case, there are vows for the lay sangha as well. Of course, traditionally is considered best if one takes full ordination.

I don't know why they don't change it to

"sentenced to an appeal".

How about, "Sentenced to a sentence?"

Airline-passengers usually have a right to privacy & service from the staff, this lady was clearly over-the-edge in her reaction, in this case.

But if the situation were reversed, and some Red-Shirt supporter posted or did something similar, writing about another son/daughter of the amart-establishment, rather than someone in the 'S-clan', would there be equal condemnation or outrage ? I rather suspect not.

Straw-man argument at best. It is not the reverse situation so it's not possible to say, much less make accusations on something that did not happen.

The flight attendant was clearly out of line. When she is working she is a representative of the company, not her political party, whatever that might be. Temporarily removing her from service is the right response. It may not be a 'firing offense' but she's revealed herself as somewhat unstable and unreliable as a hostess. Shame on her!

Seems the flight attendant has lost her perspective on things.

Odd one out?

Is it Ms.Shinawatra? She's the only one who's a puppet representing a corrupt and convicted criminal. All the others are just puppets representing corrupt people who haven't been convicted?

Oh god, here we go again. The PM has the right to consult with anyone she wishes. This ongoing 'puppet' bile is just a straw-man argument. Everyone knew Thaksin was her brother and they voted for her ANYWAY. The idea that she is a puppet is soooo sophomoric.... Get over it, your guy lost....move on.

Autosuggestion? Does that mean we have two minds? One that produces annoying thoughts, and one that controls them by autosuggestion? Or has the one mind split into two minds, a producer of thoughts and a controller? If we have only one mind, autosuggestion to control ones thinking seems not really possible, as the very same mind would have to do both.

It is not a case of 'multiple minds'. Rather, it is that the mind manifests in various ways: thoughts, emotions, dreams, sensations, etc., so it's not a duplicity.

The idea of throwing away unwanted thoughts has a deep judgemental aspect to it which renders it unhelpful. Who is to say which thoughts should be unwanted and wanted? We, the practicioner, the Buddha, your mother, father, teacher, the guy on tv, etc? If you engage in such a judging and selection process, you are quite far from meditation and moving further away with each attempt to categorize thoughts.

Whey should they have more insight? If Somchai, the local bike mechanic, enters monkhood, shaves his had, dresses in orange and walks down the road in the morning, he still is the same old Somchai. Where would any insight come from? This is a rather romantic idea, that Thai monks have some special insight. After a while, they might memorize a certain vocabulary, but this should not be confused with any real insight. Talk to a monk, and you will find out by yourself very quickly.

This is quite true, if the monk is not truly practicing the dharma, if he has only become a monk for a short period of time as a social custom.

However, if the monk's motivation is correct and he is truly practicing the dharma, he will in fact have knowledge helpful to others. It really depends on the monk.

It also depends on the motivation of other person. If the other person sees monks as ordinary with nothing special to offer, then even the Buddha himself has nothing to offer that kind of person. But, if the other person has faith and devotion to the dharma, then every living being becomes a teacher.

No, you can't just throw away thoughts to the extent necessary as a Buddhist practicioner. If it were so simple and possible, all Buddhist masters would teach this, including the Buddha...but that's not the case.

My guess is that the research is very superficial to the extent that, okay, the subjects' thoughts went away temporarily but what about the next day, week, year, etc.? Nor does the research indicate attempts to use the same technique for thoughts about more substantive issues such as love, family, job, self-imagine, world view, money, etc.

You said you've been Buddhist for a long time - are you a Theravada, Mahayana, or a Vajrayana practicioner? If you are either Mahayana or Vajrayana (like me) you are definitely on your own as there a a very, very few such practicioners in Bangkok, etc. If you are Theravada, Thai Buddhism is that also, but in a very strict sense. That is, no slipping in Mahayana or Vajrayana concepts such as the bodhisattva ideal or that enlightened masters other than Shakyamuni have appeared in the world, or the need for a person guru. Thai Buddhism is very individualistic in this regard.

Language is a huge problem as is culture. Thai culture is not as friendly as the "Land of Smiles" marketing slogan would indicate. Chances are you'll never integrate to the extent you wish. While, as one poster says, your must make your own way anyway, a teacher with whom you have an affinity and with whom are able to communicate is essential. That may be extremely difficult in Thailand. If you wish to stay and practice Thai Buddhism, you'll need find a temple with an English-speaking teacher.

You are over-reacting. It is not 'idiot compassion', it is not any kind of compassion. It is common knowledge that international travel provides excellent, life-change experiences of other cultures, regardless of the motivation. It will be fun, too!

I was gonna go to this but I forgot.....

Pitak Siam lost to common sense and democracy !

For quite some time already a growing number of us are saying that the posters mentioned above ^^ and those who support them are getting increasingly out of touch with the feelings of the large majority of the Thai population.

There is no arguing with the idea of he majority of the Thai population, evident by the last election 18 months ago. But Jurgen as you know a large minority of the population (the 10 million + Dem voters) feel abandoned by this government. Those feelings will not end soon and unless PTP government is able to provide some meaningful policies and direction and treat all Thai as equals, as opposed to one rule for the reds and another for everyone else. (and don't nit pick you know its true) the fractured nature of Thai politics will remain (just as it did under the Dems) and protests will become more frequent, violent and larger (just as it did under the dems)) The writing is on the wall.

Majority rule, doesn't equal you do what we say, want, or tell you to. That is democratic slavery.

Yingluck came to power with the promise of bringing reconciliation to Thailand - clearly she has failed as she (and i blame her advisers on this one) sought to conquer as opposed to reconcile with her opponents. This rally was a symptom of that failure. Lets just hope she learns from this.

Boonlert is a dick, but he vocalized the concerns, and opposition od an increasing number of people in Bangkok have too the direction the country is moving in (that's another topic) and as history teaches - In Thai politics you ignore fickle Bangkok at your peril.

I agree that reconcilliation has failed thus far but it is hardly the fault of the YL government alone...it went nowhere under Abhisit, too. Thais simply refuse to reconcile, to negotiate in good faith, refuse to compromise, and they are poor sports and bad losers. Moreover, they refuse to acknowledge how divisive and destructive Article 112 is. Article 112 drives much of the divisiveness in Thailand and poisons nearly everything in Thai society. Only when Thais are free to both discuss EVERYTHING holding Thailand back and can expect that the needed changes will really happen, Thailand will remain a third-rate country no one really cares about.

What a nonsense article.

George Bush one an election on a minority vote before the 9/11 It was only the second election he won on fear mongering..The reason he won an election with a minority of votes is because the United States is not a democracy any more than Thailand is. It is a Rebublic in a democracy Al Gore would have been the president and the U. S. would have been more concerned with enviormental needs that can have a much farther reaching effect on all of humanity.

Here in Thailand we use the Parlamentary system which does not need a majority of the voters to rule. It so happens that the present government does have a majority of the votes. But their number of seats is way out of proportion o the votes they got.

The article stated

"It is only in "Amazing Thailand" that factions such as yellow shirts and now Pitak Siam continue to believe that the current Pheu Thai-led government is not a legitimately elected governmen"

That is not at all what they are saying they are saying that it is a no good government. The author knows that to be true but being a PT Red Shirt sympathizer it was the only way he could think of to defend his interests.

I like the list of credits for the author.

"Dr Kuldep Nagi is a Fulbright Fellow working at the Graduate School of eLearning (GSeL), Assumption University, Bangkok. He can be contacted at: DrKuldeep [at] Live.com."

Just more proof that academics should stay out of politics they know nothing about it.

Obama won by less than 3% of the popular vote, that's hardly a majority in real world numbers. Errors in voting can be near that much. The Electoral College is an outdated thing that should be done away with if for no other reason than most people whether American or other do not understand. In this case it would have made no difference but it still needs to be stopped as it skews the figures and gives the wrong impression on how voting really was. When you look at the popular vote in the USA there is some serious facts, many states were well over 60% against Obama(I hesitate to say for Romney) and some well over 70%. In many counties in certain states over 80% against Obama and I believe some counties were right at 90% against Obama. The states that did go for Obama the % was closer than states that voted against Obama. If you look at the red vs blue map state wise or county wise for many states I believe it shows a disturbing trend of turmoil in the US elections in basic values. Also look at the Republican states to see what is produced in these states and look at the Democratic states to see the same. I make no judgement either way but looking at real % and facts it puts lots of questions in my mind and shows the internal problems in the USA that seem to linger on and appear to have a good chance to increase.

Say what you will about how narrow Obama's victory was. Frankly, if nothing else, that is the main thing that Thais can learn from the last US election. That is, the winner wins...and the losers must fall in line. The loser can certainly continue working to return their candidate to office but they acknowledge the winner and his legitimacy....and move on. That's one big difference...Thais simply don't know how to move on, they are really, really poor losers.

Thailand will always be a third-rate, backwater country in the eyes of the international community as long as Thai society gives legitimacy to protests calling for the removal of the elected leader, military takeover of the government, and the suspension of democratic principles. Oh, and let's not forget that pesky Article 112, les majeste, which is probably the least democratic ideal in Thai society today.

The US is a pretty easy target these days when discussing democracy and governance - it's definitely at a transtion point. But the fact is that the US has the best system of law for individuals. The law still protects the individual in the US and one individual can still make a difference there. It as well has the 1st Amendment and the rest in its Constituion, which are subject stict testing all the time. And this system of law and governance still holds great legitimacy. Indeed, it is because of its freedoms and respect for the individual under that law that makes the US first among equals.

It is quite easy to critize the US about money in politics, etc., but the monied class has already taken over Thailand, much more so than in the US. Just look at the legal minimum wage in Thailand, it is a disgrace. I'm still flabberghasted that Thailand actually has billionares while 100,00s of educated, working Thais make less than $1,000 US a month. While the US is slowly being taken over by business interests, it is the business interest which have dominated Thailand from the start, strangling real progress in democracy (which Thais know nothing about) and progress in raising the living standards of all Thais.

All these coup supporters and hypocritical expats who bitch about "corruption" by the YL administration and that she is a puppet for Thaksin, I say: so what? Or, more to the point, it doesn't matter.

First, prove the corruption in a bona fide legal setting.

Second, so what if YL gets advice from Thaksin? She can seek advice from whomever she wishes. Not only that, of course everyone knew she would seek his advice and counsel from him as PM. Eveyone knew all of this but they elected her ANYWAY.

So, it really isn't relevant and material that she gets advice from him.

That's how democracy and elections work.

Get over it.

"...while the police chief expressed fears the protesters may try to kidnap the prime minister."

Well now, that's a convenient rumor/tactic. Reds are getting mighty scared about tomorrow. Heaven forbid democracy and free speech is allowed to exist under their regime.

Are you scared or is that a rumour. Heaven help fools who think Democracy will arrive with the Yellow Shirts

So you are saying there is no democracy here?

There is democracy here, but you just can't talk about certain things, write about certain things, show certain things on tv, or ask certain questions, or expect any politician to listen to the people or act in any lawful or accountable fashion...all for fear of going to jail for a long time. Other than that, everything is peachy.

My Thai friends laugh at me when I pay full price online for software..... I'm from the US and that's just how I'm wired, it's stealing but they think I'm a fool.

I see no mention in the article about any type of undercover or sting operations. Nothing will change until that type of police work is undertaken.

Of course, the police could always go to MBK, Pantip, Fortune Tower, etc., ask for verifications of authenticity from the vendors there, and shut down those who can't provide it. Now, wouldn't that be something?

The truth is much different that all of this. Sting operations and raids at the malls would put people out of work, cause empty retail space, and put a serious dent in tourist dollars spent.

Seriously, Thai officials: nobody believes you when you say you are going to do something about this. It makes you look stupid when you act like we are stupid and are going to believe you. Haha....

Like a number of other posters, it's naive to think Thai Buddhist are somehow above stealing simply because they are Buddhist. It's the same for all people and religions, that is, people don't really follow even the basic or core teachings of their religions.

The same way as the US government allows arms sales around the world by US manufacturers while claiming to be a Christian country, it's the same for Thailand which operates the only tobacco company in Thailand and openly tolerates prostitution throughout the country. The karma will eventually express itself for all of this, just maybe not during our lifetimes.

I'm in Bkk and need to send about $500US to my US bank account. What's the best, cheapest method to do this? I guess I could FedEx or UPS actual dollars, but that seems slow and old-fashioned. TIA for any help.

Abhisit's time would be better spent helping school kids learn and improving Thai schools and also at keeping young girls from getting pregnant too early so they all don't have to spend their entire lives relying on or listening to losers like him.

"Thai Opposition seeks to impeach PM Yingluck, two key ministers"

Sounds like a slander suit in the making.

In other news in Thailand, the children are still at the bottom in educational achievement and English speaking and Thai girls continue with one of the highest rates of pregnancy for teenagers. And the Army remains impervious to accountability for shooting civilians nearly three years ago. Pictures (of the MPs) at 11:00.