bankei

There are 2 aspects of the investing - which one your friend is doing is not clear.

Is he lending money to your/a company or

Is he buying a share of the company.

I think if it is 1, then he will pay tax on the profit (interest). It won't matter whether the company or business pays tax in Thailand. The interest paid to your friend would be a tax deduction to the company in Thailand.

If it is 2, then he would probably have to pay tax on the profit in England, but would be given a credit for tax paid in Thailand.

He might even be doing both, and may need to consider both aspects.

Bankei

I thought you couldnt take a life.

Not taking of life is a world wide concept. For ordained monks, it's either you don't or you get out..

The first Buddhist precept as well as the first Christian commandment, says not to take a life...neither says; unless, but, however... How many people, both Buddhists and Christians follow these simple rules of living? I am always asked by my Christian friends in the U.S., what would you do if; what about in time of war; what about this and what about that... I just tell them, neither the first Buddhist precept or the first Christian commandment has a clause that says; unless, but, however..

Hi Khaowong

Although the first precept says a life (in general) should not be taken, the precepts for monks states specifically that a human life should not be taken - parajika 3.

incidently I coudn't find anywhere in the Patimokha which prohibits the killing of animals (may have missed it?) but monks should also follow the 10 precepts as well as the 227 Patimokha rules.

Bankei

These are all cultural parts of the ceremony. The only important part is the actual ordination proceedure which occurs within the siima boundary with the monks.

There is a good list of hotels in Hua Hin, with prices and contact numbers, here:

http://www.huahin.go.th/en/travel_stay.asp

1. Are you suggesting that inherited negative khamma can manifest itself as genetic predisposition ensuring a high probably of further suffering and negative attachment?

No, I haven't mentioned kamma at all. I'm interested in whether a new-born baby can be considered to have kilesa. If it can, I'd like to hear the logic. If not, it presumably starts off with a pure mind.

I asked a similar question to a learned Burmese monk once - the only good monk i have ever met. And he said that as soon as babies are born they start crying due to anger. Went they come out of that warm womb into a cold and noisy world it is a shock to their system. They experience discomfort and react by crying and screaming. Then when they start sucking on mum's milk they probably experience pleasure - not to mention making their first poo which they had been holding onto for 9months.

It is probably similar in the womb. They may experience discomfort sometimes and feel some sort of anger. They may experience happiness too??

who knows.

Bankei

They probably want the Buddha portrayed as a god - the 9th incarnation of vishnu etc!

Hi

One of my friends is in a similar situation. May I ask if your friend was required to give a donation to the police for their 'assistance' and how this is worked out?

Bankei

I think it is a good idea. it lets people, who otherwise probably wouldn't, get a chance to see Buddhism in action.

$700 isn't much. It cost me much much more to ordain when I added up all the 'donations' to monks present, preceptor, preparing food, drinks, robes, bowl etc

A few points

Someone mentioned discrimination against women. In what way? There was originally a order of nuns, and there still is, though it had died out, it is now being revived in Thailand - or introduced.

Gays. I don't think there is any restrictions on the ordination of homosexuals as monks as long as they haven't had the cut.

Sickness and deformities are discriminated against in terms of ordination. probably, as mentioned, to stop people seeking ordination just for the support - though this happens everyday in Thailand with men ordaining just for the easy life.

But remember those sick and deformed could still ordain if they find monks willing to ordain them. Those ordaining could suffer minor infringements of the vinaya, but the ordinations would still be valid.

The ordinand also has the option to lie, where not visable, I think their ordination would still be valid. There are plenty of monks out there who must have lied about the question regarding debt, or parental permission. But this is probably not a good start to your life as a monk.

I would ask "are you an arahat?".

If they said yes, I probably wouldn't beleive them. If they said no, then I might think they might be. But would an arahat have to answer truthfully about their attainments?

Jobsworth

It might be better to read some primary sources rather than see a movie for information on Buddhism. There are many inaccuracies in your post. In fact, almost everything you mentioned is inaccurate.

I believe the suttas mention the Buddha had just one child, a son named Rahula.

He didn't leave his body, but died!

His last words were recorded in the Mahaparinibanna sutta as "vayadhammā sankhārā appamādena sampādethā" which can be translated into English as:

"all things are perishable, through vigilance Awaken!" http://jayarava.blogspot.com/2006/02/last-...-of-buddha.html or

All compounded things, all experiences (mental and physical), all phenomena by their very nature decay and die, and are disappointing: it is through being not-blind-drunk on, obsessed by, or infatuated with, the objects of the senses that you succeed in awakening, or obtain liberation.

Or more succinctly: All things are disappointing, [it is] through vigilance [that] you succeed.

http://www.jayarava.org/buddhas-last-words.html

Hinayana doesn't mean northern! Hina means small or inferior and yana means vehicle. So Hinayana means 'lessor vehicle'. It is a term used by Mahayanists (greater vehiclers) to describe non-mahayana schools. These days there is only one Hinayana school surviving and that is the Theravada which is popular in Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. This is sometimes referred to as Southern Buddhism.

The robes of Theravada monks vary, but are generally a yellowish colour.

Hinayana did reach China, but well before Bodhidarma (who wasn't fat!). However Mahayana flourished in China, not Hinayana.

It is unlikely that Buddhism entered Thailand via China

Funan is generally regarded as being located in modern Camdodia.

Mahayana means 'greater vehicle' and is a completely separate movement/school to Theravada!!

Theravadins didn't write down everything the Buddha said, but much of his teachings were preserved, orally, by the disciples. This was passed down, not just by Theravadins, but by monks of all schools. It was only later, around the 1st C that the teachings were written down.

The teachings are called Dhamma or Dharma. Ceremonies and rituals were developed later.

Today there are many many sects of Buddhism. roughly divided into 2, Theravada and Mahayana.

Theravada is one sect, or the only surviving sect of Hinayana Buddhism - there were traditionally 18 schools. Theravadins don't look down on their own teachings.

There are Theravada and Mahayana temples in most western countires these days.

Theravada was never known as Mahayana!!

Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka around the 3rd c BC. Well before it arrived in Thailand! No one has ever claimed Thailand introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka! More likely the other way around. There is evidence of a Sinahala sect in 12th C Thailand.

Not sure about the lions in India or Thailand or Cambodia. Aren't these African animals? But Asoka's emblem was a lion.

Not sure about the Mon running around naked either. Do you have a source?

There are some bodies of monks that are preserved in Thailand. But this are not necessarily arahats. Just popular monks whose followers had preserved their bodies. When I say preserved I mean not cremated, but it could be that followers have used some sort of preserving agent too.

Other more famous monks, whom some alleged were arahats, were cremated. Acharns Buddhadasa, Chah, Man etc.

There is nothing in the scriptures that indicated relics remain for arahats - 'saria' in Pali. In the Mahaparinibanna Sutta you will read about the Buddha's cremation, but I don't think it mentions any relics such as precious stones etc forming. I have even heard that some people have thrown things in the cremation fire so they can be found later.

So called relics are nothing special and shouldn't be worried about in my opinion. Whether they are real or appear etc won't help you in anyway so why worry about them,

Sri Lanka is Theravada too so the monks there are recognised as monks in Thailand. There are many sects and sub-sects over there, so standards vary which means some of the stricter thai monks may refuse to do certain ceremonies with them - ordinations etc as they are considered to be a different group.

Non-Theravada monks are usually acknowledged to be 'monks' but they since they follow a different vinaya they will be considered outsiders. Some of the stricter monks would even consider them to be not properly ordained, and thus not monks at all.

Remember, there was no Thai Sangha at the time of the Buddha so the only criteria to judge is by the Vinaya. The vinaya states that a preceptor must have at least 10 years as a monk. I think the the Santi Asoke monks were being ordained by Bodhirak, long ago, even though he did not have the 10 year history. But this does not necessarily mean that the ordinations performed were invalid, but that Bodhirak had committed some offences.

In Thailand I think the Thai Sangha requires all the monks wanting to act as a preceptor. There is an exam and other requirements. But there are no such requirements in the Vinaya.

There are now around 20 Bhikkhuni in Thailand. Have a look at www.thaibhikkhuni.com for the latest.

Most are now being ordained in Sri Lanka, although I think some have been ordained in Chiangmai by Thai monks.

Dear all,

I've bought a statuette from a museum in Chiang Mai recently. I wish to place it in my car but I have feedbacks & comments on placing facing the driver & facing the front from my friends (non thai)...

What is the correct placement for the mini statuette? I have a 5 headed (paprikaneh) aka Lord Ganesha statuette to be place in my car. All comments & feedbacks are welcome.

Regards,

Loh

This is not a Buddhist statue.

I see a lot of ex-Christians carrying around some mental baggage!

While googling around today I discovered that The City of Tampa, Florida's web page on Famous Persons with Disabilities lists the Buddha as an epileptic.

If that were true then he certainly wouldn't have been able to take the saffron robe according to The Vinaya which excludes disabled people from ordaining.

The Buddha wasn't ordained according to the vinaya procedures. He was the initiator so the rules didn't apply as there weren't any. Even for the first few years there was no read ordination procedure, just the Buddha uttering a few words to the applicant ('Ehi Bhikkhu') and then they were monks. Vinaya rules were only gradually laid down as the numbers of monks grew and questionable behaviour occurred.

I think, from memory, you can get divorced if you have lived separately from the spouse for more than 1 year, even if that spouse opposes it. Check out the Family Court website.

I have the good fortune of never having been a Christian, neither has any of my family or wife. But I taught my kids about santa and give them presents. To us it has nothing to do with Christianity - it is just a holiday period.

The Buddha's teaching is that suffering is caused by desire. See the 4 noble truths.

There have been plenty of sexual, and other, scandals in Thai Buddhism too.

Maybe a better word than 'sect' is lineage or ordination lineage (Nikaya in Pali, Nikaai in Thai).

There are only 2 nikaya in Thailand - Dhammayutika and Mahanikaya (in Pali).

Santi Asoke monks all belong to one of these sects. I think their former leader as a member of the Mahanikaya - but he was stripped of his robes - though i think he still claims to be a monk as he has never formally give up his ordination.

The Dhammakaya monks belong to the Mahanikaya too.

Probably you could describe both as sects as they have their own variations on the teachings - often considered unorthodox.

The Dhammayut was established in the 1800s by the prince monk Mongkut who considered Thai Buddhism at the time to be corrput and the monks not properly ordained according to correct proceedures. Mongkut sort out some Mon monks and took re-ordination (after initially ordaining under Thai monks). He was so concerned with following the commentarial regualtions on ordaining that he redid the proceedure about 9 times.

Gradually the number of monks ordaining under this lineage increased and they considered the other monks with disdain. They refused to conduct ceremonies with them. The original group of monks in Thailand came to be know of the Mahanikaya meaning the great/big group. After a while the Dhammayut was recognised as a separate sect.

So from the beginning the majority of monks was Mahanikaya. These days there are still many more Mahanikay monks and temples and this is one practical reason to ordain into this group. Monks of the 2 nikaya do mix, but generally they only stay in their own temples.

Dhammayut monks were more strict, and maybe still are, but it is hard to generalise as there are strict Mahanikaya ones (such as Acharn Cha group monks) and lax Dhammayut ones.

The teachings should be the same in each group, but there are slight variations in the wording on the ordination ceremonies. The chants used also differ slightly.

I know of one young lady who has a European boyfriend who allegedly sends her 100,000B per month. Not satisfied with this low wage, she also has other boyfriends who also send money.

Its just not fair!

Maybe the customs officers just wanted to make a bot of pocket money - like the police regularly do.