fusion58

On 11/14/2019 at 6:13 AM, canuckamuck said:

It is amazing that Dawkins has worked out with certainty, what God must be. What a clever chap.

Dawkins is simply stating the obvious, i.e., that invoking a designer god to explain organized complexity requires an infinite regress of teleological "proofs."

At least it's obvious to those readers who traffic in logic, at any rate.

On 11/4/2019 at 2:38 AM, beautifulthailand99 said:

She is not Buddhist which requires as a minimum observing the 5 precepts. This is the case for most 'Thai Buddhists'. I suspect her religion may be to show face to her friends , family , community , monks she is a 'good person' and/or has a belief in supernatural powers that praying to the Buddha could give such as luck and good fortune. Unfortunately when offered temptation she fell back to the default religion of most Thais which is a love of money. You haven't said what is your relationship is with her but I would forget the religious element of her hypocrisy - she may be in real need so her theft may be her way to surviving. What has been your dialogue with her to date and her response if you don't mind me asking. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts

 

Many Thai Buddhists I know who view themselves as "devout" have never heard of the Five Precepts or even read a single sutra.

Their sole focus seems to be on "merit-making" which, in this case, translates to providing support to the monastic Sangha in the hope of attaining a favorable rebirth. Sadly, that's where Buddhism ends for these people.

On 11/4/2019 at 2:54 AM, PatOngo said:

Good post. Buddha would cry under his bodhi tree if he could see how the precepts have been convoluted in this country. The religion here is Bahtism,

they worship Lord Baht!

Indeed.

Aside from the fact that there are scores of temples and Buddha images, I've yet to find anything Buddhist about this country.

On 11/8/2019 at 2:40 PM, Hal65 said:

I am curious if Japan and Korea have already eliminated, or raised the requirements quite high for retirement visas.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm almost certain neither of those two countries offer anything like a retirement visa for foreign nationals.

On 11/10/2019 at 11:53 AM, Tagged said:

The real question is who created the creators who created us, if there is such a thing as creators. 

 

We will never know

Indeed.

Richard Dawkins is harshly critical of intelligent design in his book The God Delusion. In this book, he contends that an appeal to intelligent design can provide no explanation for biology because it not only begs the question of the designer's own origin but raises additional questions: an intelligent designer must itself be far more complex and difficult to explain than anything it is capable of designing.^[120]

... A designer God cannot be used to explain organized complexity because any God capable of designing anything would have to be complex enough to demand the same kind of explanation in his own right. God presents an infinite regress from which he cannot help us to escape.

On 9/27/2019 at 3:54 PM, papa al said:

papa's personal experience negates that idea.

Yep.

So does deductive reasoning.

That is, if Thai soapies "won't accept non-Asian clients," then why do some of them have a farang surcharge which is stated plainly in their price lists?

On 11/11/2019 at 9:39 AM, webfact said:

Dr Sakchai told Naew Na that the figures showed that problems on the nation's roads were a big problem for society and were just getting worse. He urged campaigns aimed at encouraging road safety to continue.

Doesn't the good doctor understand such campaigns are like pissing in the wind insofar as an acknowledgement that his/her driving skills are less than exemplary constitutes a loss of face for the average Thai?

I finally just gave up.

I registered back in May. My registration was approved about six weeks ago. I never received username and password. I tried to resubmit everything, but I just got a message saying "this address has already been registered."

What a joke!

On 11/4/2019 at 5:20 PM, fanof3d said:

Who created us?

Your question rests on the foregone conclusion that humans and/or other natural phenomena are artifacts or constructs like wristwatches or washing machines.

This is an obsolete idea which was dispelled by modern physics some time ago.

On 10/25/2019 at 11:11 PM, Yinn said:

“We know that foreigners love the look of rural, Isaan women. If we chose a Chinese-looking Bangkok face, we wouldn’t be able to sell the film,” Waller said.

Silly generalization.

It would be more accurate to say that Isaan women are much more readily available to the average falang than their Chinese-looking counterparts.

On 11/4/2019 at 3:30 PM, webfact said:

Kyodo News quoted a US diplomat as expressing US concern with ASEAN’s “intentional effort to embarrass” President Trump by partially boycotting  the summit.

LOL!

President Pokahooker doesn't need any help in the embarrassment department - he's doing a bang-up job all by himself.

Land of Shakedowns.

On 10/10/2019 at 8:39 AM, Nyezhov said:

 

You're one of the lucky ones.

I registered in May, and I've yet to receive a username and password.

Do they exist?

So far, my searches for Thai translations of prajnaparamita literature, e.g., the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, etc., have all come up empty.

I realize Theravada Buddhism is the principal tradition in Thailand, but I've also encountered Thai people who have shown an interest in learning about the Mahayana and Vajrayana paths. In addition to anecdotal examples I might give, I recently watched a YT video which documented a Thai Buddhist group's visit to India to hear the Dalai Lama speak and to engage in a Q&A session.

Traveling around Thailand, I have also noticed occasional signs of Mahayana (Chinese, I'm assuming) influence, e.g., temples and shrines to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, but I've yet to meet a Thai who has any knowledge re: the traditions or sutras associated with these figures.

At any rate, thanks in advance to anyone who might have info to share.

On 9/12/2019 at 11:37 PM, Briggsy said:

The "devout Buddhism" is to gain merit for herself and perhaps her children so that she/they "have good luck", "get money" or are reborn "with higher status". As an earlier poster intimated, it has little to do with [Christian] morality.

Or Buddhist, for that matter.

14 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Poor girl, You've probably put her off Farangs for life ????

Which is to say he did the rest of us a solid.

I registered back in May. Got the “registration successful” update about a month ago. I’ve yet to receive a username and password. What a <deleted> farce!

45K?

Christ on a lunch box - my rent is more than that!

On 9/10/2019 at 6:10 AM, jonclark said:

WUtter claptrap. Thailand's terrorism is entirely domestic. The bombs and murders in the southern three provinces are not carried out by a family of 4 from Dorset upset with the price of pad thai. 

 

Thailand needs to monitor its own people first before it points accusing fingers at foreigners. 

^

This!

On 9/12/2019 at 11:57 AM, webfact said:

He was tight lipped about exactly what these would entail saying there were many things to consider such as the economy, tourism and national security. 

LOL.

I always have to chuckle when they invoke "national security."

If the TM30 requirements are about national security, then why wait until four years after the Erawan Shrine bombing to implement the changes in Bangkok?