troysantos

My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends.

My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke.

the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom.

The Mong never belonged to the Khmer Empire. They had their own Mong Empire in the North and Birma.

Mon and Mong are different groups. Mon (in Thai มอญ) are from Burma / Myanmar whereas the Mong (actual spelling is Hmong, in Thai ม้ง) are from China.

Wikipedia on Mon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_people

Wikipedia on Hmong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_people

Just got an ED visa at Penang for university study. No problems at all.

I bought the BE 127 some weeks ago and I like it. I compared the Vitamix and the Greentec and the only thing that this Otto didn't match up to is the warranty. Only 1 year as opposed to 7? or so years, depending on the make and model of the others. So, I suppose that means that Otto's not so sure that the quality of the parts and electronics, and the whole workmanship is on par with the others. I'm hoping though that if I use it smartly it'll last as long as the others. So far, I like the thing. Got it on sale for 2100 baht at Lotus. I forget what the original price was but I think it was at least 1000 baht discount. That's another thing, several shops and some online places had Ottos on sale. Why??

The Vitamix and Greentec can be used to make nut butters and other heavy things, right? I love peanut butter and someday will try making it.

Jaybee2 ... how much to worry? No worry at all is best for health

I've read that blending foods destroys nutrients because the foods have been exposed to the magnetic field. The negative and positive charges of the chemicals in foods (I don't mean agricultural chemicals) are rearranged by the magnetic field. I read this years ago and wouldn't have any idea where to find it. And I haven't ever searched the internet since. I don't care much either. People have been using juices and smoothies for years and I do believe it's an aid to health, so, I'm not worried.

Also, my understanding about seeds is that if we don't chew or break them up in some other way (blending / grinding) then we don't get the nutrients out of them. Chia seeds are so darned small that only a scant few are likely to get chopped up by the blades in a blender, or by our teeth if you chew them as they're in the smoothie. If you put them into the blender at the beginning with just a few other ingredients, then I suppose you'll get more of them ground up. Or, let me ask you ... do you ever notice little black specs in your poop? If not, maybe I'm wrong somewhere.

As far as chewing vs. blending, my understanding is that few of us are chewing nearly well enough to get even most of the nutrients from foods. Of course there's the chemical and physical digestion in the stomach and intestines, but my understanding is that we get much more out of the foods if they're blended. You might chew on something while preparing your smoothies.

Would you dare spit (or gently and lovingly put ) that into the blender? Apparently there's a teaching by Buddha that says if one wants to get over food cravings, chew your food, spit it out, then put that stuff back into your mouth! Doesn't work for me as I have no qualms about doing it )

I usually put a ton of fruit into my green smoothies, along with a ton of vegetables. I eat mostly raw foods. Nothing works nearly as well, for me, as ripe bananas in a green smoothie.

Could it be that TAT sees Brueneians as sources of lots of money? I think UKCanuk in post 17 alluded to this:

"Thailand fixes the currency rate against the Brunei ringgit, so it costs them more."

In fact they were playing When the Saints Go Marchin' In by Louis Armstrong of course They were singing too but I couldn't make out the words. On July 4th, too, they were pounding out Yankee Doodle Dandee !! Just ... just surprised me to hear this song, and when I looked at the date ... golly gee ... almost felt like home. Maybe someone knew I could hear them, and they played it just for me!

There've been a bunch of sports events at the stadium by various schools for the past couple of months.

Glad so many of you got the song right! But nobody told me what in hell a troll is!

I'm about to get a NON-ED visa to study at PSU in Hat Yai. Master's Degree in Agricultural Development. In Thai. (I have no intention of leaving Thailand, but might decide someday to move to, or maybe work in, some other ASEAN country.) But it's not necessary to know Thai language because a student can do the thesis without taking any classes. That sounds like the university is offering a cop-out (sp?) but it's just another avenue of study, for foreigners who either don't know the language well enough to take classes for credit, or Thais and foreigners who don't need the classes because they already have the knowledge & skills to do their research without taking more classes.

I'm in Penang now, submitted my application this morning and will hopefully pick up my passport with NON-ED visa in it tomorrow afternoon.

... it goes like this: da da da DA da da da DA da da da DA da da da da .... )

The drummers are drumming it now at the stadium here in Hat Yai. I can hear it from my room.

Is this to be considered a troll post? Still don't know what that word means in the context of a forum. Look, I don't hang out under bridges!

 

later you will need to do all the paper with the help of your school no way that you can do alone since your school or university need to fill many fields too, they will send all the papers to the Education government (don't remember the name) and 15 days later approx they will get an ED sticker that is not a visa, but you need to go out Thailand with that in your passport and all the papers and later in a embassy of Thailand show all the papers with your passport with the ED sticker where you will get the ED visa stamp for 90 days. (that is my school owner told me)

 

That is the reason that you need to do a extension of your tourist visa first.

"all the papers"

Only paperwork needed from my university is the letter that they already typed up. 

The sticker you refer to ... sort of seems like the visa itself. 

i think I'll head south. 

Thanks guys. 

Thanks. Yes I have had the 30 day extension on my tourist visa. So, my 90 days is up on Tuesday. Should I just exit and head south to Penang? Does Penang even do the ED visa? Will I have to go to KL? If I will have to go to Malaysia, I'll have to have the university type me up a new letter as this one is addressed to immigration in BKK. 

Thankso mucho. 

I am a Catholic

Being married 26 years to a true Buddhist ( no superstition etc..) Thai wife I bless the day that she came into my life and I believe there will be a place in heaven also for her and her 84 year old mother.

For me, I associate believing in a heaven (and possibly a hell) and superstition. It's a belief that I don't know how to articulate. Just a belief that I haven't let go of!

I am registered to be a grad student at PSU in Hat Yai. My tourist visa expires on Tuesday the 19th. I've got the letter from the university that I'll need to submit when I  apply for the visa change from tourist to ED. But a friend just told me that he thinks I need at least 15 days on my current visa before I can apply for the ED visa. Is this the case? I'm going to Chaeng Wattana to do the visa switch from tourist to ED. The letter from the university is addressed to immigration in BKK. Thanks much. 

I live on a small soi where there is a big garbage pile. I keep saying to myself that one of these days, I'm gonna buy a bunch of garbage bags and bag it all up. There are three big garbage bins right in that spot, but there's always a pile there. The collectors never get it all. Of course if I want the spot to always be free of the eye sore, I'm gonna have to do this regularly.

My contribution is going to be much more humble than what others have said here.

Thanks for starting this thread.

At the ag fair down here in Hat Yai, there's a seller from Uttaradit with durian for 500 baht per kilo. Took one look at the price and had too look again! I'm perfectly happy with durians for a tenth of the price. Awesome stuff. 

I also don't believe this is how much the average Thai spends on internet. Many people in villages don't even use internet. Many don't have computers and don't have internet on their phones. Many don't even have smart phones.

But just consider those that do spend at least this much time on internet. Heck, that really is nearly a third of the day. How much do they sleep? How much real intereaction do they have?

I am pretty sure this reflects city people who work in malls and other jobs where they have a lot of free time. I see people doing whatever on their phones while at work. But, even then, are they online, or doing something on their phones, like playing a game that is on the phone itself? 

I'm going for a master's degree at PSU. My understanding is that foreign university students can work a limited number of hours per week in a job that is related to their study. That would rule out teaching English, even though I've got a bachelor's degree. Can anyone verify this for me and give me a recent reference? I want to make some money but don't fancy studying while in prison. Think the warden would care to pay me to teach English to the guards? 

I've searched online for any info from the past 30 days but haven't found anything in Thai or English about working on a NON-O ED visa. 

:))

 

 

 

 

Also, like others have said, sometimes lieing is about doing something good for the other person. My own view is that is indeed sometimes the case, but often that is simply what we want to believe. It's my belief that even that is often for our own self, at least as much as it is for the other person. It's my own experience that I want to lie to someone to make them feel good, so I don't feel bad. You know the arguement about whether or not there is altruism truly exists? In my own opinion it's a rarity among humans.

 

Saving face ... I just look at it in the context of Thai culture as I understand it, and human beings as I understand us. 

 

BTW ... anyone seen the movie Liar Liar? LMAO

 

 

 

As well as your examples of losing face & not wanting to hurt somebody, another comes to mind.

 

How you desire to be seen by others!

 

Obviously people will keep aspects of themselves, through deception, exaggeration, omission, as well as lies, in order to maintain their image/reputation/standing (Ego).

 

Very few here can declare a clear record.

Yeah, does manipulating how we believe others will / might see us ever allow for expression of the truth about us? (We / us = I / me.) Good point. I doubt that anyone anywhere has a clear record ;) People often talk of how the ego won't die, well ... who's perpetuating and feeding the damned thing?! Truth is, I belive, we don't want to face the truth. 

Adyashanti (my favorite teacher for a few years now) often talks about how people react with fierce rejection, and strong fear when they get deep enough to see truths that they'd stuffed away for a long time. Now that I've sort of left Buddhism, when I encounter Buddhist teachings again I often marvel at their beauty. But without a good teacher, or inner clarity, it often seems to me they can be easily misunderstood, or understood in ways that I consider rather narrow and shallow, because there seems to be so much interconnectedness and depth in there. 

That last line is gonna come across as real arrogant to someone, I suppose. 

An answer to both of your questions is ... do you know their intentions? That means not simply sure of their intentions. 

In a Buddhist context (because of the title of your post), I think this goes very deep, and is often personal. I used to live at a Buddhist temple here in Thailand where following the precepts was the foundation of practice, foundation of daily life. And the deeper you went into the precepts, the better. One day, I noticed something just before I was about to lie to a friend (yep, even hardcore Buddhists do it :) ... I was a the time, but no longer care much about calling myself a Buddhist). I realized that I was going to lie to her because there was something that I myself didn't want to face. Then it occured to me that if I wasn't prepared to deal with the truth regarding this small issue, then I sure wasn't prepared to deal with bigger truth, because I'd learned that many people feel a very strong resistance to deeper truths that they've hidden away. 

Also, like others have said, sometimes lieing is about doing something good for the other person. My own view is that is indeed sometimes the case, but often that is simply what we want to believe. It's my belief that even that is often for our own self, at least as much as it is for the other person. It's my own experience that I want to lie to someone to make them feel good, so I don't feel bad. You know the arguement about whether or not there is altruism truly exists? In my own opinion it's a rarity among humans.

Saving face ... I just look at it in the context of Thai culture as I understand it, and human beings as I understand us. 

BTW ... anyone seen the movie Liar Liar? LMAO :) 

... you are not going to trick nature. It's just not going to happen.
But it doesn't mean it can't be done.

 

Cool! I used to live at a Zen center in Korea. One day, during the Dharma Talk, the teacher said something like, "There are some things that can't be known. So how can you know those things that can't be known? ... by wondering." !! Love it. The wondering that he was referring to is a method that is common in Korean Zen but little known outside Korea (and maybe China) called Hwadu which is similar to Koans. 

Shunryu Suzuki is quoted: "The most important thing is to find out what is the most important thing." He was big on discipline ... sit no matter what. 

 

This might very well be the norm. I don't know any Muslims well. Soon however, I think I will know some quite well because I'll be attending Prince of Songkhla University here in Hat Yai. Lotta Muslims on campus. I doubt I'll get to know them though as you do though. A working environment and a university environment ... world's apart. 

 

 

 

You are making the classic mistake of lumping all Muslims together.  Many of the Muslims in Hat Yai aren't ethnically Malay and have nothing in common with the separatists other than a shared religion.  At PSU, many of the Muslim students come from Satun, Trang, Krabi etc ...

 

Okay ... I give in ... I don't know. What you say is interesting. I'm gonna make a point of it to get to really know some of them. One of the secretaries at the office of my faculty is a Muslim woman. Very charming young lady. :) But ... okay so I don't know that she won't stab me in the back if the she feels the need! 

Another thing, Bender asked why the people perpetrating the violence don't hit Pattaya and Phuket. I asked the same question sometime last year to a Thai friend. He gave an answer similar to BJS' answer. I was told that getting the bombs up north through the checkpoints is the reason. Could be lots of reasons why they're not going farther north than, I think the farthest north they've come is Hat Yai. 

 

Seems like some posters here see all Muslims as violent. Surely you don't believe that. I live in Hat Yai and meet the friendliest of people all the time, and many of them are Muslim men and Muslim women. You can easily spot most Muslim women, and many Muslim men have something about their appearance that is either obviously Muslim or gives a strong hint. Please be careful with what you believe and say.

Yes ,nice to your face ,but if its a choice between you or another muslim,don,t turn your back.

 

This might very well be the norm. I don't know any Muslims well. Soon however, I think I will know some quite well because I'll be attending Prince of Songkhla University here in Hat Yai. Lotta Muslims on campus. I doubt I'll get to know them though as you do though. A working environment and a university environment ... world's apart. 

Seems like some posters here see all Muslims as violent. Surely you don't believe that. I live in Hat Yai and meet the friendliest of people all the time, and many of them are Muslim men and Muslim women. You can easily spot most Muslim women, and many Muslim men have something about their appearance that is either obviously Muslim or gives a strong hint. Please be careful with what you believe and say.

 

Thanks very much for your insights t.

 

For me, it's not the sit, but actually getting on the cushion.

 

With patchy Mindfulness (concentration), it's mainly due to my rampant mind which refuses to let go (revolves around anxiety & negativity).
 

 

What will it take to get you to the cushion? Being part of a group? Making a donation to a charity / organization that you absolutely revile?! There is at least one website, where, if you don't reach your goal (of say sitting three times a week for a month ... whatever you decide) then the money you've pledged will go to that organization! 

WHY won't you put yourself on the cushion? Nobody can stop you without tying you up, right? 

Could the anxiety and negativity somehow be a subtle reason that you avoid the cushion? 

Once you're on the cushion, then yeah, you're there, but the mind isn't "cooperating"? The mind has its own agenda, doesn't it? Doesn't always follow the agenda that the other mind wants it to! 

Of course there's tremendous value in discipline. If that's all it takes, then just do it. Solved. Simple. :)

Cool .... Several things to say. One, I agree that Nisargadatta's teachings are super. Same with Ramana Maharshi. One guy who's not dead yet whom I think is great is Adyashanti, another would be Jeff Foster - terrific. Adyashanti suggests (as well as others, I think Pema Chodron) not trying to peg your attention on any one thing. You do have to peg your attention on paying attention though! (But I have friends who are serious about their practice yet steer wide of this sort of teaching. Wear whatever suit fits best.) 

Adyashanti, and others, like Byron Katie and Krishnamurti, are big on inquiry. Asking questions. This is pretty much the heart of my practice because it sits very well with me. I started doing this long before I ever heard of Buddhism, so it "comes naturally" to me.

I also "suffer" from the not having a regular sitting practice and not paying attention when I am sitting. (It's 10pm now and here I am on this computer ) So, if this is of interest to you, you could ask yourself some questions. You say that it's a challenge to maintain a regular practice. If you're only interested in changing the situation, then grab a hammer and start pounding on your head. If you're interested in getting to the root of it ... ask. If this sits well with you, then there you go. My own life shows me that there are other things ... at those moments when I could be sitting ... that I'm more interested in. I could beat myself up for being less interested in sitting than in the other things that have my attention, but what good is that? Some people are "good" at discipline ... but not me. How about you? 

I love it when someone says, "I can't do ...." or "Doing ... is hard." Bxllshxt!

"The way I view it, the greatest enemy of successful, regular practice, and ultimately Awakening, for me and perhaps for most, is due to the inability to maintain regular practice."

Here you used this word inability ... are you certain do you know you're unable? Why in hell would you be incapable to simply sit regularly? Do you believe that you can't?

Do you know some basic things, like why you want to sit? What do you believe you can get out of it? (I've learned through Zen teachings to not believe in anything! Now try that one on for a while and see what happens!) 

Another idea is to go to a temple or a meditation group. Unless you live where there are no serious meditators, it could really help you to commit. Like someone finding it "hard" to work out, but by going to a gym (and buying the membership!) ... motivation arises

"In terms of sitting practice my mind has thrown the works at me.

These include doubt, physical ill feeling, anxiety, commitments, unproductive bad habits taking precedence, emotional state and many others.

Mindfulness is not only similarly affected but is further hampered by poor concentration levels."

WHY are these things arising / happening? 

Something that works for me at times to hold my attention is to try to notice something. One that I particularly like is to notice if I'm ever "in the moment." Seems to me that I'm at best a moment behind, so that everything I'm aware of "in the moment" is actually a memory from the moment just past. A guy who I have some respect for with his practice confirms this. So, when I'm actively paying attention to whether I'm in the moment, or just a moment behind the moment ... at least I'm paying attention. This is a kind of meditation. There are lots of things a person can do while in meditation, whether Buddhist or not ... myself, I'm not that interested in being a Buddhist anyway. 

"I'd be greatful for any practical tips and stories of personal success."

No success stories from me either. 

So, I'm off ... because I am going to sit tonight ) 

P.S. One more thing ... if sitting for an hour is a must, but you dread the length of time, chop off some of those minutes. 

)