Yamantaka

I teach private and semi-private meditation classes from beginner to advanced but I charge for them. The best free centre seems to be Phuket Meditation in Chalong.

I teach meditation which at its most basic level is a breathing exercise. If you like you can come for a free session and I'll teach you to breathe which should give you better oxygenation and maybe help you get rid of the "stress" or whatever is causing the problem. I'm in Chalong so PM me if you want to give it a try.

I have been a "practicing" Buddhist for thirty years. I have been meditating for over thirty years and teaching meditation for over twenty. There is nothing in meditation that should cause what you are describing. It sounds more like a chemical imbalance in the brain which can be a result of taking a lot of drugs even if it was four decades ago. I would suggest you get an EEG and possibly a CAT scan or MRI to see if there is any indication of malfunction in your nervous system.

i just spent seven months in lo paret on koh yao yai....i rented a house for thb 4000 a month but there's a nice guest house called heimat gardens there....nice a/c rooms are thb 1200 a night with breakfast....they have a good restaurant and it is a five minute walk to a a totally deserted beach....the owner will pick you up at loh jaak pier which is where the ferry from jian warnit pier in phuket arrives....she speaks english and german....

"Mind expanding" drugs, with which I had too much experience in the 60's, do not take one to the same mental state as does meditation which I learned over thirty years ago and have been teaching sporadically for over twenty years. Both do drastic things to the mind but meditation is about developing superior control over the mind and its processes while chemicals push the mind to the brink of an abyss into which the user can only peer, watching what happens. The former is an exercise to develop strength while the latter is an activity of observation.

Thanks everyone! I will continue to teach on an individual basis and forego the possibility of residential retreats.

I appreciate the input. I have a registered company from other activities so can get a work permit when I need it. And I was a business consultant for forty years. I have lived and done business in Thailand for ten years, so I understand the concept of business plans, work permits, labor laws. I am more inquiring about what those who converse regularly about Dharma, meditation and related topics think about whether there would be enough interested participants to justify my renting a larger home at a substantially higher rent.

Yes, THB 70,000 is too much to earn in eight days for anything related to spirituality. If I could get four people on one retreat, I would lower the cost per person. My plan as far as I have one, is to hold two four-day courses and one eight-day retreat per month.

I am sure that there are some clearly spoken meditation courses available but I have heard often from students that there are also many at which they "could only understand a few words out of each sentence". None that could explain how to integrate teachings and meditations into modern day, real life dilemmas and situations.

any good business plan includes research and knowledge of the competition,

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=hp&...751b818faa768f4

Have you confirmed that none of these have instructors who are 'easy to understand?'

Good luck on finding your 'niche' market.

Edit: I got the calculator out. charge B17500 each, for 4 in an 8 day period?

B70,000! Do you realise you will only Gross B210,000 per month and only have 6 days off per month?

I would appreciate input from anyone who is interested in meditation and Buddhism. I have been teaching non-denominational meditation techniques on and off for over twenty years in the US, UK and Thailand. I am thinking of moving to Chiang Rai and renting a house big enough to offer retreats including accommodation and maybe basic meals or self-catering. I have no idea if farangs would want to take meditation instruction from an American for the ease in understanding rather than from an ordained monk. I do offer individually structured analytical meditations to help the student work on specific goals, eliminate specific problems and so forth. And although I am probably Buddha's most ignorant student, try to offer insights on how I apply his teachings to modern day, real world situations.

The dilemma is this: I can rent a house for myself at THB 7 or 8,000; or a two bedroom/two bath house to accommodate one or two retreat participants for THB 12,000; or a three bedroom/three bathroom house to accommodate three or four participants for THB 15,000.

I was working with a small bungalow place to offer four day beginner level retreats (three sessions a day) for THB 7,500 including room and meals, and eight day more advanced retreats (four sessions a day) for THB 17,500. I could charge considerably less than that but although this is what I enjoy doing, don't want to go broke doing it.

What do you think of the possibilities? Thank you.

I am planning to move to CR in the next couple of months and want to find a nice, but small (read: cheap) house to rent. What is the best source of ads for this?

Of course you can remove it whenever you feel is the right time. Unlike religions of the world, there are not really any "rules" in Buddhism, only suggestions. There are no negative consequences to removing a blessed string when your consciousness tells you to.

Sorry, again? That bit doesn't make sense to me.

Maybe English isn't my native tongue after all! I meant that there are many activities which can be completed successfully in a covert manner if one plans well and executes efficiently. It is done all of the time on both sides of the law.

A lot depends on what of value will be left in the office every night as well as who will have access, employees, cleaning staff, etc? But window bars, gates and solid doors hung on 7cm steel screws with deadbolt locks would be a good start.

First, I apologize for upsetting you. There are many people on the forum for whom English is not a first language so I didn't know if the word was commonly known. Secondly, I wasn't advocating not speaking about the problem on this web site. In fact I recommended that those who wish to accomplish the goal get onto as many tourism, travel and expat forums as possible and spread the word, as advice rather than denigration. But there is a big difference between so many posts about this and many other situations that insult Thais, Thailand, Thai government and Thai culture rather than making constructive suggestions which is what I had hoped I was doing.

As concerns flyers, if people can be robbed and killed without the perpetrators being caught, I am confident that they can be distributed to tourists without any harm coming to those delivering them.

I'm afraid that the suggestions by above posters to "Get Smart," is actually suggesting we "Get Stupid." You need to understand that you cannot, even surreptitiously, hand out fliers suggesting tourists boycott the tuk tuks and taxi's.

Maybe the use of the word "surreptitiously" was confusing. It means secretly, covertly, clandestinely. In other words the mafia would not know about who put the fliers out. Personally I have never had a problem with tuk-tuks in ten years living here. I just get tired of people endlessly whining but not willing to do anything more than talk to improve the situation.

Instead of destroying them, they should donate them to Father Joe in BKK who could then sell them at a thrift store and use the proceeds for his charitable work with the poorest of the poor. It would have the same effect on the manufacturers and sellers but also benefit society.

try martin at pma screenprint on chao fah road east....i can pm you the email and phone if you want

I am sure there will be many more suggestions as to what to do about the tuk-tuk problem, most of which will demand that the government do something. As was outlined beautifully in the above posting, this will not be the most immediate or effective solution. Like the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

With the large number of farang/expat/travel websites and so many people who want to solve the problem by putting the tuk-tuk mafias out of business, I would propose a coordinated, active effort. This would involve: 1) mass postings on these web sites warning potential visitors not to take tuk-tuks under any circumstances in conjunction with the numerous alternative means of transport specifically and clearly laid out. 2) In addition, there should be flyers printed up with the same message and information, delivered surreptitiously (to avoid retaliation by the mafia) to every hotel, restaurant and bar which tourists patronize. 3) Offering tourists a friendly ride home from a bar at night would mean they don't have to look for other transport (just don't give anyone the finger). 4) This could be enhanced by offering a "car pool" type online posting when residents know they will be going from point A to point B on a certain day at a certain time, for example, driving from Patong to Central in the morning, or when going past a particular beach and past a certain hotel in the afternoon.

With these as the initial methods of boycott, I am sure many more will be thought of and put into use. If everyone who has complained on this web site and others takes an active role, the tuk-tuk mafia can at least have their attitude adjusted as the mafia dons begin to see their revenues radically diminished.

I have always used Mike's Bikes for long term rentals over the past six years because their rates are much lower than everyone else. Their cars are not brand new but work fine and if there's ever a problem it is taken care of immediately. They are on Chao Fah Road East, almost across from the Wine Connection strip mall.

You will need a tax receipt which is a standardized form which you can buy in tablet form at any number of retail shops.

My lawyer, who is in Bangkok, is competent and tenacious enough to get my former lawyer, who cheated me, disbarred for life. They are both Thai. It would be worth getting in touch as I think that if he believes your friend has a case that can be won, he might take it even though it is in Phuket.

He is Thammanat Yorbithol at:

Thammanat & Associates

249/17 Soi Ladprao 122

Wangthonglang 10310 BKK

(02) 539-5156

We also have an Amity Treaty company set up six years ago which is still legal. But I understand new companies cannot be formed this way anymore which is a shame considering the benefits.

They need to bring back the Soi Dogs Blues Band from BKK!

I would also check with the labor department. We discovered that there are also laws requiring overtime (time and a half) pay for work over eight hours a day or 40 hours per week as well as for any work on Saturdays, and I remember it being double time for Sundays and holidays although most employers ignore these laws and no employees seem to know about them. The laws were on the books last time we checked.

I have been practicing Buddhism for over thirty years and always enjoy these kind of comments and discussions. I used to watch Fox News for amusement purposes until I moved to where it is not available. They boast of huge ratings, but the last election proved that while many people watch the circus, not many follow their advice of the clowns, ie Hannity, Beck or Coulter and their mental midget acts like Limbaugh, Palin and Cheney. They have often made references to Buddhism over the years which demonstrated that they can't be bothered to actually have their staff do any research on the subject. It usually inspores intelligent people to find out the truth which is always a good thing.

Why not all go the closest drop off point, get out and pay what is on the meter? Then before the taxi leaves, second party can get back in and take the taxi to the second place on the reset meter. If done right, the driver may even feel lucky to have gotten two fares out of one ride.