Yamantaka

I'm curious, where do you guys live? I just looked out the window and can see abou 20 houses. Not a single one has a fence high enough to deter much more than a dog or a cow. No security bars or security screens.

Why all the security concerns?

sexual desire is also naturally occuring due to the presence of hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen.

This is true but spiritual progress is often about overcoming what is natural. One could say that forced sex is natural since it occurs in all other animals. Killing is natural to many animals, but also not so good as far as spiritual growth is concerned. Fighting over territory and over females also natural but to be avoided whenever possible.

Isn't having an uncomplicated regular sexual outlet beneficial to a persons feeling of calmness and balance?

Yes, again. But this may be because we have an attachment to sex, and satifying the need produces endorphins and seritonin. Smoking a cigarette can also be beneficial to a persons feeling of calmness and balance. In both examples the calmness and balance only last until the craving arises again, at which time, if denied, it causes more suffering. Hence, samsara, the endless cycle of suffering.

I also thought that advanced meditative practice will eventually lead to experiences far superior to any sexual pleasure and this will lead to celibacy as a natural consequence rather than something forced upon oneself.

Even not so advanced meditations will engender a state of mind far superior to that from sex and will last infinitely longer. Regular meditation does lead to a lot of unexpected and beneficial consequences by eliminating craving at many levels.

History is littered with obsessive sexual misbehaviour of abstainers, many of whom are wearers of the cloth, as it is unnatural.

My personal opinion is that abstention did not cause the sexual aberrations. I would tend to believe that the perpetrators already had the inclinations and were trying to overcome them by simply abstaining. The obsession became increasingly more overpowering as time passed and finally could not be controlled.

The benefit of meditation, especially individually structured analytical meditations, is that one can directly attack one's problems while in a calm and clear state of mind. This releases the real power of the mind which can overcome almost any disturbance.

I think celibacy is a natural consequence once a certain level of enlightenment is achieved.

Noble as it is, I think premature celibacy can have negative results.

Until ones practice is advanced, many of those with a high libido can end up becoming obsessed and very much out of balance.

Like all attachments that impede spiritual development, and therefore an end to suffering, sex can be an addiction difficult to kick. By practicing mind control, through meditation, prostrations or chanting, the obsessive craving for sex which you call a high libido can be eliminated. Every attachment and aversion causes more suffering. Each time we give in to the attachment, we make a further impression on our mind, making it more difficult to overcome. When it gets to the level of obsession, it may be time to take decisive action, if your goal is freedom from suffering. But it is possible and not as difficult as one might think.

A gap year student describes how learning meditation during a stint in a Buddhist monastery in Bangkok changed her life

It appears many turn to Buddhist practice or Meditation to escape illness or overcome physical or psychological pain in their life.

Meditation can change many aspects of one's life, ie. physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual. It taps into the little used power of the mind that we all have but of which we are usually unaware. After meditating for 30 years and teaching meditation for over 20, I believe that it is this mental power that accounts for many "phenomena" like faith healing and healing waters. The person is so strongly convinced that this is possible, that they make it happen. It is not the healer or healing water that does the healing but the power of the mind of the healed.

Two-tiered pricing exists almost everywhere that the majority of tourists are significantly more affluent than locals, even in Hawaii. The problem in Thailand is that if everyone paid only the Thai rate, entrance fees would not produce enough revenue to maintain the park. If everyone had to pay the "farang" rate, most Thais would not be able to visit their own parks which would be worse. Maybe the best solution is what happens in many other countries where everything sold is taxed exorbitantly and that pays for national parks, etc.

I don't think that's such a good analogy, I might be mildly annoyed but I know the flowers in the park don't belong to me, that there are many more in the park, and there'll be another crop of flowers next year.

My apologies, Brucenk, I didn't enclose the analogy in quotes. The next time I meet with the Buddha that taught me that, I'll be sure to let him know his analogy wasn't useful.

I expect if a smelly drunk comes stumbling along and stomps right on my car, or worse my daughter, then I'll experience the nature of attachment, anybody would. I guess then the sign of non-attachment is resolving the situation skillfully without being overcome by anger or making the situation worse.

Maybe feeling the need to resolve the situation at all is the same attachment.

To be honest i find it hard to think of myself meditating for an hour thinking only nice happy thoughts

The others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think contemplation doesn't involve thinking of nice happy thoughts.

That is also what I have learned. The beginning meditations are to relax, clear the mind, and so on. Once you can achieve that, you can move on to analytical meditations. If you can find a teacher that can struture these specifically for you, even better for resolving your own situations.

"Hi. My name is Ben and this is my first post. I only found this forum about an hour ago. I have this problem with reading about buddhism."

Greenshirt, to me it sounds like your mind is in the right state for learning the Dharma. Don't worry about things not fitting into place or conforming to anyone else's ideas of how you must progress. Every mind is different therefore every path is different. The pieces fall into place as you move forward.

If possible, take teachings in person rather than reading books. And learn to meditate since all the things you wrote about here are perfect subjects for analytical meditations.

Most of all, be happy that your mind is ready, that you are in place where the Dharma is taught and that you are capable of learning it.

Is it easy to be buddhist in a world where you are constantly bombarded with the philosophy that money & success is the main priority in life (even if its not openly admitted or unconsciously believed)?

Easy? No. But the problem is a matter of attachment to those people and their values. As an example, I was taught that to understand attachment imagine yourself sitting in a park with the most amazing flower in front of you. It is the most beautiful colors you've ever seen, smells fantastic, and feels like the softest velvet you can imagine.

The experience is making you very happy, when some dirty, smelly drunk comes stumbling along and stomps right on the flower crushing it into mush. If your reaction is one of anger and sadness at having lost that flower, you have an attachment to it. If your reaction is, "wasn't I fortunate to have been able to experience that flower while it was still here", you are not attached.

It is the same with friends and family. If you are able to interact with them when you want but without attachment, you are progressing spiritually. If you "need" to be with them, and feel uncomfortable or unhappy when you are not, this is an attachment which could be worked on.

Freeing one's self from attachment to material possessions is easier. Look at something expensive you own, that before you bought, you felt like you just had to have. Now you take it for granted or don't use it/look at it. The great value you originally put on it could not have been inherent or it would still have that value to you every time you use/see it.

It was only a label you put on it that elevated it to that great worth. That was an attachment which you now don't have for that object but may now have transferred to something else that you feel you "just gotta have."

Attachment to money and success is harmful, but if you are already questioning your attachment to them, you have started on a path to eliminating it.

When I first started taking Buddhist teachings I saw a Thangka (painting) of a Buddha holding what I was told was a "Wish-fulfilling Gem". I asked what that meant and was told that when I understood the Dharma, I would have everything I could ever want. My response was, "Yeah right".

Thirty years later I now understand that when I have fully understood the teachings, I will have everything I want since there won't be anything that I want that I don't already have.

It is all about ridding one's self of attachments, ignorance and delusion. Slowly, slowly one can let go of what seems important and end the attachment to that thing/person/idea which is causing suffering. There are many practices which can aid in this quest. Meditation is the one that I prefer. But this is an individual choice.

The thing I like best about Buddhism is that there are really no set rules. It's more like Buddha said, "This is what I did that got rid of my suffering. Try it. It might work for you." You find what in yourself is most in need of improving, and then find a way to do it that best suits you, your psychology and your lifestyle.

It's not about giving up control, but about not having an attachment to wanting the control. Actually its not about giving up anything, but freeing yourself of the attachments that cause you to think you need whatever it is in order to be happy. The truth is usually that getting rid of the attachment makes you happier.

Wouldn't Buddha just look at the bars and smile?

What is karma?

Sharon Stone claims the earthquake in China is the result of bad karma for its treatment of Tibetans. Is her definition - "when you are not nice, bad things happen to you" - correct?

Source: BBC.

Karma is not like democracy - you don't suffer the effects of negative actions performed by other members of your "group". The Chinese victims cannot karmically suffer the consequences of the malfeasance of their government officials.

Karma has four causative aspects each contributing to the effect and intensity: the motivation behind the action; the type of action; the object of the action; and the result of the action. Each adds or subtracts from the effect the action has on the perpetrator.

For example, you may want to stop someone you know is going to molest a child and the only thing you can do is to kill him (motivation less negative; still lots of bad karma for killing; object is a person intending to do serious harm; split results - one dead person and one protected child). This would incur far less negative karma than beating up an old lady nun to steal her money to buy drugs. (motivation, greed; action, violence; object, helpless old & dedicating her life to the welfare of others; results, pain & suffering of another sentient being).

This is not to say that any of us has the wisdom to know that killing a child molester is a positive thing. It is our delusion and ignorance that would lead us to that conclusion. I have been taught over and over that trying to understand the minutiae of karma is beyond my capabilities at this stage of my path, even after 29 years as a Buddhist. So I haven't killed any child molesters lately.

Although Mr Quayle said he had been informed of a police manpower shortage on the island, he said, “If crime is going up, then the measures need to somehow react to that. Policemen can’t be everywhere, but if there is a pattern like that, then you would imagine there would be some sort of reaction to it.”

Possible solutions included more plainclothes officers patrolling on motorbikes and increased surveillance around the island, said Mr Quayle.

“I understand there is a problem with lighting and that the streets are quite dark, so these may be issues for the governor,” he added.

As part of his two-day visit to Phuket, Mr Quayle will meet Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit tomorrow.

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this. A company here in Phuket offered to place 8,000 litter bins and 8,000 recycling stations around the Province ABSOLUTELY FREE to the Province of Phuket. Not only that but it would have paid the Province over THB 10 million per year, paid the municipalities another THB 10 million per year, and contributed still another THB 10 million to local children's charities. The governor didn't even answer the offer let alone give the go ahead. Will he react differently to pressure from farangs to spend money on more police, street lighting and other measures? Mai kit var.

Think you can still get the Suzuki SJ 130 jeeps new in Phuket Town Suzuki dealer. But only as sporty & canvas versions. Think you need to order a hard top for the canvas and have a specialist company do the conversion for a true Caribian. Dealer location, road past Royal City Hotel/True UBC, to the end, turn left (big gas station on the corner, and dealer about 100m up on right side of road. Looks more like a repair shop and has no fancy show room.

Be careful of your dealings with the dealer. We were told we needed to put down a 25% down payment and did so, ordering some extras at the same time. When we went to pick up the car, we were told that we needed to put down a 50% down payment because I am a farang even though we were buying the vehicle in the name of a Thai-majority owned registered company. We did not want to put down such a big down payment, so we cancelled the purchase. When the refund cheque came they refused to refund the full price of the extras we'd purchased, so we were stuck with cd player, sport wheels and some other stuff for a car we never bought, losing something like THB 60,000.

What would be your suggestions for making a bar in Phuket the ideal meeting place for ladies' night out? Drinks, food, music, atmosphere?

Thanks

Hello,

I just starting reading my first book regarding Buddhism and find that the precepts seem to fit my way of thinking and lifestyle. My dilemma is that I was raised (Baptized) at birth as a Catholic. Is it Ok to retain my Catholic faith and practice the precepts of Budhism. As I understand, you can pratice Budhism to the best of your ability at not be a Budhist. I somewhat feel like I am at a cross-roads. My Mother is Catholic, and she really believes that her prayers protect me, and I belive it also and that my prayers help my loved ones.

Basically, is it OK for me to practice both religions. Please pardon my ignorance, as I have just started learning / reading about Buddhism. Any advice or personal expierences will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Scuba

When I took my first Dharma course way back in 1979, there was a Catholic woman in my class who asked the very same question. The easy answer is that Buddhism is not a religion in the Judeo-Christian sense. It is more a psychology, a way to view your life and your environment within the context of absolute reality. Not having a God or rules or dogma for that matter, it is perfectly possible to be a Catholic Buddhist or maybe a Buddhist Catholic, same as you can be both a football and basketball fan. One does not preclude the other.

An interesting but unrelated point the woman in my class made was that when she was in Catholic school, she had a priest as a teacher who had served at the Vatican and claimed that there were records of teachings by Jesus on karma and reincarnation that the Church did not want to ever be made public.

Well, what you're saying is it's OK to be a doormat - and I have no problem with that since it's just a matter of perspective as to whether a doormat is "good" or "bad." But what I was asking is whether it's generally true or not that Buddhists let themselves be taken advantage of more than non-Buddhists.

Seen from the right perspective, Buddhists are not letting themselves be taken advantage of, they are practicing positive thought, speech and action. Each instance provides the opportunity to accumulate good karma by practicing patience, eliminating ego and striving for enlightenment. The person "taking advantage" of the Buddhist is unknowingly giving the Buddhist a great gift for which s/he will usually be thanked directly or indirectly.

With all respect to the differing translations (and I'm sure there are many), it seems the message is the same whether we're taking about the eye of a needle or an existing gate.

But where is the relevance to Buddhism?

Is it easy for a rich man to gain enlightenment? I'd say it isn't which is why the Buddha asked his monks to give up worldly possessions. You could say it's easier for a water buffalo to pass through the buttonhole of a blouse than it is for a rich man to realise enlightenment.

In Dharma it is irrelevant whether rich or poor. The question is how did one become rich (by harming others or by positive actions?) and how attached is the rich person to the wealth and accoutrement? The likelihood is that a rich person striving for enlightenment would at some point give away all that can be considered wealth since s/he would have no need for it, and would be motivated to use it to help alleviate the suffering of others.

As I understand the teaching, if it was not offered to you, it is not yours to take.

It is a sad fact that most Thais do not practice Buddhism any more than most Americans or Europeans practice Christianity. If they did, there would not have been the millions of dead from the hundreds of wars since Jesus lived.

Jesus and Buddha were both great teachers of compassion, humility and generosity yet those practices seem to be perpetuated only by a handful of social outcasts around the world.

Here's what happened to a guy I know:

He ordered some food service equipment for his business and some sealed packaged foods to go with them. He told the shipper in the states not to send the food with the equipment since it had to be submitted to the Thai FDA before it could be shipped.

The shipper included a sales receipt with the equipment shipment that showed the purchase of foodstuffs even though they were not on the pallets or even listed on the bill of lading. Thai Customs refused to allow the shipment into the country, refused to inspect the shipment to see that there was no food, and refused to allow the shipment to be returned to the shipper in the states. Why? Because there was un-approved food on the receipt.

In other words, they confiscated the entire shipment which I am sure ended up in the playroom of some Thai general's kids. All this happened even though one of the biggest customs brokers in Thailand was paid to facilitate importation, and all appropriate "extra-ordinary fees" were offered.

My point: BE CAREFUL. Make sure everything is perfect because if it is not, you will lose any goods that appeal to the Customs official.

Hi, this sounds quite strange. When you ship goods, there are normally 3 documents to follow it

* Bill of Lading

* Packing List

* Commercial Invoice

If the commercial invoice (what you refer to as receipt) shows goods that are actually not in the container, you are not only breaking the law, you are also creating unecessary trouble for yourself. The items on the invoice should match the packing list - if it doesn't, the freight forwarder should notice it and contact the shipper to have it corrected. Until documents are in order, the shipment should be refused (we do, at least).

brgds

nm

You are right! That is exactly what happened, the Invoice showed the total purchase from the supplier but the Packing List and Bill of Lading only showed what was in the shipment.

The Customs Broker hired to ensure it cleared customs was dealing with the shipper well in advance but when the shipment arrived, they just called to say "Oops sorry, it was confiscated because the paperwork didn't match. There's nothing we can do."

And they were a major player in Thailand. Hence my warning about being vigilant about hiring anyone here.

I assume in your friend's example, the shipper had to take responsibility for the problems and re-sent goods free of charge. As I see it, this was caused by the American freight forwarder, not the Thai customs broker. What could the Thai broker do? The only thing they could do was to notice the discrepancy in the documents and ask the freight forwarder to correct their error. You could say that it was sloppy work to present incorrect dox to Customs, but the error was not caused by them in the first place.

It's best to be vigilant when dealing with American freight forwarders .

As I understand it, the Shipper who sold the merchandise didn't know the Thai regs but asserted that the Customs Broker should have notified them in advance of shipment what needed to be done and not done. I think the brokers never got in touch with them until after the stuff was shipped even though they had been given the shipper's information well before.

In any case, the recipient lost a lot of money because of paperwork, when all that needed to be done was for the Bill of Lading and Packing List to be matched up as to what was in the shipment. Maybe a fine was in order but not total confiscation of $10,000 worth of food service equipment that was both paid for and legal in this country. Typical of many businesses, the Customs Broker merely washed their hands of it when things went wrong.

Here's what happened to a guy I know:

He ordered some food service equipment for his business and some sealed packaged foods to go with them. He told the shipper in the states not to send the food with the equipment since it had to be submitted to the Thai FDA before it could be shipped.

The shipper included a sales receipt with the equipment shipment that showed the purchase of foodstuffs even though they were not on the pallets or even listed on the bill of lading. Thai Customs refused to allow the shipment into the country, refused to inspect the shipment to see that there was no food, and refused to allow the shipment to be returned to the shipper in the states. Why? Because there was un-approved food on the receipt.

In other words, they confiscated the entire shipment which I am sure ended up in the playroom of some Thai general's kids. All this happened even though one of the biggest customs brokers in Thailand was paid to facilitate importation, and all appropriate "extra-ordinary fees" were offered.

My point: BE CAREFUL. Make sure everything is perfect because if it is not, you will lose any goods that appeal to the Customs official.

Hi, this sounds quite strange. When you ship goods, there are normally 3 documents to follow it

* Bill of Lading

* Packing List

* Commercial Invoice

If the commercial invoice (what you refer to as receipt) shows goods that are actually not in the container, you are not only breaking the law, you are also creating unecessary trouble for yourself. The items on the invoice should match the packing list - if it doesn't, the freight forwarder should notice it and contact the shipper to have it corrected. Until documents are in order, the shipment should be refused (we do, at least).

brgds

nm

You are right! That is exactly what happened, the Invoice showed the total purchase from the supplier but the Packing List and Bill of Lading only showed what was in the shipment.

The Customs Broker hired to ensure it cleared customs was dealing with the shipper well in advance but when the shipment arrived, they just called to say "Oops sorry, it was confiscated because the paperwork didn't match. There's nothing we can do."

And they were a major player in Thailand. Hence my warning about being vigilant about hiring anyone here.

Just mentioning lifting weights at the gym on a regular basis will put many people, particularly women, off exercising at all.

A lot of women don't want to replace fat with muscle, they just want to lose their fat by the easiest method possible. So, they usually choose dieting.

And that is soooooo sad, 'cause there is nothing sexier than a woman with toned muscles! Not bulky or big, just hard and defined. Women almost never bulk up when weight training. Their bodies don't usually produce enough testosterone for that so they just get a fantastic shape, more energy and a vastly increased libido.

i think you have been lucky to see the true nature of your girlfriend's feelings before you married her....i have been here seven years and sadly have seen almost no successful farang-thai marriages....by successful i mean an equal and equitable relationship full of affection, mutual respect and understanding, not "tinted" by the farang's fincial status....

yes there is a huge cultural difference and a pre-nup is something i doubt many thais can comprehend....but i also doubt that having experienced her reaction you could ever feel comfortable and 100% trusting of her motivations in marrying you....

even when a thai woman truly loves a farang man, the financial aspect is almost always part of that love....the level of deprivation here is such a that a farang who brings financial stability to a thai woman and her family becomes an object of respect and love....your money makes her feel secure....making someone feel secure always enhances love....i wonder if in this situation, the person can be separated from the security he brings....

just took it - 100% mahayana and 98% theravada which is what i would expect since i have been practicing mahayana buddhism for 28 years

I saw this on esangha and thought it was pretty cool.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

My results were;

1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%)

2. Theravada Buddhism (88%)

3. Hinduism (84%)

4. Neo-Pagan (79%)

5. Jainism (77%)

6. Taoism (76%)

7. New Age (73%)

8. Sikhism (66%)

9. Liberal Quakers (64%)

10. Unitarian Universalism (64%)

11. New Thought (51%)

12. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (46%)

13. Orthodox Quaker (46%)

14. Scientology (43%)

15. Reform Judaism (39%)

16. Secular Humanism (38%)

17. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (33%)

18. Bahá'í Faith (26%)

19. Orthodox Judaism (24%)

20. Seventh Day Adventist (23%)

21. Nontheist (19%)

22. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (15%)

23. Jehovah's Witness (12%)

24. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (12%)

25. Eastern Orthodox (10%)

26. Islam (10%)

27. Roman Catholic (10%)

I though that I would have scored highest for Theravada. How did you do?