Khnom

Perhaps I should have said that I believe you. Seems like that wat is pretty corrupted.

I'm not sure what to do in this case.

The 5th precept of Buddhism??

please quote for me please....

I'm going to give you 8 of them. Good deal, eh?

http://www.watpahnanachat.org/8-precepts.php

(BTW, the ex-head monk of the wat in the link was a Canadian).

I have to second the 2 replies above - I've never seen alcohol in any of the wats I went.

Good post there. This is also one of my questions. Why is sex such a bad thing in Buddhism? For me, it's a gift from God. The relationship I have with my wife is spiritually edifying, she helps me (and I her) on our spiritual paths, why shouldn't it be?

I agree with you that sex with the right person is spiritual. At the same time, imagine all the young men lined up to become monks so they can help women make merits by having sex with them. There won't be any male left outside in the world. Such is a likely scenario if having monks are allowed to have sex. It would be difficult to stop it at marital sex.

Seriously, sex drive is perhaps the strongest drive there is, and as Garro mentioned, it brings along a lot of other attachments. What if the wife wants to make more Jatukam to rake in more dough when you're against it? etc, etc, endless possibilities down the worldly road.

Their website is centermeditation.org, but I had a hard time bringing it up. Not sure what the problem is.

They are located in the Old Town section of BK, next to Silpakorn University, which in turn, is right across the street from the Grand Palace. Their phone number is here: http://www.tourismthailand.se/about_thai/special_bud1.htm

You may want to consider starting out small, rather than to go the whole hog with 26 days. Even a 10-day retreat could be a lot if you have never done any meditation at all.

I've just started to explore meditation myself, and tried to focus my research (just last month) on places that have shorter programs. I found Wat Umong in CM only takes women (called twice and talked with different people to verify). At Wat Sri Chomthong in CM, you can stay anywhere from 3 to 30 days.

I ended up at Section 5 of Wat Mahataad next to Silpakorn University. They run a day program here, 7 days a week. Each day has 3 similar sessions: from 7AM to 10AM, 1PM to 4PM, and 6PM to 9PM. You can stay as much or as little as you want each day. You can also opt to spend the night(s) at the wat. No matter what you choose, these sessions are free of charge. I donated, but they were really low key about it as they didn't even solicit me anything.

There is a meditation room set up especially for foreigners. My guess is the instructions are in English (I'm Thai, so I sat in the Thai section). I saw many farungs there, most of them day trippers. The older monk in the front desk speaks good enough English. He would be your first point of contact as you walk in. Bring a "puang malai" on your first day for your teacher.

I attended at least one session almost everyday for 2 weeks, and it's the best thing that happened to me in a long time. I'm now looking forward to a 10-day retreat, hopefully in the near future.

Good luck to you.

From a local wat's monthly newsletter: be aware of the path each of your thoughts is leading you.

This is great. I love the translation. I've always wondered what it all means. Thanks.

I didn't finish the article...got to about the 5th line and stopped when it mentioned something like "to gain merits, one needs to have money". I realized this is not an article I'd like to spend my time reading.

Not to minimize such a tragic crime, but I've got a question for you: Had the victim been a Thai, would the members of this board be as up-in-arm about this murder?

Probably not. But then again, it was a foreigner as are most members on this forum, i.e. expats or tourists, so it is only human nature that we pay more attention to crime news with foreigners as victims than we do to news about Thai victims.

Also, Japanese women are so cute...

Your point is taken. Thank you.

If the victim had been Thai, and the attack had occured in the SF bay area,

the entire community would be up-in-arms, not just the local Thais.

The only time I've seen an ethnic community got all riled up was when an on-duty policeman in uniform shot and killed an elderly Vietnamese grandmother. She was stopped for a minor traffic violation and ended up dead.

I would think for people who choose to live in the area most prone to earthquakes and in a relatively violent country have already assessed their risk tolerance level before making the choice. If it's a one-off as in the example above, then all bets are off.

Not to minimize such a tragic crime, but I've got a question for you: Had the victim been a Thai, would the members of this board be as up-in-arm about this murder?

See here, this is but one example.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...12487&st=15

Horrifically ludicrous! Good grief... I wasn't aware of this. Thank you.

If the victim had been Thai, and the attack had occured in the SF bay area,

the entire community would be up-in-arms, not just the local Thais.

The only time I've seen an Ethnic community around here got all riled up was when an on-duty policeman in uniform shot and killed an elderly Vietnamese grandmother a few years ago. She was stopped for a minor traffic violation and ended up dead.

I would think that most people who choose to live in the area most prone to earthquake and in a relatively violent country have assessed their risk tolerance level before making the choice. If it's a one-off like the example above, then all bets are off.

How do you ask for medium spicy.

Try "Ped Klang" or medium heat. This should work for most things, except for som tum, which seems to have its own scale that is hotter than everything else.

If you aren't sure, you can ask for low heat or "ped noi" or no heat "mai ped", then add chilies later if it isn't enough.

I am going to my local restaurant for lunch today. I have lived in my house for 8 months, visiting this place regularly. I still can't get my "prik gaeng gai" right.

Isn't it about time for you to switch restuarant?

Finally, one for the good guys!

I'd have done the same.

Not to minimize such a tragic crime, but I've got a question for you: Had the victim been a Thai, would the members of this board be as up-in-arm about this murder?

There are murder, rape, assualt, etc that happen all the times. It seems to hit "home" for some of you only if it involves farungs, tourists, women, Japanese, etc, etc.

It's all wrong whoever the victim is. I can't imagine what her family members are going thru right now.

A BBC page has a video interview of the gal who survived the ordeal. She said she lives because her boyfriend saved her. He died trying to save her the 2nd time.

Brave soul. RIP.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...nds/7046274.stm

My comments on previous answers, assuming the deceased was a buddhist:

• The bit about pouring water over hand...this is done only on the very first day of the funeral (it's called "Rodt Naam"). You won't have to participate if you go on later days.
  
• You don't wai 3 times - you "Kraab" 3 times (for pronunciation, note the 2 "a"). The description for the kraab that Quicksilva gave you is correct (it is not a normal wai). I'm only offering a minor correction on his wording.
  

I'd also like to give you some pointers here:

• The dress will be very formal. For the great majority of the men, it's black or dark charcoal grey suit. Even dark navy blue will make you stick out like a sore thumb. A white shirt and a very plain black tie (think Mormon missionary) to go with the suit. Skip the jacket if you don't already have a black suit.
  
• The seatings closest to the front (coffin side) are usually for the tribe elders ("Poo Yai"). You don't want to sit there anyway since it's the most somber and quiet area during the chant. I always sat in the "extended" area where seatings are outside the building. This is where you can talk more freely, go back for 2nd if you like the food, and check out the cute girls nearby (pardon my crudeness, but hey, life goes on, and this is what the living do
  
• The seating in the front is also for those the host respects (big bosses and the like). I always saw people deny these seating when offered. My guess is they're being humble.
  
• You may want to consider giving cash to the host to help with funeral expenses. It's given to one of the host immediate family members in an envelope. You may want to check with another Thai biz associate on the appropriate amount. Now, I don't recall people doing this years ago, but they are doing it now, at least in BKK area.
  
• It's OK to smile at a Thai funeral. Laughing is also OK if done with consideration.
  

Having said all that, I'm a Thai Thai, and not a Chinese Thai. I don't know the differences that may exist in funeral occastions. You should check with someone local.

Lastly, relax. Nobody will chastise you for not knowing all this complicated stuff. I think you will appear well prepped.

Hope this helps.

"why eat spicy food in a hot climate?"

Perhaps for the same reasons the West invented cold beer and ice cream

wasn't ready to post that one....you may want to consider

- find out what Latin men don't like or are turned off by, then practice doing that / being that way, and be ready to switch it on if needed.

- deny all advances, first politely but have plan b, c, etc to escalate to ready in mind.

- take control by doing all pickings yourself (should you desire a company), and don't let them pick you.

If you think you're a weirdo magnet, then you will be. Don't lose your confidence. It's just a bad phase that will pass.

In addition to suggestions above, you may want to consider:

Growing up in my family, the dinner conversations were usually pretty light. We talked about food (surprised?), people, humor du jour, etc. My dad usually stayed quiet. He worked very hard, and you could tell he got work bouncing around in his mind most of the time. I had seen friends' dads very engaged and entertaining. So it all varies.

My wife said I "yak" too much. The girlfriend before her said I was uncommunicative. It all depends.

If he's unwilling to chat from time to time for whatever reasons, I guess it's fine. You can keep the dinner conversations light and entertaining, and do the real talk later. I wouldn't worry about it.

It's another story if he's unable or unwilling to communicate or express himself. Only time will tell I guess.

Sure, life is what we make of it, but doesn't what we make out of life our purposes? If "purpose" sounds too absolute, perhaps charter is a better word.

Since one has an infinite number of choices at any moment, how does one know what one's life should be about?

My sister said she from the time she was 6-7 years old what exactly she wanted to do with her life, her profession, where she'd like to live, etc. So far she hits almost all of them, and said she would do it all the same if given another chance depite knowing full well all the drawbacks of her choices now that she lives them. Somehow she knew...

As far as I know, there is only one triathlon event in Thailand - Phuket Luguna Triatlon. Has anyone ever done it? What do you think of it?

Thanks in advance.

http://www.lagunaphuket.com/triathlon/index.html

Mr. Hippo: this is truly awesome. I checked your blog and the official event site, and I'm impressed you can pull this off in Thailand. Hats off to you.

21 days over 1,300 miles is serious riding. How much do pollution / traffic / bad driving / humidity and heat hamper the riding? How many people participated last year? Do you change course from year to year?

The cost to participate is substantial. I understand it's a charity ride. Still, I can't imagine many Thais would be able to afford / willing to pay for it.

You ride in BKK? Your neighborhood ride is Lad Proa? You gotta be a nut case. You make me look very sane