khaowong1

I don't understand what Thaksin thinks the King would do. Thaksin was found guilty and sentenced in a court of law. MAYBE, if Thaksin came back and went to prison, MAYBE the King might grant him a early release. But you know that Thaksin is never coming back to face his punishment. I feel sorry for him that he only has the money from selling his football club, to support his family.

The current PM Somchai earlier flew up to Chiang Mai, while Thaksin is in Hong Kong saying... "people's power can bring him back to Thailiand"?

Does anyone happen to know if there are direct flights from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai? The conspiracy theories that one could read into things...

wouldn't that be funny.

Sticking to the basics...

Why is it that I often know a quicker way to get somewhere than my driver? And he's been driving for over 30 years in Bangkok!

You must be a lovely human being, thaibkk, not to give a rats for anyone else but yourself.

The following is a somewhat pertinent piece currently doing the rounds of the internet:

Yours sincerely and God save your Queen,

--snip--

A group of Thai people.

Brilliant! Well said!

Very well said indeed!

You are interested in tattoo's. Did you read the article here: Sak Yan and Their Meanings by agsnowden. It's a good artile on the Buddhist tattoo. One of the most famous tattoo artists now is Ajahn Noo Kampai. He's the one who gave the tattoo to Angelina Jolie.

I agree with jdinasia. Come to Thailand, meet some monks. There is a temple in central Bangkok close to the river, Wat Mahathat. They have a foreigner section there, section 5. There should be some monks there that speak English, there have been every time I was there. Talk to them. Get a feel for it. Then make up your mind. They even have a great bookstore there. I have bought many Buddhist books from there. I hate to say this, cause someone is going to call me on it, but Thailand or Sri Lanka is the Buddhist capitals of the world. You want to learn Buddhism, come here.

Despite much of the stuff about nagas and devas being more or less in accord with the Pali Canon and other texts (nagas and devas like these live in the realm of the Four Great Kings, immediately above the human realm), there are things that don't ring true in this account. One is the odd part about the abbot kicking the guy out of the monastery and threatening to call the police. Another is his teaching dhamma to the devas. I've never heard of anyone doing that except the Buddha himself. Also, there's his supposedly incredible attainments in such a short time, even though he doesn't act like someone with high attainments (jacking off surrounded by devas, for example...).

My guess is the 7 weeks' intensive meditation has triggered an episode of hypomania, a mild form of mania. I've seen one other case like this in the past, where a guy with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Canon was challenging all-comers to debates, finally claiming he was a sotapanna and then an arahant. His parents took him to see a doctor and he was diagnosed as having mania.

I would be interested to find out what happened to this guy. He appears to need some mental help. Have you heard about him since?

i'm not sure, but don't you have to be educated in Buddhism to be ordained?

No, you ordain to be educated in Buddhism, if by educated you mean actually practice it rather than learn about it.

Some of the practice oriented teaching traditions would discourage too much book learning when you are a monk let alone before you ordain.

Yes, I believe that Ajahn Chah was famous for saying, put down the books and instead practice meditation.

As far as whether you should go live in a temple right away or not, I think if you had the money, spend a year at this college. You will learn a lot more there than you would at a temple. Believe me. I spent 3 months ordained at a temple North of Bangkok and didn't learn anything while I was there, at least about the Buddhist religion. It looks to me like there are a lot of monks going to this college and you would really learn a lot from the school and these monk students.

I just looked at the IBC website. Very interesting. My guess is, you would be the only American at this college and would probably be asked to help teach an English class, maybe they would lower your tuition some for it.

Where are you now? In Thailand or back in the U.S.?

I find it interesting to see that many people answering this question give the answer, NO. I cannot count the number of Buddhist temples I have been to in Thailand, and see very few monks with out a tattoo. No, having a tattoo will not stop your chances of becoming a Buddhist monk. What will stop your chances is your reasons. You should have some Thai friends help you about approaching a abbot to ordain. You should also be commmitted to learning to speak Thai. There are few temples that have any monks that speak English. As far as I know, there is no such thing as a Buddhist missionary or chaplain. I spent three months ordained at a temple North of Bangkok where no one spoke English and it was difficult. But I had a good dictionary.

I read everything I can find on the talks given by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. I have yet to find any fault with anything he says. We need another one just like him is this day and age.

They are pretty much the same as far as I can tell. In theory Dhammayut is more strict and more likely to be a Forest Wat but I think it depends more on the teaching lineage that it comes from.

The Dhammayut Wat I ordained at was a branch monestary of Luangta Maha Boowa and is suppopsed to be one of the strictest however I found it less strict than Wat Pah Nanachaat a Mahanikaya Wat of the Ajahn Chah lineage.

The former is easier to get an ordination in, the latter expects a 5 year commitment.

I talk to a phra Martin up at Wat where Luanta Maha Boowa is, do you know him? I think he is a German and has been there for 13 years.

I spent two weeks in a meditation class at Wat Luang Por Sodh Dhammakaya in Rajburi in 2007. It was pretty strange. They were very adamant about Luang Por Sodh's meditation techniques. They claimed this style was the only way to reach nirvana. It was way too detailed for me.

I would like to ask my learned collegues, which sect in Thailand is it easier to ordain at and easier for a farang to understand. When ever I ask this question of a Thai monk, I pretty much don't get an answer. I would also like to know the difference in teaching of the two. Mahanakai - Thammayud. I probably misspelled them both. Sorry

I don't know which would be easier to ordain into or easier for a farang to understand, but I do know that both sects are orders of the same Thai Theravada Buddhism and so the core teachings of both are essentially the same. The Dhammayut order however, which was established by King Mongkut in the mid 1800s is generally considered to be the more strict of the two and is known for enforcing the rules of the Vinaya more closely. Those monks you see on busses smoking cigarettes, handling money and talking on mobile phones are most likely (but not necessarily) Maha Nikai monks. Because it was established by King Mongkut, the Dhammayut order is more often associated with the monarchy and is the sect the present king ordained into many years ago. The late reformer monks Buddhadassa Bhikku and Phra Panyanandha however were of the Maha Nikai sect as is the very popular (but not so reformist) monk Luang Por Koon. I have read that in Thailand Maha Nikai wats out number Dhammayut wats about 5 to 1 but I can't remember where I read that and can't back it up with any references right now. I'm sure a quick google search would lead you to some material on the subject and the actual numbers. I know that both sects accept farangs for ordination if the abbot in the wat you wish to attend finds you acceptable. It would be my guess however, that the Dhammayut order would be the much more austere of the two.

Thanks Groonthep, that is pretty much what I thought also. I didn't know that about Buddhadassa Bhikku, Phra Panyanandha or Luang Por Koon. How about Ajahn Chah or even further back Luang Por Mun? I find it fascinating to see what sects these different guru monks belonged to. I was ordained for three months with a temple North of Bangkok, Wat Phua U Dom, and it was a Dhammayut temple. They were very strict although I enjoyed being with them. Now I am thinking of ordaining again, but can't make up my mind which sect to try. I go to a Maha Nikai country temple in Lopburi, and like them very much. Your answers are helping me make a decision. Thanks again.

I have an unusual question but it's bugging me badly. I have a girlfriend in Mae Sot. I travel on business often and we stay in touch with mobiles. Sometimes, she will switch off her phone, which never bothered me or made me suspicious but a friend recently said to me that Thai girls never ever switch off their phones and i should be suspicious of this. This one sentence from my friend has now turned me into mr parnoia and i wanting to know if Thai girls really never switch off their phones. Does your wife or girlfriend do this? I want to point out that my girlfriend is not a bar girl and works a normal job as a manager's office assistant.

I have been living with my Thai girlfriend now for over 1 1/2 years, and she's never, ever turned her phone off.

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

Oh dear....I don't exactly know how to put this.

Yes many Thais will show their dislike of "dark skinned foriegners"

The foriegner can't do anything about that, but his/her behaviour will make a big difference in the response.

It isn't racisim as much as it is that many Thai women find heavy or musty body odor a real turn off.

Therefore, for your friend, I reccomend that he is very careful about attention to body odor,

and definately use deoderent and such to cover up any body odor.

Thai's often have an opinion that anyone hairy is "crude", and heavy sweatting is frowned upon.

Yes, it's hot and humid, and you can't do anything about that, but if he is going out for a night of goodtimes with the Thai ladies, you will do a lot better if his body odor can't be detected and he is wearing cologne.

If he sweats heavily, have him buy those scented packets of moistend towelettes.

When going into an air-conditioned bar, on arrival break have him open one packet of towelettes and wipe down his arms and face.

It will make the bargirls think a lot higher of him.

I know this for a fact. I'm a large and hairy Farang who tends to sweat a lot. I know whereof I speak, on this subject.

Most Thai's think that ALL farangs stink. My girlfriend is always telling me I smell and I take about 3 showers a day. But if I mention her breath is bad after eating some really nasty fishy stuff, katy bar the door.

Hi,

and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

well dont try to get into a bar in nana plaza then

yes, I've seen indians turned away at the doors in Nana.

is it hard for a foreigner to date a Chinese Thai girl?

It all depends on her family. I'm not sure about Chinese/Thai, but have had many friends, farangs, trying to date Chinese girls and her family always put their foot down and said, ai-heh, are you clazy? No way..

I would like to ask my learned collegues, which sect in Thailand is it easier to ordain at and easier for a farang to understand. When ever I ask this question of a Thai monk, I pretty much don't get an answer. I would also like to know the difference in teaching of the two. Mahanakai - Thammayud. I probably misspelled them both. Sorry