khaowong1

Tolsi, I got off track reading all those other posts. Sorry.. CONGRATULATIONS YOU LUCKY BUGGER.

If the Buddha didn't say it, he probably should have. What a great way to look at things. I'm going to jot that down and use it.

"After dinner" doesn't really mean after a meal. It's just a time-frame. I eat very little or nothing at night.

Still, I'm sure you're right: first thing in the morning would be best. But it's also the best time for reading, isn't it, and for exercise.

Having been in a profession in which I've had to do formal study to stay ahead of the game (for leadership positions), I early found that reading demanding or boring material was best done early in the day, before breakfast, so that's what I've done for the past 30 years. Coffee just goes with the territory. This is going to be a hard habit to break, even though I don't have to study or do any difficult reading any more.

I think it's clear you give higher priority to your study and coffee than you do to your meditation. I'm not going to criticise that, as long as you are aware that's what you're doing and it's a choice you've made. I can tell from your posts on Thaivisa that this lifetime habit of giving priority to study has paid dividends.

For me I find first thing in the morning is the worst time for sitting, I find my attention quite scattered, wheras I find late evening before bedtime the best.

I assume you are (semi?) retired now so I think it would be worthwhile using that as an opportunity to experiment with your routine. In practise it's a good idea to always be pushing your boundaries in one way or another.

I'm just like you Bruce, I find first thing in the mornings is my worst time to meditate. I usually do some in the afternoons and then my best meditations before bed. I usually, almost always, take a shower before hand to wake my self up. At a temple, it's pretty hard to get any free time in the mornings. Bindabot at day break, breakfast then chanting, and it seems like every person in the neighborhood wants to come by in the morning to chat or get help with their daily problems. So, it's prior to bed for me.

I haven't even started to read the other posters, but all I can say is, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha and ha.

Like one of the posters said, it depends on whom your volunteering with. If it's some high muckety muck, no problems, on your own, yes, for sure someone is probably going to complain to the authorities. Say for example, you were going to do a lecture or two at the Chula univ. presidents invitation, no problems for sure. Or some govt. fairly highly placed individual asked your opinion on some piece of legal document in accordance with us laws, for sure, no problems. otherwise. skip it.,

I wonder who profits handsomely on them holding seminars regularly....?

Pointing a finger at Thailand does not distract from the fact that a supposedly developed country that touts freedom and equality does not walk the walk.

Angmo: you've got it exactly wrong. It says the US government has charged a PRIVATE company with the abuses...it is not the US government which perpetrated the abuses. Global Horizons is a private company, operating illegally.

It is the very fact that the US is a developed country with the rule of law that is bringing this situation to an end. The US absolutely "walks the walk", much more so than most countries.

Good job Jawnie.

Passakorn tried to dismiss the bribe claim, saying that Bt500 was given to policemen only for security provided.

If a pub needs 20 security guards a day, it has bigger problems than under-age drinkers and bare boobs.

Is there a Thai equivalent of the phrase "if you're in a hole, stop digging"?

I have already told the taxi drivers that if they cause any more problems they will drive away tourists and will no longer be able to earn income

Too late . . . the world knows already now how Thailand operates things and have already stopped coming here in droves. Don't believe the approved tourist figures they keep posting, they are pulling those numbers out of the air as always. Until "Thailand" understands that tourists come here cos they "choose" to and that tourists have many other places to choose to go spend their money that is just as beautiful and nice and far cheaper now, nothing will change. At the moment, the Thai's seem to think it's their "right" to screw tourists out of as much money as they can as quickly as they can with no thought of the future . . . well, that's already coming back to bite them in the ass and it won't get any better any time soon until or unless there is a radical changes in attitude and treatment of foreigners in general. You reap what you sow.

Good luck in the attitude adjustments. From what I can see, about the only thing that's going to help is if tourists just flat quit coming. I would like to see the tour ships find another port to go to and actually show Thailand what's what.

who is still renting jets skis in Phuket??

Right!!

My thoughts too.

If you don rent one, you wont have a problem.

it's not the police's responsibility to weed out corruption. this is clearly the fault of the tourist. u live in a twisted world.

I'm sorry, I'm confused.. just what is the police's resonsibility? I would think that weeding out corruption should be part of the police job. OHHH, I forgot where I am. Pardon..

I have to agree with the higher English speaking skills. How can those students expect to study with out good English skills? It appears to me, that some of those students just want to get to another country and find work. Which is ok, just don't grab up the student visa's to get there. Here in the U.S., I have met very, very few Thai's with even decent English. Even those who have been here for 15 or 20 years still can't speak English well.

He said that the clip has negatively affected the image of Thai culture and that all parties involved with such behaviour should be punished, while asking police to give importance to this issue, for it destroys the country's reputation.

Just what does he think Thailand's reputation is? Shocking how this wonderful pure society will be marred by these hussies! The fact they are allowed to flaunt themselves in public and sell their bodies with impunity in bars often owned by policemen is doing far, far worse damage.

500 Baht for dancing topless; 100,000 baht or 5 years for uploading the video to Youtube... The message is that it is not a big deal to dance topless in public - as long as nobody finds out. Pretty much like Thai politics...

ha ha ha... good one, and to the point..

I have a hard time understanding Mahayana Buddhism. I guess you can just come and go as a monk whenever you want. I have a lot of respect for the Dalai Lama but the rest of the lama's I just don't understand. I'll try harder.

Well done Thailand.

USA will have 500+ road deaths on thanksgiving day, 50% will involve alcohol.

set against a population differential of 300 million to 67 million?

actually both countries should be ashamed.

I also would not count my chickens before they hatch regarding Thailand's holiday as they don't appear to have related the deaths to the actual festival crescendo dates.

I may be wrong, but according to my calculations, the u.s. percentage of deaths is half that of thailand according to population numbers. correct or not?

I'm working on my own Guinness Record

good luck in your endeavor.

Heck, we got rained out the 1st day here in Phoenix, Arizona. the next day, beautiful.. go figure..

this should start a real broha.

booze (alcohol) is just fluids. It does nothing by itself. It's the people who drink way too much of it and then drive. Actually, the root of all evil is probably ignorance.

I don't understand... So you can be elected to public office and still be in the military or on the police force. Isn't this kinda like buying a fox to guard the hen house? at least a conflict of interest?

229 to be precise. Buddhism, in my opinion, is becoming a culture thing. The Thai's do one way, the Laos another, etc. etc. It would be virtually impossible to stop all this stuff in favor of the more strict Buddhist teachings. As most know, who's spent any time in the temple, that the temples now adays, I can only speak for the Thai temples I have stayed at, tend to lean toward anything that brings in money to support them. I see things happen that makes me just walk back to my kuti and sit inside rather than opening my mouth and causing discontent. But, I'm going on my 4th year as a monk now and sometimes, when I come up agains't some practices at the temple I feel is wrong, I just refuse to participate. My abbot understands me and doesn't say anything. I also understand that he sometimes has to go along with these money making enterprises to keep his temple running. When and where do we as monks draw a line in the sand?

We shave our hair and eyebrows on the day preceding the full moon, every month. Some Thai monks will let their beards and mustaches grow for the whole month, but then, they don't have much to grow. I think they do it for the Brad Pitt effect. I have to shave my beard every two or three days or I start looking like Santa Claus. or a hippie.

No mate, Interpol and FBI being involved will make it harder for these guys to get off.

Interpol has no powers of arrest it exists for investigation only. What powers do you think the FBI have for a crime committed in Thailand, against antipodeans?

As maverick put it, "Just a walk in the park, kazanski"

Exactly true Loz, nothing will be done on this thing but line some police big shots pocket. pay a fine for working with out a permit and thrown out of the country.

Conversation with the Thai cow girls can be a light on the intellectual...

Some people you do meet have stories so unbelievable that they are probably true. Once met an old Arab airline pilot; he told me he was test flying some new plane for the airline he was working for. He told me he remembered Sukhumwit when it had palm trees and a lady could be had for 30 baht.

I love those old, old storys. Back when gi's could get laid for a bar of soap, etc.

I know Dr. Barton personally. I stayed with him for 2 weeks back in 2007. They have a different way of studying meditation. Personally, I had a hard time understanding it. He told me the storys of people reaching and talking to Buddha after only two weeks of meditation. It's just my personal feelings these people were not telling the truth or had great imaginations. Like Sabaijai says, the Dhammakaya are pretty strange.