camerata

The definition I'm using is "inferring an unknown from something that is known." In other words, to use logic to come up with an answer that is more than a guess. In this case, the known facts are the precepts and codes of behaviour left to us by the Buddha in the Canon. The problem is not so much that the guidelines he left are poor, but that they might not be specific enough or are maybe too specific for some situations today.

From what I've read by academics like Warder, Gethin, et al, the bulk of the suttas were spoken by one individual (i.e. the Buddha), and the record we have in the canons are in some parts probably verbatim, in others rearranged in a formulaic q&a format. At any rate, the various canons are all we have. To follow the Buddha's teachings means to follow the basic teachings set down in the Pali, Chinese or Tibetan canon.

Extrapolation is not speculation. There are lots of questions as to what the Buddha would have thought about aspects of modern living, and whether they are wholesome or unwholesome kamma. All we can do is look at what the Buddha said about similar situations in his own time and extrapolate from there. Western monks and lay teachers are doing this all the time.

One off-topic post has been deleted. Let's stay on the topic of present-day Buddhist monks/temples and whether the Buddha would approve of them.

Let's be clear about one thing, there are rules for monks (primarily the 227 precepts), and immediate consequences if they break them (disrobing etc). For lay Buddhists there are guidelines (the 5 precepts), which people keep if they want to attain nibbana, but there are no rules as such. So a lay person can't be called a hypocrite for failing to follow the precepts unless he is claiming everyone should follow them.

To answer the OP, which mostly referred to monk's behaviour, one only has to look - in the Pali Canon - at how monks were expected to behave in the Buddha's time. Basically, they were in the monkhood to attain nibbana, by meditating, listening to sermons, and following rules of behavior. Their relationship with the laity was that the laity provided their essential needs and in return they taught the Dhamma. Anything other than that, the Buddha probably wouldn't have allowed.

Most of the problems mentioned in the OP have come about because these days most monks aren't in it for nibbana, and because the laity expect various services from them other than teaching.

I don't know about young Koreans becoming Christian, but there is plenty of info available about the rise of Christianity in Korea in general.

"Factors contributing to the growth of Protestantism included the degenerate state of Korean Buddhism, the efforts made by educated Christians to reconcile Christian and Confucian values (the latter being viewed as purely a social ethic rather than a religion), the encouragement of self-support and self-government among members of the Korean church, and the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_South_Korea

"The influence on education has been decisive as Christians started 293 schools and 40 universities including 3 of the top 5 academic institutions. Protestantism is seen as the religion of the middle class, youth, intellectuals, and urbanites, and has been central to South Korea's pursuit of modernity and emulation of the United States."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Korea

The woman wringing out her hair is Phra Mae Thorani (Dharani), the earth goddess, part of the Buddha's enlightenment legend. The serpents are called nagas. Mucalinda, king of the nagas, once sheltered the Buddha from the rain. Most of the strange, hybrid animals you see outside temples or depicted in murals are from the Himaphan Forest.

I think the first step would be to buy one of the many Thai amulet magazines on sale. They would have details of amulet markets, buyers and sellers, etc.

Hang On To Your Ego

by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

...

Because the Buddha saw how these enlightened qualities of wisdom, compassion, and purity could be developed through the pursuit of happiness, he never told his followers to practice his teachings without expecting any gain in return. He understood that such a demand would create an unhealthy dynamic in the mind. In terms of Western psychology, expecting no gain in return would give license for the super-ego to run amok. Instead, the Buddha taught that even the principle of renunciation is a trade. You exchange candy for gold, trading lesser pleasures for greater happiness. So he encouraged people to be generous with their time and possessions because of the inner rewards they would receive in return. He taught moral virtue as a gift: when you observe the precepts without ifs, ands, or buts, you give unconditional safety to all other beings, and in return you receive a share of that safety as well.

...

Full article.

This is the Buddhist Forum, not a general religion forum. Topic closed.

Time for a bhikkhuni sangha?

If one takes a close look at Thai society today, it could be argued that it is primarily the women who run daily affairs. In a country where females outnumber males, the gender dynamics of the nation have dramatically shifted over the last few decades to where women fulfill many of the major roles in society. The majority of university enrollments are women, the breadwinners in many families are women, many corporate executives and civil servants are women, the majority of new entrepreneurial start-ups are undertaken by women, and even many farmers are women.

Dr. Siriwan Ratanakarn from Bangkok University in a paper on the women’s role in Thai society discusses the important contributions made by such women as Nang Suang, Sikhara Maha-Devi, Nang Nopamas, Queen Suriyothai, Queen Saovabhaphongsri, and Queen Sirikit. She states that these women have helped to shape Thai culture, customs, and traditions either as regents themselves or as direct advisors to their kings. She also points out how, during the Sukhothai period, women were portrayed as equal partners to men. Through literature, we can note that women’s status became much lower through the Ayutthaya period, where they were portrayed as obedient wives and daughters. Siriwan believes that women in Thailand have come a long way since then.

However, even with general acceptance about the emerging importance of the matriarchal role of women in society today, there is still one last bastion forbidden to women. This is the domain of the Buddhist monkhood, something that has been strictly taboo for women in Thailand for the last seven centuries.

Although women were given the right to vote back in 1932, they were never given the right to be ordained as a monk. There is nothing in the Thai constitution forbidding women becoming monks. However the Sangha council which governs the monkhood continues to maintain that only men can enter the monkhood. This is based upon the Sangha Act 1928, which to all intents and purposes is still upheld as being valid.

The Theravada Bhikkhuni order was never “officially” established in Thailand, although it exists in both Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The absence of Bhikkhuni in Thailand over the last century has led to the perception among many Thais that women are not meant to play a monastic role in life other than being a lay follower, or becoming a Mae Ji, or nun. Although a Mae Ji is higher than a lay person, this place within the monastic hierarchy tends to be seen as subservient to monks. In addition, monks receive free public transport, reserved seats in public places, and government identity cards, which Mae Ji, just aren’t entitled to.

This restricts women in the monastic hierarchy to only participating in activities of obtaining merit through collective rituals, and undertaking the housekeeping activities within a temple. Basically they are there to serve the monks.

A common perception by many within Thai society about nuns, is that while they are robed in white, they are most probably present in the temple because they have no other place to go, suffer from a broken relationship, have a psychotic disorder, or have very little education.

Full story

In Thailand, as in other countries, you can specify in your Will what you want regarding the disposal of your remains. I suspect very few Thais do that, though, as the family will take care of it.

I confess I was taken in by Castenada's writings myself, in the first three books. It became increasingly clear to me, though, as the series moved forward, that the tales were almost pure fantasy, as they were later revealed to be.

This was my experience too. After the second book and the initial disappearance of Don Juan, I read the books as fantasy entertainment.

While I remember seeing The Third Eye in every bookshop in the 70s I never thought to read it. Oddly enough, decades later I would thoroughly enjoy reading Alexandra David-Neel's Tibet books. One of them was made into a movie - Valley of Flowers - that I've always had a soft spot for.

Some off-topic remarks have been deleted.

I like Ubon but without your own transport you are limited to a dozen temples, the park and the national museum. As others have said, you won't meet many western tourists there.

This was the Chaeng Wattana government complex looking north from Immigration at 10am today. There are some protesters over to the right, but most of them were outside on the east side of the building.

Will it be possible to get to immigration today (Friday).I read about some people that said they went last two days and were in and out quickly, while others said they gave up because of the traffic. So conflicting reports.

No problems getting to Chaeng Wattana today, and applying for a re-entry visa was quicker than usual. I got the free No. 166 bus from Victory Monument but was told there weren't any going back into town, so I took a taxi to Mor Chit. Traffic was light both ways.

There's traffic congestion on Sukhumwit Road in Samut Prakan due to protesters gathering at City Hall.

Whereabouts at Victory Monument does the bus stop?

temples here are a bit like social welfare in the civilized countries... as anybody can join and ... relax

Yes, they do have this redeeming quality.

It's the same as Christian religion at home IMHO. They are full of shit, but at least they help out the indigent along the way.

Truth be told, their whole objective of helping the poor is to pounce on the poor and convert them to Christianity or Buddhism.

I guess they have some sort of quota on the amount of people/souls they coax into heaven.

This doesn't apply in Thailand since just about everyone is "born Buddhist" so there are few "souls" left to convert to Buddhism. Also, the tradition in Buddhism is not to proselytize.

This is the trouble when trying to write about "Buddhism" in general. Some points don't apply to one or the other of the main schools.

For the explanations, click on the source link. The full article is on the Tricycle website.

Members are free to agree or disagree with the OP's opinion, preferably by presenting some facts. That's the whole idea of a forum.

One off-topic post has been deleted, along with another that quoted from the Bangkok Post.

From the Forum Rules:

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The gist of the article was that the king and other Thai devotees have donated 300k of gold to gild the spire of the Mahabodhi Temple in India. I don't see how that is relevant to greed, though. People in SE Asia seem to like gilding temples and images with gold as an offering. It wasn't requested by the temple, so it's generosity rather than greed.

1. All Buddhists meditate.

2. The primary form of Buddhist meditation is mindfulness.

3. All Buddhists are vegetarians.

4. All Buddhists are pacifists.

5. Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion.

6. The Buddha was a human being, not a god, and the religion he founded has no place for the worship of gods.

7. Zen rejects conventional Buddhism. Zen masters burn statues of the Buddha, scorn the sutras, and regularly frequent bars and brothels.

8. The Four Noble Truths are noble.

9. Zen is dedicated to the experience of “sudden enlightenment,” which frees its followers from the extended regimens of training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom found in conventional forms of Buddhism.

10. All spiritual traditions, Buddhism included, are different paths to the same mountaintop.

Source: Tricycle and The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism