Scam? Monks get their alms then hand them back to the traders for resale!

[British Bulldog]

I'm sure Lord Buddha would have something to say about this, I haven't seen such in any of his writings .... also, they are so dam close on the footpath, if a crowd squeezes by when a female is offering arms and part of her touches even his robe, he must immediately get up and go and bless & cleanse himself ...

[chang1]

20 hours ago, happy chappie said:

The real currency of religion is fear and the next life of burning in hell for eternity.this is shown in the alms they are given with the promise of living in paradise on a fluffy cloud by some ex convict or junkie.

to practice religion is to be a fool to believe in anything that is just superstition and mumbo jumbo.

without religion the world would be without most wars and death but that's going to take the human race a few 1,000 years to develope and actually say to themselves that it is all a load of <deleted> and what a waste of time,money and life that game was.

makes me laugh how all these religions clap on about peace and they are the ones who are the real problem.

i now await my fate of being abused from the religious members on the forum.maybe I need a nice peaceful stoning to death and sent to hell wherever that is.

You are truly the enlightened one. I feel the need to send you a gift to help spread the word. Maybe if I dress up in some noticeable way, other like minded people will donate gifts, which we can share or sell back to others who, will just donate them back again. A win win for both of us. 

[Zack61]

Nothing new here. From my personal experiences here in the north a very high percentage of monks I’ve crossed paths with flog off just about all the alms they collect. 

My wife is a much better Buddhist than these thieves in robes. Give them nothing because chances are they will pocket whatever they are given. They are nothing more than opportunists. 

[Bangkokazy]

On 9/7/2019 at 6:39 AM, ThomasThBKK said:

At least here you aren't forced to waste your money on that stuff.

If you are catholic or evangelic you pay 8% church tax to the government in germany -.-

Tax is for their sins
According to Catholic doctrine, the purgatory or purgatory, the site of purification, is a purification that saved souls must undergo before the resurrection. The pain can be shortened through one's or others' good deeds, or at soul fairs.

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Bangkokazy

[Brigand]

If I was going to donate to some form of charity now it would be anything other than money. Just can't trust them all now as money goes amiss but a clapped out PC won't. I remember the Mrs talking about helping the local school from where she comes from and her uncle said he had 15 PC from and old company he closed to donate ... They said fine, but preferred cash. I couldn't believe their answer.

[Sattphalat]

What else where they suppose to do. Store It for the afterlife.....

can hardly call that a scam. It is common sense.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[sherwood]

Monks, OK here we go again. What are they good for?

[chickenslegs]

13 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Monks, OK here we go again. What are they good for?

Absolutely nothing, say it again!

 

Apologies to Edwin Starr.

[spidermike007]

That is why you always ask for monk credentials. LOL. This is a crime that should be subject to very harsh punishment, considering how willing the average Thai person is, to help a monk. There is this bizarre notion that feeding both monks and stray dogs generates merit from the Great one. What can one say? 

[0815]

On 9/7/2019 at 5:17 AM, losworld said:

well at least they are smart enough to put aside the cigarettes and cell phone while asking lol

and hide their expensive NIKEs in their bag...

[lamyai3]

On 9/7/2019 at 9:59 AM, rooster59 said:

Monks get their alms then hand them back

Alms... hands... with such a promising headline I expected puns aplenty in this thread. 

 

Wat alm stupafied by is that I've skandha five pages of comments on this satori, buddha couldn't find a dhamma thing. Anyway, no alm no foul - probably samatha if I just go and watch avidya. 

[berrec]

I going to get myself an orange robe from the local market,  shave my head and sit at Soi 23 BKK entrance and ask the bar girls if they want to make free merit with me for a few hours ....................5555555

[JetSetFvr]

Last year I was staying at the Heaven @ 4 hotel and bar on Soi 4. It was mid afternoon when a "monk" came to my buddy next to me at the bar and did a "blessing" with a piece of string on his forehead which is not Buddhist tradition from what I understand. The "monk" walked up to him.  He took the 40 bhat, (20 is more appropriate) and he scurried off in a hurry.  When watching him leave I noticed he had on jeans under his robe and regular walking shoes. He also had a small alms bowl. I knew Monks do their alms walk during the early morning hours, before 7 and mid afternoon is out of the question. 

 

This was my first lesson in Thai, "saving face" as Nuna, the bartender and great lady, didn't say anything but just gave him a look of sadness as he had just been scammed. I brought it up and Nuna just smiled and didn't say anything as if to say, yes. My buddy just shrugged it off but we both became more the wise.

[JetSetFvr]

On 9/7/2019 at 3:23 PM, Catoni said:

   Never been to Wat Bang Pra. Might go see it some day.

    I got my Sak Yant tattoos from a monk my Thai friends knew some miles outside of Chiang Mai. I was the only westerner there. It was all Thai people. 

    He had several of those amazing looking masks hanging on a wall. I was told by my friends that the monk had been doing Sak Yant for Thais in the region for a bit more than twenty years, and had apprenticed under great masters. 

  He refused to tattoo me at first. But after questioning me through my Thai friends interpreting he seemed to feel much better about my beliefs and intentions, and respects for Thailand, the people, culture and of course Buddhism. Returning twice more to him, I ended up with nine amazing tattoos done using Khem Sak. 

    There was much ritual and prayers and blessings involved. And we took part in basic chanting after. 

    Donation? Price? Whatever I felt was fair...what I thought it might be worth to me. 

     Amazing. 

You comments are very much on target.  I too went to a wat outiside of CM and I too was the only westerner. He too was reluctant but for the same reasons obliged.  My Thai GF of 4 years got one as well and helped translate. 

 

To be honest, I cried.  Not because of the pain but because it really did feel cleansing of my heart.

One of the odd rules is that I keep my toilet clean. Clean it up real well and spray WD40.........nothing will stick for many many months. 555

[Catoni]

44 minutes ago, JetSetFvr said:

You comments are very much on target.  I too went to a wat outiside of CM and I too was the only westerner. He too was reluctant but for the same reasons obliged.  My Thai GF of 4 years got one as well and helped translate. 

 

To be honest, I cried.  Not because of the pain but because it really did feel cleansing of my heart.

One of the odd rules is that I keep my toilet clean. Clean it up real well and spray WD40.........nothing will stick for many many months. 555

Yes...amazing cleansing of the heart experience. Never forget. I never had a tattoo before. I received my Sak Yant tattoos at the age of 61. If I had known how much it was going to hurt, I wouldn’t have gotten the first one, the Gao Yord at the top middle of the back close to the neck.  But after a few days, I felt like I wanted more, and returned to the monk twice more.    The pain I think is a special pain that you sit through. 

     I’ve never had a tattoo using a tattoo gun. And all my tattoos are Sak Yant. 

      We don’t need to get Sak Yant to be Buddhist of course. But to me they are special. 

    I went for Refuge in the Triple Gem and took the Five Precepts.

   Wishing I had discovered Theravada Buddhism in my youth. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Catoni
Correction