Hi All

 

how do I comprehend this: weeks' of unpaid work, donning white clothes and all that. 

She borrowed money /9her son has been jailed) and I sent her clothes and 2 notebooks to store, as the repayment hadn't materialized, I thought this might give her the chance to do something for me and fell better about the whole situation).

 

Each notebook was covered in clothes and sent by registered mail. The parcels were all received (acknowledged).

---

It now appears that she has decided : let's embezzle those computers, this will be better than the 640 THB I sent her 6 weeks ago for postage.

 

Q: Is this normal? I mean, to wear white requires a lot of very tough practices. But harming a friend who loaned her money from a poor teacher's salary, how would she reconcile this with her faith?

 

Am seriously baffled.

 

 

Your post made me smile...don't worry about her having a guilty conscience...that is a Christian characteristic...best chalk this up as a learning experience...don't judge all Thai by this lady...

 

It has been my experience that when you loan money to a Thai...they have no intention of paying it back...????

When you loan money to anybody, best to treat it as a gift in your mind.

If paid back buy a lucky number ticket.????❤????????

The "devout Buddhism" is to gain merit for herself and perhaps her children so that she/they "have good luck", "get money" or are reborn "with higher status". As an earlier poster intimated, it has little to do with [Christian] morality.

thais arent daft enough to lend out without a guarantee,

-as in, keeping a gold chain of hers along with a reciepe

that its transferred to you if payment is not done in x month,

 

-why are you ?

"But harming a friend who loaned her money from a poor teacher's salary, how would she reconcile this with her faith?" 

 

She might not have any problem with her faith. Only you with your faith in her. 

 

Regardless of who we are, we all find ourselves negotiating this world with our filters (conditioning), as we try to make sense of our lives.

 

Whether it be a Nun, Monk, lay person, or other, we are all subject to the three afflictions (greed, aversion, and delusion).

 

In terms of your benefactor, there are a couple of filters I have experienced of some Thais.

 

1. Many Thais believe that all Farang are rich (regardless of your current income).

2. Many Thais social standing in the eyes of others is paramount. A display of dedication to the Buddha is one such way of reinforcing ones perceived position.

 

 

 

On 9/12/2019 at 11:37 PM, Briggsy said:

The "devout Buddhism" is to gain merit for herself and perhaps her children so that she/they "have good luck", "get money" or are reborn "with higher status". As an earlier poster intimated, it has little to do with [Christian] morality.

Or Buddhist, for that matter.

On 9/12/2019 at 5:12 AM, WonnabeBiker said:

She borrowed money /9her son has been jailed)

That in itself should have raised red flags.....

She is not Buddhist which requires as a minimum observing the 5 precepts. This is the case for most 'Thai Buddhists'. I suspect her religion may be to show face to her friends , family , community , monks she is a 'good person' and/or has a belief in supernatural powers that praying to the Buddha could give such as luck and good fortune. Unfortunately when offered temptation she fell back to the default religion of most Thais which is a love of money. You haven't said what is your relationship is with her but I would forget the religious element of her hypocrisy - she may be in real need so her theft may be her way to surviving. What has been your dialogue with her to date and her response if you don't mind me asking. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts

 

Got ripped off by a devout Buddhist mother

The moral here...…...Never lend money to a local, no matter what their plight!

17 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

She is not Buddhist which requires as a minimum observing the 5 precepts. This is the case for most 'Thai Buddhists'. 

 

 

 

Good post. Buddha would cry under his bodhi tree if he could see how the precepts have been convoluted in this country. The religion here is Bahtism,

they worship Lord Baht!

On 11/4/2019 at 2:54 AM, PatOngo said:

Good post. Buddha would cry under his bodhi tree if he could see how the precepts have been convoluted in this country. The religion here is Bahtism,

they worship Lord Baht!

Indeed.

 

Aside from the fact that there are scores of temples and Buddha images, I've yet to find anything Buddhist about this country.

On 11/4/2019 at 2:38 AM, beautifulthailand99 said:

She is not Buddhist which requires as a minimum observing the 5 precepts. This is the case for most 'Thai Buddhists'. I suspect her religion may be to show face to her friends , family , community , monks she is a 'good person' and/or has a belief in supernatural powers that praying to the Buddha could give such as luck and good fortune. Unfortunately when offered temptation she fell back to the default religion of most Thais which is a love of money. You haven't said what is your relationship is with her but I would forget the religious element of her hypocrisy - she may be in real need so her theft may be her way to surviving. What has been your dialogue with her to date and her response if you don't mind me asking. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts

 

Many Thai Buddhists I know who view themselves as "devout" have never heard of the Five Precepts or even read a single sutra.

 

Their sole focus seems to be on "merit-making" which, in this case, translates to providing support to the monastic Sangha in the hope of attaining a favorable rebirth. Sadly, that's where Buddhism ends for these people.

 

 

 

OP, i'm sure you weren't born yesterday, since when has devotion to a religion been consistent with good morals? many of the major conflicts in the world are down to religion, and i'm sure you're aware of the child abuse carried out by catholic priests?