Now I Understand.

[Brigante7]

The wife is just back from Thailand and brought a load of DVD's with what can only be described as some of the worst TV I have ever seen. A Thai TV show in which people die and are brought back to life through strange rituals and smelling salts (<deleted>) and has a family beign haunted by a ghost of a dead woman who couldn't be brought back to life! The missus is sitting hear shitting herself because there is the most unscary looking ghost floating about the TV and now I understand why Thai people believe all the nonsense about spirits, ghosts and all the other crap (It's fed to them on a daily basis), fu_ck me I can't believe how bad the acting is, still the wife's happy and if she's happy she's quiet.

Brigante7.

[sunholidaysun1]

Thais and the Thai Chinese believe everything they see on TV, I think this is where the Thai womens nastyness springs from . Every TV drama has women screaming and shouting , hurting others even to the point of killing , its no wonder they are being brainwashedinto thinking its normal to be that way . Europe and America are learning of the affects of violent TV etc already ..

[Valjean]

I think the TVs fair game to criticize - like any other art or entertainment I guess it just comes down to what you like. But I don't see why you need to denigrate a belief system different than your own with a statement like "all the nonsense about spirits, ghosts and all the other crap"

I don’t mean to pick on you for this – it’s a pet peeve of mine on this board overall.

While the religions I know about have a basis in good teachings and moral guidelines they are all fundamentally a belief system. You can’t prove the Christian God any more than you can prove or disprove ghosts. The Christian’s believe that Jesus died and came back from the dead and his spirit is with them all the time. Many Thais may believe there are ghosts. How can I argue with any of them?

I may not believe in any of it but even my non-belief is just another belief system. I can’t prove what I believe to be the nature of life or the universe – I look at what I think is the empirical evidence and wrap some beliefs around that. I’m comfortable in my beliefs and more than happy to let others believe what they want.

By the way this research is a little old 2007 but I suspect still accurate (but I think trending down over the years)

34% of Americans believe in ghosts – the same percentage that believe in UFOs.

22% say they have seen a ghost.

19% believe in witchcraft

48% believe in ESP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21477704/

[Brigante7]

I think the TVs fair game to criticize - like any other art or entertainment I guess it just comes down to what you like. But I don't see why you need to denigrate a belief system different than your own with a statement like "all the nonsense about spirits, ghosts and all the other crap"

I don't mean to pick on you for this – it's a pet peeve of mine on this board overall.

While the religions I know about have a basis in good teachings and moral guidelines they are all fundamentally a belief system. You can't prove the Christian God any more than you can prove or disprove ghosts. The Christian's believe that Jesus died and came back from the dead and his spirit is with them all the time. Many Thais may believe there are ghosts. How can I argue with any of them?

I may not believe in any of it but even my non-belief is just another belief system. I can't prove what I believe to be the nature of life or the universe – I look at what I think is the empirical evidence and wrap some beliefs around that. I'm comfortable in my beliefs and more than happy to let others believe what they want.

By the way this research is a little old 2007 but I suspect still accurate (but I think trending down over the years)

34% of Americans believe in ghosts – the same percentage that believe in UFOs.

22% say they have seen a ghost.

19% believe in witchcraft

48% believe in ESP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21477704/

I don't believe in ghost, spirits, god or any religion. I don't have a belief system. Show me any concrete evidence of ghosts, spirits or god and I'll humbly apologise to my wife for laughing my ass off at her.

My post was more about how I now understand why Thai's believe in it more than having a go at it in general but I take your point. What also amazed me was how scared my wife was by some very bad acting and a ghost that is a cross between Elvira and Mortica Adams (LOL). If I offended any Thai's then I humbly apologise.

Brigante7.

[sbk]

Actually, I doubt it has that much to do with television at all. TV didn't arrive on my island until maybe 25 years ago yet the locals believe in ghosts and spirits, regardless of age. I doubt its possible for such a prevalent and deep seated belief to develop in such a short period of time.

You might consider reading some books about other cultures and how they view the world and perhaps learn that not everyone looks at it the same way you do. An eye opening book for me was Song Lines by Bruce Chatwin, where he explored the aboriginal belief system and how they view the world.

[visible]

In Buddhist's view, the Buddha never turn down the gost or angel but he is not praise or appeal to help from them. The Buddha taught that " You are your own refuge, who else could be your refuge"

[Brigante7]

Actually, I doubt it has that much to do with television at all. TV didn't arrive on my island until maybe 25 years ago yet the locals believe in ghosts and spirits, regardless of age. I doubt its possible for such a prevalent and deep seated belief to develop in such a short period of time.

You might consider reading some books about other cultures and how they view the world and perhaps learn that not everyone looks at it the same way you do. An eye opening book for me was Song Lines by Bruce Chatwin, where he explored the aboriginal belief system and how they view the world.

I understand what you're saying, what I meant to say, and should have explained myself better, was that my wifes generation, she's 27, are exposed to a lot more outside influence than any other generation and so I would have thought would be less inclined to believe in ghosts, spirits and the like but after watching what my wife is watching, now I understand how the belief is being carried on through TV.

Brigante7.

[sbk]

I think its a personal thing, tbh. My husband and his 74 year old father are both extremely pragmatic people who do not believe in most of the superstitious stuff.

My MIL, on the other hand, is quite traditional and tends to believe it, as does my sister-in-law who found a "lucky tree" from which to get lottery numbers.

It is easy to disdain that which we don't understand. But one thing I have learned in all my years living in Thailand and married to a Thai is that most Thai people do not look at the world in the same way we do. I've always explained it this way. lets say there is a problem, a westerner will go 1.2.3.4. here is the solution. I may not agree with the solution but I can grasp how he came to that solution. A Thai (or any other culture completely different from our own) will look at the same problem and go a.b.c.d.e. here is the solution. And almost always I would never have come up with that solution (that does not make it any less valid btw, just different) and neither can I necessarily follow the thought processes that led to that solution.

The book I suggested, Songlines, is quite mind-opening, really. It teaches that there really are completely different ways of viewing the world around us and that yours is not necessarily the only one.

[dale8]

Hello, a happy wife is a good wife. Enjoy what you have as we do not have to agree with the beliefs of everyone. You are lucky she does not yell or get violent as some people do when they are angry or unhappy. Cheers.