jaideeguy Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 the following is a copy and paste from wikipedia re:Prostitution in Thailand and I know the rules of TV prohibit/discourage discussion of prostitution, so i would like to limit any discussion to the comments on wikipedia's read of Thai Buddhist attitude about the status of women. Is this an accurate interpretation of Thai Buddhism and status and attitudes of Thai women?? No offense is intended with my concerns......I just want to know if this is true...... Religion The sect of Buddhism practiced in Thailand makes prostitution nearly inevitable. Women are viewed as naturally inferior to men. Buddha made clear to his disciples that women were “impure, carnal, and corrupting.”[22] This is also evidenced by the belief that women cannot attain enlightenment, the ultimate goal for a Buddhist. In addition, the type of Buddhism practiced in Thailand outlines ten kinds of wives in its vihaya, or rules for monks.[22] Within these rules, the first three are actually women who can be paid for their services. In short, these rules allow prostitution and view it as completely acceptable. In present day Thailand, this has manifested itself into an acceptance by wives about prostitution. Sex with prostitutes is viewed by wives as empty sex, and thus many women would rather have their husbands have meaningless sex with a young girl rather than find a new spouse. Thus, religion has set a social precedent for prostitution that makes women inferior and more fitting for prostitution in the eyes of society. Religion also affects Thai girls on a personal level. Buddhism prescribes “acceptance and resignation in the face of life’s pain and suffering."[22] In other words, girls are brought up to accept the life they are given. As a result, many young girls that enter prostitution remain there in accordance with their religion. They face constant abuse and harassment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenkaro Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 (edited) Prostitution is due to Buddhism religion... purely crap.... There are more Christan prostitutes in Europe and there are more Muslim prostitutes in Egypt and Morocco. The write is insane. Mr. writer of the blog, correct me if I am wrong, my understanding is Christianity promotes prostitution by giving sanctity to virgin birth. Only a prostitute could give birth to a child and declare she is virgin. No offense please.. Edited May 17, 2010 by Xenkaro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyYogi Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 This is also evidenced by the belief that women cannot attain enlightenment This is not true. Women can achieve arahantship just as men can. There were quite a few who did during the Buddha's day, and quite possibly some today still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaideeguy Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 I'm not offended.... I did not imply that prostitution was due to Buddhism and agree that there are just as many prostitutes in christianity......look at Philippines and central/south amerika! My question was is the part about 'women cannot attain enlightenment' and Buddha made clear to his disciples that women were “impure, carnal, and corrupting.” <deleted>!!! FYI, I'm not in support of ANY organized religion because of the hypocracies of the written word and the actions of the followers, but I believe that others have the right to believe what they want to as long as it doesn't harm me or my family. I just stumbled on the quoted wikipedia article and posted it because it raised some questions in my mind esp the part about women being inferior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabaijai Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Agree with member Xenkaro. There are many ways to explain prostitution in Thailand besides (but not necessarily excluding) Thai Buddhism. Aside from that the Wiki article also demonstrates a pretty strong presumption, that sex work is something that must be eradicated because it's bad. It reminds me of a panel on the sex trade held at the FCCT many years ago. All these academics and Thai officials pontificated on the 'problem of prostitution' and so on, then finally a Thai sex worker from Empower had her turn on the panel. She said "We [referring to sex workers] don't have a problem with prostitution per se. The main problem we have is the perceptions of people who make it difficult for us to do this work safely and with fair compensation. We find those perceptions demeaning to women." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabaijai Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 I just stumbled on the quoted wikipedia article and posted it because it raised some questions in my mind esp the part about women being inferior. In that cases, let's move the discussion to the existing one on exactly this topic. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Theravada-Bu...sm-t363317.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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