Thais And There Superstitions

[Thongkorn]

I have heard My wife comment, about strange things that happen In Thailand, and have laughed at some of her superstitions. along with many of her friends and family Thai sayings, but a strange thing happened and it is true, It made me shudder, its up to you the post readers if you believe what i am about to tell you.

I live on the east coast of England, I have lived here all my life so i know the area well. Where i live there are quite a few Thai people, mainly women but a few Thai men who have married and settled with there partners. They have get together to eat and drink and just talk in there native tong,Thai, It was my turn or should i say my wifes turn to host the get together, usually about every two weeks , they take turns and this was ours. They usually bring there children, Some Thai and some mixed race,English/Thai. One lady who has not been in the UK Long has a three year old daughter, the daughter can speak English or Thai, This lady has to pass a piece of land which now has some new houses built on it. Her Daughter kept telling her mum every time they past this piece of land that she use to stay here before, her mum just use to put it down to an over active mind of a child.On the way to my house for the Thai get together her daughter had said the same thing" I use to stay here before you mum" this time it made her mum a little frightened because Thai people have many superstitions and believe in reincarnation after death. her mum pushed her a Little bit more to explain herself, because the child was three and only been in the UK,and that area for a short while, and this is what the child said and its true because the child said it again in front of every body at my hose, She said " I use to stay there before you mum , I had another mammy and she not want me , so she take me off, I had to wait a long time to be born to you mum" thats why i stay there, And this is the scary bit , the land that the child past and made comments " I use to stay here before you mum" , Use to be a maternity home a long time ago which was pulled down to make way for the new House estate.I know because i remember the Maternity Hospital and remember it being pulled down,They use to use it as an abortion clinic in its last days before demolishing it. Every body in my house had a cold shudder go down our backs, now I have some doubts maybe some are true...

[DavidSL]

There's a story in the Thai media that my girlfriend has been following like this, but with different circumstances. As far as I can tell from what my girlfriend told me, there was a family with a daughter who had a boyfriend but another guy was interested in her. The two guys were fighting for her affections and she couldn't take it any longer so took her own life. Year later the boyfriend is married and has a daughter. When the daughter was around 3 she started finding things in the house and saying, 'this is mine' (just as kids do). However, she then started telling relatives she had to get a new ... and ... - items that the girlfriend had given to her boyfriend before taking her own life. The little girl refused to be called by her own name, instead saying that she was this woman and knowing her full name. They were interviewing her on TV last night but now she's about 9 and says she doesn't remember much of her previous life.

Do I believe it? Sometimes it's hard not to. Media stories are one thing, and I tend to remain cynical, but hearing something like that in person, wow, that is weird. I think there may be something in it - I like to be open-minded about beliefs.

[saraburioz]

Reincarnation is not scary. I'm sure I've been here before.

At least half the world's population believe in it.

how do you think the Dalai lama is chosen, and all the other Lamas - they have to identify objects that used to be theirs in a previous life.

Anyone who thinks we live, die and nothing happens doesn't understand the laws of thermodynamics or spirituality.

I'm pretty sure that I used to be my grandfather. He died by jumping off a tall building. I have a phobia about heights.

All through my early days, all my Aunts and Uncles said there was a remarkable similarity between us(character-wise).

I used to hang out in a bar in Melbourne all day and night when I was a student and felt at home there. Not so long ago I found out my grandfather worked there.

Edited May 18, 2011 by saraburioz

[travelmann]

And the other 1 million comments made by her which had no meaning?? yet as is human nature "we" want top believe this freak incident is somehow supernatural. sad really.

[Thongkorn]

And the other 1 million comments made by her which had no meaning?? yet as is human nature "we" want top believe this freak incident is somehow supernatural. sad really.

So is a closed mind

[RedFxTrade]

Interesting stuff. vedantist Theor of Reincarnation

Try the link to a little book about the Vedanta Theory of Reincarnation. Vedanta is the Indian philosophy derived from the Upanishads and Vedas. Vedanta literally means "culmination of knowledge" A wonderful philosophy, which does not need an authority such as a Jesus, a Buddha, Mahavira, or any prophet to propagates its philosophy and teachings. Vedantas authority is its own truth. If you are very curious about this area of life I cannot recommend enough reading up on the Veda philosophy. The best book on the subject is Vedanta Treatise. Don't listen to all the negative comments that will surely come.

The peculiar aspect of Vedanta though is that it moves from using knowledge of the known world to the unknown, as you can only grasp an unknown with reference to a known. So it starts with the proposition that God is an unknown X similar to a algebraic equation. Obviously far too much to go into here...but those sort of experiences are there to make us enquire and question. Good luck

[travelmann]

And the other 1 million comments made by her which had no meaning?? yet as is human nature "we" want top believe this freak incident is somehow supernatural. sad really.

So is a closed mind

Good thats sorted out all religions then . Closed no, but at least its not "gullible"

Edited May 18, 2011 by travelmann

[Hermes100]

Reincarnation is not scary. I'm sure I've been here before.

At least half the world's population believe in it.

how do you think the Dalai lama is chosen, and all the other Lamas - they have to identify objects that used to be theirs in a previous life.

Anyone who thinks we live, die and nothing happens doesn't understand the laws of thermodynamics or spirituality.

I'm pretty sure that I used to be my grandfather. He died by jumping off a tall building. I have a phobia about heights.

All through my early days, all my Aunts and Uncles said there was a remarkable similarity between us(character-wise).

I used to hang out in a bar in Melbourne all day and night when I was a student and felt at home there. Not so long ago I found out my grandfather worked there.

And many more believe in other self serving, baseless hope giving theorys, completely without one single iota of tangible evidence other such completely insane things  

Half the world....that proves =zero. It shows how backwards we are. Think of it, so many people believe in talking snakes, a world created in 7 days...

using you grandpa's tragic end as some sort of evidence is like me saying my mother grandma did not like chicken and I do not also because of that...

Oh, so seeing as though the dali lama  is chosen that way, it must mean it's  got something. Well, seeing as though he is a sexist and his comment recently on gays " it is actually a sin.." forgive me for not quite accepting that.

Oh and your like him as well, oh, that it then,,,, its proven.... sorry for posting!

[JurgenG]

What is the "official" position from the Buddhist church about reincarnation ?

I have asked the question to a number of reputed monks, both Thai and falang, never had a clear definitive answer.

Edited May 19, 2011 by JurgenG

[afarang]

There is no Buddhist church. Buddhism is more a Philosophy ,rather than a religion. There is no "bible" or "koran" in Buddhism. No demand that you regularly attend a "church " service. No demand that you regularly pray. Etc.,Etc.,As a final comment ,there is no God or gods in Buddhism

Edited May 19, 2011 by afarang

[ignis]

Body Donation or being a donor is an interesting topic..

Thai Chinese believe if you give away any body parts then you will be missing these in the afterlife.

[Richb2004v2]

And the other 1 million comments made by her which had no meaning?? yet as is human nature "we" want top believe this freak incident is somehow supernatural. sad really.

That's the intelligent unbiased answer.

Humes Maxim states that before you believe the miraculous/paranormal you must first discount all other rational possibilities. There are many many more earthly explanations before we accept that of reincarnation. However people that want to believe the supernatural over the more down to earth explanation will do so.

[random]

I am not a teacher, and normally I hate the people that are pedantic over spelling, but as an English man you should know the difference between There, Their and They're.

Peace

[robblok]

And the other 1 million comments made by her which had no meaning?? yet as is human nature "we" want top believe this freak incident is somehow supernatural. sad really.

That how i think about it.

[JurgenG]

There is no Buddhist church. Buddhism is more a Philosophy ,rather than a religion. There is no "bible" or "koran" in Buddhism. No demand that you regularly attend a "church " service. No demand that you regularly pray. Etc.,Etc.,As a final comment ,there is no God or gods in Buddhism

Without wanted to play on word, if Thailand wanted to make Budhhism the national religion, even if there is no "Bilble" or "Koran", there should be something on what they all agree.

[Mosha]

I saw a Discovery episode on reincarnation. There is oddly some evidence that birthmarks are a pointer to a previous life. One case was in New York. This cop got shot in the heart, he came back as his daughter's baby. Born with a heart defect, and some of the things he said to his mum scared the bejabers out of her. so it's not just a Thai thing.

[DavidSL]

Good thats sorted out all religions then . Closed no, but at least its not "gullible"

But definitely closed. I respect that you don't share these beliefs, but to throw a little insult in there to try to disuade us is a bit pointless. You surely must understand that we don't know everything? What you see everyday in your daily life is obviously, to you, what is real, and there is no possibility that anything else could exist, however fantastical. But to some of us, we like to keep an open mind as to that possibility. We know, through science, that there are many, many things we ourselves would never know about otherwise - and how many of us would have believed in the wonders of the universe without it being shown to us by cleverer persons than I? The fact is, the World is miraculous in itself, but through our daily lives we don't experience it, and it cultivates the simple attitude that because our lives don't come into contact with wonder, it can't be out there.

And many more believe in other self serving, baseless hope giving theorys, completely without one single iota of tangible evidence other such completely insane things

Half the world....that proves =zero. It shows how backwards we are. Think of it, so many people believe in talking snakes, a world created in 7 days...

using you grandpa's tragic end as some sort of evidence is like me saying my mother grandma did not like chicken and I do not also because of that...

Oh, so seeing as though the dali lama is chosen that way, it must mean it's got something. Well, seeing as though he is a sexist and his comment recently on gays " it is actually a sin.." forgive me for not quite accepting that.

Oh and your like him as well, oh, that it then,,,, its proven.... sorry for posting!

And what do you believe? Do you believe in nothing at all? It shows how backwards you are! Every brain should be able to process the notion of possibility!

I don't think the OP actually defended the Dali Lama in any way - he just pointed out that it is how the Dali Lama is chosen. Way to throw your weight around, though, you've really added to your side of the debate...

There is no Buddhist church. Buddhism is more a Philosophy ,rather than a religion. There is no "bible" or "koran" in Buddhism. No demand that you regularly attend a "church " service. No demand that you regularly pray. Etc.,Etc.,As a final comment ,there is no God or gods in Buddhism

Isn't a Temple considered a Buddhist Church? I'm really quite interested in Buddhism since coming here. I don't see myself becoming a Buddhist, but I really do like their spirituality and mindset. They may not have a 'God' - but they certainly have a 'leader'. Buddha, by my understanding, is like a God without being a creator? I find most fascinating their belief but not following of Hinduism, as well. They certainly believe in the Gods of that religion - and their belief in spirits would indicate a further belief in the existence of another 'Godly' presence.

Not sure about the 'official' stance on reincarnation - but it's a big part of the Buddhist following. I know that my girlfriend is a strong Buddhist, and tells me her beliefs when we discuss it. Buddhists believe in Heaven, like us, but believe to achieve 'Nirvana' you must lead a full life by being good, kind and giving. Reincarnation occurs and is entirely random, so it seems whether you achieve Nirvana or not is based upon who you are reincarnated as and what you do with that life. We had quite a long discussion about it whilst sitting on Samet Beach late at night just the other weekend. Was a most relaxing debate!

[afarang]

Is it the Thais who wanted to make Buddhism ,a National pastime?. No, Isarn people are for more addicted to Animism as their "faith". Buddhism -is it possible it was foisted on the Thais ,by Bkk., as a form of political control?

[nocturn]

i have taught my four year old daughter, when visiting the grandparents to point at an empty room and say: "why is the little boy crying"

what a hoot.

[trisailer]

The roots of all religion are in animism and mythology. Mythology is like great art which gets appreciated in the soul.

Many scientist believe that we are born with far greator brain capacity than what most of us are accustomed to using. I think that we in the west are trained to discount that subconscious part of our brain and we're probably missing out on some pretty cool stuff by doing so. Jung was interested in the collective unconscious and dreams and one can see that it has power.

One of the things that I like about my Thai grandmother is that she has a direct line to the ancesters and everyone in the village knows it.

Years ago I became interested in my genealogy and I've always been courious about Native American sprituality. I had a friend who was a Native American and had a shop that sold Native crafts. He had set up a tee pee in front to advertise the shop and had a tee pee blessing cerimony at sun rise. As I entered the Shaman did this smoke thing with sage smoke to clense us. As I entered the door I felt these spider webs on my face and even while I was sitting listening to his incantations I couldn't seem to wipe these webs off. At the end of the Shaman's ceromony he looked right at me and told me that my sprit was spider. I looked it up and the spider is a weaver who seeks balance and who's medicine is illusion. The more I learned about it the more it fit.

I wouldn't rule anything out. The vast majority of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy and we don't begin to know what that is.

Like great art it's interesting and makes us think. (I realize that's a stretch for many TVer's)

[carmine]

The roots of all religion are in animism and mythology. Mythology is like great art which gets appreciated in the soul.

Many scientist believe that we are born with far greator brain capacity than what most of us are accustomed to using. I think that we in the west are trained to discount that subconscious part of our brain and we're probably missing out on some pretty cool stuff by doing so. Jung was interested in the collective unconscious and dreams and one can see that it has power.

One of the things that I like about my Thai grandmother is that she has a direct line to the ancesters and everyone in the village knows it.

Years ago I became interested in my genealogy and I've always been courious about Native American sprituality. I had a friend who was a Native American and had a shop that sold Native crafts. He had set up a tee pee in front to advertise the shop and had a tee pee blessing cerimony at sun rise. As I entered the Shaman did this smoke thing with sage smoke to clense us. As I entered the door I felt these spider webs on my face and even while I was sitting listening to his incantations I couldn't seem to wipe these webs off. At the end of the Shaman's ceromony he looked right at me and told me that my sprit was spider. I looked it up and the spider is a weaver who seeks balance and who's medicine is illusion. The more I learned about it the more it fit.

I wouldn't rule anything out. The vast majority of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy and we don't begin to know what that is.

Like great art it's interesting and makes us think. (I realize that's a stretch for many TVer's)

Hello trisailor, i have no idea what you are talking about as you suspected some of us would'nt. But what i can tell you is its not dangerous here as you seem to think. Its actually really safe so chill out.

[RedFxTrade]

John Godfrey Saxe's ( 1816-1887) version of the famous Indian legend,

It was six men of Indostan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind),

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,

And happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the Elephant

Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,

Cried, -"Ho! what have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me 'tis mighty clear

This wonder of an Elephant

Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,

And happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up and spake:

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant

Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,

And felt about the knee.

"What most this wondrous beast is like

Is mighty plain," quoth he,

"'Tis clear enough the Elephant

Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an Elephant

Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Then, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant

Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.

So oft in theologic wars,

The disputants, I ween,

Rail on in utter ignorance

Of what each other mean,

And prate about an Elephant

Not one of them has seen!

[trisailer]

" its not dangerous here as you seem to think. Its actually really safe so chill out"

Of all the terms that I might use to describe TV posters; childish, immature, closedminded, uptight, boring, and dysfunctional...dangerous is not one of them

I'm not the least bit afraid of ideas and opinions.

[lovelaos]

i have taught my four year old daughter, when visiting the grandparents to point at an empty room and say: "why is the little boy crying"

what a hoot.

:cheesy:

[jimbeam1]

Deja-Vu. We have all experienced it?

jb1

[jimbeam1]

i have taught my four year old daughter, when visiting the grandparents to point at an empty room and say: "why is the little boy crying"

what a hoot.

:cheesy:

+1

jb1

[7by7]

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

(Hamlet, Act 1 scene v)

[dominique355]

Reincarnation is not scary. I'm sure I've been here before.

At least half the world's population believe in it.

how do you think the Dalai lama is chosen, and all the other Lamas - they have to identify objects that used to be theirs in a previous life.

Anyone who thinks we live, die and nothing happens doesn't understand the laws of thermodynamics or spirituality.

I'm pretty sure that I used to be my grandfather. He died by jumping off a tall building. I have a phobia about heights.

All through my early days, all my Aunts and Uncles said there was a remarkable similarity between us(character-wise).

I used to hang out in a bar in Melbourne all day and night when I was a student and felt at home there. Not so long ago I found out my grandfather worked there.

I don't know about any LAWS of spirituality, but ..

laws of Thermodynamics? Really? Can you elaborate?

[JurgenG]

Reincarnation is not scary. I'm sure I've been here before.

At least half the world's population believe in it.

how do you think the Dalai lama is chosen, and all the other Lamas - they have to identify objects that used to be theirs in a previous life.

Anyone who thinks we live, die and nothing happens doesn't understand the laws of thermodynamics or spirituality.

I'm pretty sure that I used to be my grandfather. He died by jumping off a tall building. I have a phobia about heights.

All through my early days, all my Aunts and Uncles said there was a remarkable similarity between us(character-wise).

I used to hang out in a bar in Melbourne all day and night when I was a student and felt at home there. Not so long ago I found out my grandfather worked there.

I don't know about any LAWS of spirituality, but ..

laws of Thermodynamics? Really? Can you elaborate?

The second law of thermodynamics filled my nights with nightmare when I was in high school,

There are no law that I fear more than the 2nd law of thermodynamics

I fought the law, the law won

Edited May 19, 2011 by JurgenG

[saraburioz]

Reincarnation is not scary. I'm sure I've been here before.

At least half the world's population believe in it.

how do you think the Dalai lama is chosen, and all the other Lamas - they have to identify objects that used to be theirs in a previous life.

Anyone who thinks we live, die and nothing happens doesn't understand the laws of thermodynamics or spirituality.

I'm pretty sure that I used to be my grandfather. He died by jumping off a tall building. I have a phobia about heights.

All through my early days, all my Aunts and Uncles said there was a remarkable similarity between us(character-wise).

I used to hang out in a bar in Melbourne all day and night when I was a student and felt at home there. Not so long ago I found out my grandfather worked there.

I don't know about any LAWS of spirituality, but ..

laws of Thermodynamics? Really? Can you elaborate?

The second law of thermodynamics filled my nights with nightmare when I was in high school,

There are no law that I fear more than the 2nd law of thermodynamics

I fought the law, the law won

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

We are souls, surrounded by temporary bodies.

The soul has energy.

Nearly all religions talk about reincarnation, even Christianity.

it's bizarre that some people don't believe in it.

Edited May 19, 2011 by saraburioz