Superstition Stuff - Why Do They Keep Believing In It ?

[Yooyung]

A lot of people in the West, including some members of my family actually believe that around 2000 years ago a woman became pregnant after having some bizarre liaison with a ghost, the little tyke turned out to be none other than the son of the guy apparently responsible for constructing the universe and reality itself....He was able to turn water into wine and all kinds of cool stuff and then, when the guy was about 35 he died and came back to life again......

That's one hell of a superstition in my opinion.

To me, that's more of a fairy tale than superstition.

But on that point, what are fairies in the context of that statement??.............................

Fairytale, superstition...call it what you will. I don't claim to understand how the universe came into being but my bet is on the fact that it had very little to do with a human being called Jesus that lived 2000 + years ago. I wish I could believe in good luck/bad luck and all that stuff like some Thais/ people in general do. I just cant seem to do it. It would certainly make my life a lot easier. It would be lovely to have fairies at the bottom of my garden....just lovely.

[bangkokstick]

Why do some people still believe in god... Same reason, people need to believe because they are too weak !

[kannot]

Im my opinion ALL of the "beliefs" and that's all they are, without a shred of evidence or repeatable results, are nonsense, included and equally incredulous again in my opinion are all religions and all gods.

I can see no difference to an amulet wearing person or a going to church person or a man/woman in a Jungle somewhere worshipping a turnip. They are equal in their nonsensical ways.

The truth is something Thais, along with many other races don't want to hear so they cling onto prehistoric gibberish.

[kannot]

Nearly all the homes in and around my village have a shirt or scarecrow like figure at the entrance to stop ghosts or spirits taking the man apparsntly, anyone else have this ?

This according to my Wife means no one was born there on a certain day less the spirits take their soul or whatever such else nonsense, again on a par with Jesus, Mohammed and a myriad of other Gods beliefs ranging through history.

[Forethat]

So,......I just have to share this.

I was never a fan of the superstitions and ghost stories. The only exception to this rule has been the ghost that lives by the trees on the 16th green at Bangkok Golf Club (I once hit a 100 yard slice that disappeared into the jungle towards the 17th tee, and the ball was on the green as we approached. It was the ghost who brought the ball back to the green, according to the caddies. I never play that hole without bringing an offering). To put it simple, I laughed at peoples ghost stories.

A couple of years ago I had this weird thing when I ran in to the same series of numbers over and over again during two weeks. Phone numbers, addresses, visa applications, license plates; the same numbers kept appearing everywhere. Accidentally, I told my wife who told me "you must play the lottery". I have never played the lottery or gambled in my entire life. Next weekend we made a huge move to our new house and were forced to eat out for practical reasons. As we are about to finish our meal, a lottery sales guy passes by without catching my initial attention. As he walks away I glance at his lottery tickets and THERE'S THE FREAKING NUMBER AGAIN! It was a bunch of 10 tickets. I bought the bunch.

A week later my wife asked me if I checked the numbers. I looked it up on the Internet and felt chills down my back as I looked at the results. THERE WAS THE FREAKING NUMBER! I won 10X40.000THB (400.000)

I have never played the lottery again. And I dare not play the 16th at Bangkok without bringing a proper offering.

PS.

Every Thai person I know harassed me for 6 months in an attempt to get some numbers from me. They went through my phonebook, check book, cook book. And my license plates on my vehicles was the most sought after numbers within a radius of 3 miles. My weight, length, age, birthday - you name it. No one ever won.

DS.

400k. That is a life changing amount. Wouldn't it have been better to use your magic numbers to win a foreign lottery where you can win real money?

Come on, man...Thai superstition doesn't work outside Thailand, everybody knows that. Who do you think I am, a nutter...?

[PalMan]

I think it's pretty likely that many if not most of our current beliefs as to what is "scientific fact" will be viewed in the future as idiotic superstitions.

And that if someone was able to visit us from the future and started telling us his view of the world we'd have him committed to the looney bin.

Applying the scientific method to daily life requires keeping an open mind, realizing that our explanations for how things work are just working theories (which meaning is completely different to science than in normal usage), and that we've only begun to understand reality, barely scratched the surface.

For someone to say that things science can't explain shouldn't be investigated is fundamentally unscientific.

[rucus7]

In America more than half of the people believe that the earth was created a few thousand years ago by an entity they call god.

But their numbers are shrinking. Also my best guess is that a significant number of those believers are fibbing.

[chrisinth]

A lot of people in the West, including some members of my family actually believe that around 2000 years ago a woman became pregnant after having some bizarre liaison with a ghost, the little tyke turned out to be none other than the son of the guy apparently responsible for constructing the universe and reality itself....He was able to turn water into wine and all kinds of cool stuff and then, when the guy was about 35 he died and came back to life again......

That's one hell of a superstition in my opinion.

To me, that's more of a fairy tale than superstition.

But on that point, what are fairies in the context of that statement??.............................

Fairytale, superstition...call it what you will. I don't claim to understand how the universe came into being but my bet is on the fact that it had very little to do with a human being called Jesus that lived 2000 + years ago. I wish I could believe in good luck/bad luck and all that stuff like some Thais/ people in general do. I just cant seem to do it. It would certainly make my life a lot easier. It would be lovely to have fairies at the bottom of my garden....just lovely.

This is my point, doesn't matter where you are, in the West, Thailand, Africa, we are all raised with our own versions of stories travelling down through history and then being brain washed to believe they actually happened,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

This is where superstition originates from..................

Adding IMHO for clarity...................

[rucus7]

Using the same train of thought... why do supposedly sane people of any nationality purchase lottery tickets by the handful?

Hope springs eternal.

[trainman34014]

Some shrewd Thai's have turned this into a thriving business. My wife's cousin who lives in the village of their birth set herself up three years ago as the local fortune telling guru after apparently having a 'vision' and being told by said vision to 'help' people become lucky in all aspects of life. Visitors to her house pay her 100 Baht each per session to have their heads filled with total bullshit, none of which ever comes true, but guess what?....they keep coming back for more and bringing more pals with them. Personally I say good luck to her for having a brain big enough to realise she could exploit the mental weakness of her neighbours. She did make one silly mistake though when she tried some of her mumbo jumbo on me. As I walked in the door one day she said 'Who is that small girl you are holding by the hand as you come to my house?' I replied..'Don't worry it's just the Daughter you never had'. My wife, and her husband meanwhile, just thinks she has gone nuts !

[lemoncake]

In the West, we are taught not to believe in superstition,However in smaller cities it is rather common.

For example bringing a cat into a new house before moving in. Cats see in different dimensions to what we see. IF cat starts to go crazy-leave the house.

In this part of the world black magic is very much still alive and practiced on daily basis.

True or not, one needs to experience something "crazy" and one might start to believe.

From personal experience years ago:

I was going to buy a small house in Sydney, found a 200 year old heritage terrace which i really wanted, price was reasonable as well.

ON second inspection, brought my puppy with me, pup was fine all over the house, BUT when going into master bedroom, she cried and was very uncomfortable.

At first i did not pay any attention to it, but it seemed to repeat each time i entered the master bedroom.

It was somewhat interesting/puzzling, so i asked the agent what happened in that room and why the house was for sale?

The house was for sale, because the owner has died, scary enough, the owner was found dead in the master bedroom days after he passed.

So i guess there must be something out there, whatever it was my puppy sensed it.

[NBD]

Same reason that the poorest, dumbest and most useless people in the west believe Jesus will save them, and thank the good lord when their lottery numbers come up and generally put their faith in the incoherent ramblings of some illiterate goat herd in the levant.

[woelke]

Trying to understand things is a waste of time. Let's examine why farangs believe:

I can drink and drive

Alcohol causes so many health problems, but they drink

Cigarettes kill but they smoke

Having girlfriends all over the country can lead to financial ruin, family break ups, sexually transmitted disease; but they continue

The list can go on. Thai superstition may not make sense to me, but neither do the actions of non-Thais.

[scorecard]

Nearly all the homes in and around my village have a shirt or scarecrow like figure at the entrance to stop ghosts or spirits taking the man apparsntly, anyone else have this ?

And many houses in many 'western' countries (also latin American, and more countries) have a cross on the wall.

What's the difference?

[KhunHehe]

It saves face by putting the blame (or credit) at the feet of a power they can't identify. Perhaps that's why I didn't get a "thank you" when I bought her the car.

[Andre0720]

dont look between your legs as you will see a ghost.

dont stand in doorways as ghosts will come in.

dont talk at the table ghosts will take your rice.

dont talk to people whilst holding a knife, ghosts will push you.

dont put the baby in front of the mirror her teeth will not grow.

dont tickle her feet she will be scared to walk later.

howling dogs means a ghost is around.

if your leaving the house and a lizard, jing jot makes a noise it means your going to have an accident.

a few of hundreds i have heard.

And the sorceress will not be able to put a bad spell on your children, if you hide their names behind a nickname.

[notmyself]

And the sorceress will not be able to put a bad spell on your children, if you hide their names behind a nickname.

Is that a joke?

[Morden]

Many traditional Thais combine Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism. They seem not to understand where one ends and the other begins. I blame the monks who thrive on the confusion when they should be able to teach people the right path to enlightenment. that should be their job.

However, you can turn the nonsense to your own advantage My wife told me that one of her sisters, when she came to visit, would not go upstairs because there were ghosts there. I suggested that she told the sister we had them down stairs and around the mango trees too.

[robertson468]

Do you not walk under a ladder because its bad luck or because something might fall on you?

Do you not name a baby before the birth because its bad luck or because it will add to the trauma if there are tragic complications?

Many superstitions are the legacy of common sense with a cultural spin, many others have long since past cultural understanding while many more are nothing more than hope.

Are we any more correct in choosing random numbers on a scratch card than to select numbers that may fit some pattern we see ?... the outcome at the time of choice remains equally random.

Other superstitions give some a chance at expressing some form of superiority and influence, I suspect this is where many Westerners in Thailand fall foul to the common yet flawed excuse of 'its the culture / Thai way' to explain irrationality (or what we may see as something irrational).

What we all lack is the ability to foresee 'chance' with any level of accuracy.... Chance, hope and superstition rarely tally with logic...

Logic doesn't tally with emotion and I believe thats where the answer to this conundrum lies... It is far easier for many to Imagine, dream and hope than it is to calculate. I would rather live in a world in which Imagination, dreams and hope is more prevalent than characterless calculation but only when there is no forceable detrimental effect.

That said, I won't choose the lottery numbers based on my car number plate, but I won't argue the logic of someone who thinks otherwise as the result is equally improbable.

And again: that said, I won't take chance when I can positively impact an outcome, be it though logic, safe thought or an educated understanding of probable result.

Richard, enjoyed your explanation and logic, but the question was "why do they keep believing in it?" The answer lies in the history and development of Thailand. Originally the belief was in Animism, which was based on spirits (ghosts?), fables and witchcraft. Eventually Buddhism arrived, but it is an inclusive belief (not religion) unlike christianity which is an exclusive religion. The difference is, you can become a Buddhist and have other beliefs and Buddhism accepts that, but christianity states clearly, there is only one religion and you should foresake all others.

[Heng]

Not all Thais. Those of us that don't 'believe'... well, we run the show. The same for folks in many countries. Note there is a big difference in 'believing in superstitions' and 'believing for show.'

:-)

[Andre0720]

And the sorceress will not be able to put a bad spell on your children, if you hide their names behind a nickname.

Is that a joke?

Explanation given for the use of nicknames, in a Thailand travel book that I read.

I can try to locate that travel book...

[kannot]

I think it's pretty likely that many if not most of our current beliefs as to what is "scientific fact" will be viewed in the future as idiotic superstitions.

And that if someone was able to visit us from the future and started telling us his view of the world we'd have him committed to the looney bin.

Applying the scientific method to daily life requires keeping an open mind, realizing that our explanations for how things work are just working theories (which meaning is completely different to science than in normal usage), and that we've only begun to understand reality, barely scratched the surface.

For someone to say that things science can't explain shouldn't be investigated is fundamentally unscientific.

To invent some truly ridiculous "God" is way more unscientific.

A working theory does not involve some almighty creator with zero evidence to support that "theory", its all hocus pocus from before any understanding of many things.

No science doesn't have or attempt to invent all the answers unlike religions but it IS the best way available when compared to the "God" alternative.

There's an open mind and then a very gullible mind.

[notmyself]

Not all Thais. Those of us that don't 'believe'... well, we run the show. The same for folks in many countries. Note there is a big difference in 'believing in superstitions' and 'believing for show.'

:-)

In a general sense I would agree though I'm not sure that the powers that be are not for the most part superstitious. Tony Blair, Bush and Reagan were very superstitious but the degree was only really found out after they left office. Believing for show would be without doubt a positive in Thailand and indeed most of SE Asia but no more that believing for real. A tough call.

[kannot]

In the West, we are taught not to believe in superstition,However in smaller cities it is rather common.

For example bringing a cat into a new house before moving in. Cats see in different dimensions to what we see. IF cat starts to go crazy-leave the house.

In this part of the world black magic is very much still alive and practiced on daily basis.

True or not, one needs to experience something "crazy" and one might start to believe.

From personal experience years ago:

I was going to buy a small house in Sydney, found a 200 year old heritage terrace which i really wanted, price was reasonable as well.

ON second inspection, brought my puppy with me, pup was fine all over the house, BUT when going into master bedroom, she cried and was very uncomfortable.

At first i did not pay any attention to it, but it seemed to repeat each time i entered the master bedroom.

It was somewhat interesting/puzzling, so i asked the agent what happened in that room and why the house was for sale?

The house was for sale, because the owner has died, scary enough, the owner was found dead in the master bedroom days after he passed.

So i guess there must be something out there, whatever it was my puppy sensed it.

And if you measured or recorded every death in every place in time your "puppy" would be doing this all day long in every step it took.

Please don't spread this nonsense.

[market trader]

We are pattern seeking primates who see patterns where none exist. Ever see the outline of a sheep in a cloud?

Actually yes.

[notmyself]

And the sorceress will not be able to put a bad spell on your children, if you hide their names behind a nickname.

Is that a joke?

Explanation given for the use of nicknames, in a Thailand travel book that I read.

I can try to locate that travel book...

Thank you for the reply. It sadly sounds perfectly reasonable [sic] yet something makes me think that no way it can be true.

[kannot]

In the West, we are taught not to believe in superstition,However in smaller cities it is rather common.

For example bringing a cat into a new house before moving in. Cats see in different dimensions to what we see. IF cat starts to go crazy-leave the house.

In this part of the world black magic is very much still alive and practiced on daily basis.

True or not, one needs to experience something "crazy" and one might start to believe.

From personal experience years ago:

I was going to buy a small house in Sydney, found a 200 year old heritage terrace which i really wanted, price was reasonable as well.

ON second inspection, brought my puppy with me, pup was fine all over the house, BUT when going into master bedroom, she cried and was very uncomfortable.

At first i did not pay any attention to it, but it seemed to repeat each time i entered the master bedroom.

It was somewhat interesting/puzzling, so i asked the agent what happened in that room and why the house was for sale?

The house was for sale, because the owner has died, scary enough, the owner was found dead in the master bedroom days after he passed.

So i guess there must be something out there, whatever it was my puppy sensed it.

I'd love to hear the story of how cats see in different dimensions?? please post your evidence on that.

[thatguy]

http://www.e-reading-lib.org/bookreader.php/148582/The_Demon-Haunted_World_:_Science_as_a_candle_in_the_dark.pdf

[notmyself]

We are pattern seeking primates who see patterns where none exist. Ever see the outline of a sheep in a cloud?

Actually yes.

Was it a sheep or was it your brain that fooled you? If you had never seen a sheep before it would just be a shape like all the others.

It's all just imagined like astrology.

[notmyself]

http://www.e-reading-lib.org/bookreader.php/148582/The_Demon-Haunted_World_:_Science_as_a_candle_in_the_dark.pdf

Great book.