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Posted

Thai buddists always tell me that they don't have a God, yet they go to temple to pray, donate and make merit.

If there is no God, who are they praying to? Who are they hoping gain merit from?

Is it a case of "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"?

Posted

I like Ajarn Brahm even if the Thai Sangha don't - some wise words which answers the unanswerable question to most theistic religions which is 'where was God when the holocaust happened , why are innocent children killed /abused dilemma'.

Posted (edited)

Well, Thais are likely to believe in God or anything else that might bring them good luck. But despite their protestations to the contrary, I have yet to meet a Thai that was a Buddhist. What Thais practice and what they seem to believe has absolutely nothing to do with anything the Lord Buddha taught.

Edited by Ticketmaster
  • Like 1
Posted

Have you studied Buddhism?

From his question, he seems like he is studying Buddhism. Have you studied Good Manners? What answer did you contribute to this question?

Posted

A large part of Thai Buddhism as practised by the laity is dana (generosity) to the community of monks. This was taught by the Buddha. The rewards for practising dana are specified in the Pali Canon. Believing there is some kind of spirit in a Buddha image that can answer prayers is not what the Buddha taught. It's an animist practice from the indigenous religion that predates the introduction of Buddhism into the country.

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

Have you studied Buddhism?

From his question, he seems like he is studying Buddhism. Have you studied Good Manners? What answer did you contribute to this question?

Hi Stoli.

Perhaps my wording could have been better, but my intentions were pure.

I'm sorry you took things the wrong way.

No contribution has been supplied as I was waiting for an answer.

My reason for the question was to allow me to frame my response around the posters level of Buddhist knowledge.

Within orthodox Buddhism there are two interpretations of what Awakening might be, as well as a dilution of practice due to the infusion of culture and Animism.

Add to this age old customs handed down over centuries and followed without question and you end up with the deification of the Buddha.

Some Thais incorrectly believe that the Buddha sits in a Buddhist Heaven called Nibbanna and that he can hear their prayers.

In terms of "good manners", think of my post as a poor execution of what I wished to convey.

Edited by rockyysdt
Posted

I don't believe in God and I never pray for God. I pray for the truth that if what I have just done is a good thing, please empower me with wisdom. That's all.

Posted (edited)

I don't believe in God and I never pray for God. I pray for the truth that if what I have just done is a good thing, please empower me with wisdom. That's all.

Who's gonna empower you if there is no 'God'?

Practice empowers you.

It's is all about increasing ones level of awareness.

Experience of being truly in the present moment and not lamenting over past thoughts or dreaming of a desirable future.

Practicing the eightfold path regularly empowers.

Edited by rockyysdt
  • Like 2
Posted

I don't believe in God and I never pray for God. I pray for the truth that if what I have just done is a good thing, please empower me with wisdom. That's all.

So, to whom, or what, do you pray for this empowerment?

Posted (edited)

I don't believe in God and I never pray for God. I pray for the truth that if what I have just done is a good thing, please empower me with wisdom. That's all.

So, to whom, or what, do you pray for this empowerment?

It is not called praying. In Buddhism this kind of 'determination' is called Attithana . The determination to attain a certain insight or level of practice. In meditation one might determine to see a past cause for one's present karmic vipakha ( the fruit of past karma), or see a past existence.

There is no god who grants this wish. It is all due to natural laws and consequences...Dhamma. By practising with determination one might attain the result.

The power of the mind, the laws of karma and nature, are beyond our understanding.....but they are laws which apply to all beings, no matter what their beliefs or desires or understanding.

Edited by fabianfred
Posted

I don't believe in God and I never pray for God. I pray for the truth that if what I have just done is a good thing, please empower me with wisdom. That's all.

So, to whom, or what, do you pray for this empowerment?

It is not called praying. In Buddhism this kind of 'determination' is called Attithana . The determination to attain a certain insight or level of practice. In meditation one might determine to see a past cause for one's present karmic vipakha ( the fruit of past karma), or see a past existence.

There is no god who grants this wish. It is all due to natural laws and consequences...Dhamma. By practising with determination one might attain the result.

The power of the mind, the laws of karma and nature, are beyond our understanding.....but they are laws which apply to all beings, no matter what their beliefs or desires or understanding.

Thanks for your response. I too, am unsustained by a faith in religion, but find Buddhism, (in its essence, and not as popularly practised in Thailand), to be the most credible code by which to live. Your post gives me something to think about.

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