We have unfortunately a Buddha temple as a neighbour. At 3:30 every night the broadcast <snip> starts with the amplifier at maximum volume.

Very much articles has been published that the "National Office of Buddhism" finally has taken a step to stop <snip> such activities with the help of a hotline.

Problems seems to be <snip> the hotline is disconnected.

Anybody know where to submit complaints to this "disconnected" National Office

Not a chance, in a nearby country a similar complainant was given 24 hours to leave the country.

OP ... did they build the Temple before you moved there?

Seems a strange choice of a place to live for a Westerner ...

Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.

They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

1-800-show-a-little-respect.

1-800-show-a-little-respect.

"This number cannot be dialled from the country you are in."

I have edited the OP to remove some offensive remarks.

Whilst I would have deleted the post in it's entirety, it's seems to have caused a problem to the OP so will let it stand with it's revised wording.

OP ... did they build the Temple before you moved there?

Seems a strange choice of a place to live for a Westerner ... alt=blink.png>

It was farmland before, and now this "Buddhaboss" relatives own very much land in our village.....

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Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.
They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people. Even the local police has been there but he scared the moff.

Some "normal
Buddhas been there too, but he also scared them off

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Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.

They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people. Even the local police has been there but he scared the moff.

Some "normal

Buddhas been there too, but he also scared them off

just move - and move on.

Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.

They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

Life can be very pleasant in Thailand if you do things the Thai way, and don't interfere with their religion or politics.

Can your wife sort it out?

The very loud noise that comes from the Temples and some Thai peoples homes when Monks visit for Buddhist purposes, has nothing to do with Buddism or Religion. Buddism and Religion were here long before those big loudspeakers, sound systems, and electricity were invented.

When you get all the loud noise from the Temples, peoples houses etc, it is nothing more than stupidity, and the selfishness of the people. There is no reason why the volume cannot be kept at an acceptable level.

The posters who have read my posts will know I am not a Thai basher, but I do call things as I see them.

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Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.
They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people. Even the local police has been there but he scared the moff.

Some "normal
Buddhas been there too, but he also scared them off

just move - and move on.

Would love to move on, but a house (4 mill) and a garden (10 rai) nobody wants to buy because of the noice

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Nobody can, but as I said, the Thais are to scared

Can your wife sort it out?

Buddism and Religion were here long before those big loudspeakers, sound systems, and electricity were invented.

That is certainly true.

But it is also true that the customs and practices of modern day temple life have evolved hand in hand with how the surrounding community wants to practice their faith.

If the rhythm of temple life were seen to be unharmoniously clashing with the rhythm of daily life, adjustments to temple life would have been made long ago.

What constitutes an "acceptable" volume level differs between cultures. If it truly is intolerable, others in the community will likely voice complaints as well. I would let them take the lead, and show a high degree of deferrence to the local culture.

Showing up at the temple armed with petitions and noise ordinances to demand that the abbot immediately cease morning prayers will only confer parriah status on the OP.

Buddism and Religion were here long before those big loudspeakers, sound systems, and electricity were invented.

That is certainly true.

But it is also true that the customs and practices of modern day temple life have evolved hand in hand with how the surrounding community wants to practice their faith.

If the rhythm of temple life were seen to be unharmoniously clashing with the rhythm of daily life, adjustments to temple life would have been made long ago.

What constitutes an "acceptable" volume level differs between cultures. If it truly is intolerable, others in the community will likely voice complaints as well. I would let them take the lead, and show a high degree of deferrence to the local culture.

Showing up at the temple armed with petitions and noise ordinances to demand that the abbot immediately cease morning prayers will only confer parriah status on the OP.

as he said: "People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people."

I asked my wife why, during the retreat month, there was so much music blasting, how can people meditate? She said it was to keep the meditators from feeling bored and lonely.

Kind of a novel approach, I thought.

"All life is suffering" is first noble truth. You may go talk to head monk and point out "but we don't need to add pointless suffering". Have you and wife just sat down and had a talk with the head? What possible rationale could there be for this? A bit of google search and you should be able to find some higher ups in the order to tell that temple to turn it down, or off....

I used to live in Phra Kanong, renting condo at same level as speakers. We made a complaint to whatever government agency is supposed to look after noise pollution and they actually turned it down! (I wasn't complaining about calls to prayer, it was blasts for funerals and such starting in early morning).

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Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.

They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people. Even the local police has been there but he scared the moff.

Some "normal

Buddhas been there too, but he also scared them off

just move - and move on.

Same problem in Indonesia. First call to prayer around 5am, then four more during the day.

A nice donation often helps, or at least results in lowered volume.

Unfortunately there is a small segment of the Thai society who could care less about how they bother others with their loud noise. After 10 years here I've seen this everywhere I have lived (except when sharing a nice house in an upper class section of Bangkok).

People in every country who have education, money and class generally respect the rights of others. Too many of the other 95% of the population here don't know enough to respect the rights of their neighbors... TURN UP THE MUSIC - SANOOK!.

I lived close to a temple once, they can be very noisy, often they hold fairs or funerals where they rig up loud speakers like a Led Zep concert. Unfortunately in LOS when your inconsiderate neighbors are destroying your sanity with excessive noise all you can do about it is move away.

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"All life is suffering" is first noble truth. You may go talk to head monk and point out "but we don't need to add pointless suffering". Have you and wife just sat down and had a talk with the head? What possible rationale could there be for this? A bit of google search and you should be able to find some higher ups in the order to tell that temple to turn it down, or off....

I used to live in Phra Kanong, renting condo at same level as speakers. We made a complaint to whatever government agency is supposed to look after noise pollution and they actually turned it down! (I wasn't complaining about calls to prayer, it was blasts for funerals and such starting in early morning).

Hey, that was my original question. The National Buddhist Office's hotline everybody wrote about (and also the number they have on their homepage) is disconnected, the police do nothing, local government do nothing................ so where to complain?

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Alot of the residents in our village got very pissed off when the new head monk of the temple started cranking up the volume at 4am.
They organised a small delegation to talk to him about it and the noise was turned down to a more acceptable level.

People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people. Even the local police has been there but he scared the moff.

Some "normal
Buddhas been there too, but he also scared them off

just move - and move on.

Same problem in Indonesia. First call to prayer around 5am, then four more during the day.

A nice donation often helps, or at least results in lowered volume.

Hey, this Buddhaboss has turned the temple into a money machine, he's supposed to have 15 cars and a chopper and I am a poor retired (retarded soon) expat

Have a meeting with the abbot and ask him respectfully for an explanation about the buddhist rule of not harming others. Then ask him if it applies to your playing music at 3am with the volume turned up so high that it disturbs the sleep of the people in the neighbourhood

Simple solution.

Turn your house and property into a Methodist retreat/church. Get a huge amplifier and speaker system set up facing the temple and start blasting the hymn THE OLD RUGGED CROSS simultaneously and as loud as you can crank it.

I would even attend your church to see that. AMEN!!!

as he said: "People are scared of the "buddhaboss" He spread a rumor that he can put a bad spell on people."

I read this ayjaydee. I just didn't take it that seriously. My bad.

Westerners, foreigners, youse guys........ never just never try to tell a monastery anything about its activities. I can hear the music from monastery about four miles away, about like a radio on low and outside.

If locals hear of you telling monks what to do, keep a very low profile, including staying inside your home for a month or more... just do not tell locals how to run their monasteries... at your peril.

LIKE ALL OTHER TASKS IN THAILAND, GET A THAI TO DO IT.... get a Thai to front your complaint and include a big donation to go with your complaint. Most of the whining on this site comes from Westerners not using a Thai to front for them.

you ... and this is your Thai front person etc.

Get yourself big speakers pointing to the temple starting 1h before or even more. Then when temple complains say you plan to open little bar at home next month. perhaps he will be more willing to negotiate

Unfortunately there is a small segment of the Thai society who could care less about how they bother others with their loud noise. After 10 years here I've seen this everywhere I have lived (except when sharing a nice house in an upper class section of Bangkok).

People in every country who have education, money and class generally respect the rights of others. Too many of the other 95% of the population here don't know enough to respect the rights of their neighbors... TURN UP THE MUSIC - SANOOK!.

Absolutely right on the money!

Education makes the difference between a human being and a savage.