British man paints Pattaya Temple Walls to celebrate Christmas

[Pormax]

The monks will be sitting inside the temple counting their millions and going .......SUCKER!!!!!!!

My thoughts. Fair play to the Guy if he just wants something to do and to help out, but why buy the paint. Now he has left himself open to be hit upon time and time again by not only the monks but by the locals who will see him as an soft touch.

Monks make more each month than a bank manager. Recently in a village near me, an elderly monk who died had more than half a million baht in his dwelling and over 7 million in a bank account. The temple where he was the head monk looks very shabby could certainly do with some restoration and paint. I thought the idea of Buddism is to give, not to take. I have a young brother-in-law who just recently decided he wants to become a full time monk in the local village temple, not the 10days or so that many do, Within a fortnight he had enough money to give his Parents 3,0000B each. He wants to join his cousin who, is a monk in Bangkok, in the New Year because, as he says 'I can make more money'. If he can make this money as a fledgling monk what do the more senior monks get? Monks make so much money from weddings, funereals etc plus there is free clothing free food. You only have to go to somewhere like Big C and see the monks around the large flat screen TV's or buying top of the range mobile phones.

I am regularly asked to contribute to yet another building to be erected in the temple. I politely decline. I am not a Budhist. My wife and her family give, in my opinion, way too much to the village monks. They all agree that being a monk is the best paid job in the land but they keep on giving for merit or hoping for good luck on the next lottery day. Belief or stupidity!!

No I am not a scrooge. In my own way I help our village but for those that need help such as when it is Children's Day in January. My wife and I will spend a reasonable amount of money to buy things to give the 60+ children in the infant school. Many of these children come from extremely poor families. The children can't help themselves but the Monk's with all their donations can.

[Anthony5]

Some local Thais will laugh and some will look at him with respect. But any time you do something without expecting something in return you have built good karma. For sure he will be known by all who go to that temple. More things like this and perhaps things like picking up trash along the roads could help set an example. It would be nice if farang were once again respected in Thailand.

Those that laugh are the ones with a conscience, those that respect him are the dirt poor ones that stupidly crawl over the floor to give the last penny they own to the richest organisation in this country.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Anthony5

[ThePlant]

Well done sir for doing something positive.

I can smell the envy at the respect and gratitude he is getting from the local Thais, something I'd wager some of the bitter whingers in Pattaya seldom get unless the wallet is out and its pension day......

[jacko45k]

Good one mate... fancy coming round to my place?

[uptheos]

Would I do it? No.....but good for him.

He will make more Thai friends with this one act of labour, than most guys could make in 25 years.

I guarantee that if he is ever has a problem and needs help, someone will be there for him..

[kuiburi]

i think many of us start off with good intentions here until you get a few kicks in the head

I Always crawl up after getting kicked and go on with my good intentions .

If 1 out off 100 good intentions is a succes I think it's worth it .

[MrRed]

First of all good karma to him for this act of kindness which will be noted in the local community.

The argument that the temple and monks have money is irrelevant as for all anyone knows they might not have or they may have planned to paint the walls in the future...who knows?

At the end of the day it is his sole decision to do this and his time and money is better spent than sitting getting pissed or whoring in the bars.

One thing it shows is that the local pu yai baan is losing face and the temple head a little also ....that it takes an ageing farang to come along and do something that the village head/head monk should have budgeted for in there yearly budget but we all know that the money they get is conserved for when it is needed like retirement or paying for there next term.

What really should of happened and would of happened in a civilized/educated country is that the local community would have seen him start one day and the next would have turned up in numbers with paint and tools and all chipped in to get the job done quicker for the benefit of all.That is the real problem here community action only happens when money is involved...not all but most Thais think this way.

[Expat Brad]

And despite the above post mentioning the WP i would question if he had thought out his action before doing it? He is doing a job that a thai could be paid to do so it only takes 1 jealous idiot to grass him up.

Id be more than happy to do volunteer work here to get round the boredom of not working but i know the law.

You would like to do the same but you "know the law"......How many farang's have been in trouble with the law whilst doing this type of community work???? I think it's just an excuse for you to not do similar. This kind of action by a farang in my experience is viewed very positively by the locals as well......good on him.

[Satcommlee]

This is one guy that doesn't even think of using the WP law as an excuse for sitting on his arse all day drinking Chang and not contributing something to the community he lives in.

Find me one Labour Official or Immigration officer that would bust him for doing such a nice charitable act!

[Rimmer]

A vitriolic troll post has been removed also a reply to it

Also an of topic post removed. This is NOT about work permits. petercool - moderator team

[Johnnie99]

I can't believe (oh wait this this is Thai Visa, maybe I can believe) that this "do good" story has brought out so many insults to this man and his motives, the monks in the temple and the local Thai. Some people just look for any excuse to be negative. I for one think this is a lovely story about a a foreigner who I assume is committing and act of kindness for the local community. One which may be repaid by Thai people to other foreigners when they are in need.

It is not about his intentions but the opinion Thais will have of this man.

If he is okay about being ridiculed and called 'farang ba' behind his back, then you are right - we should not criticise him.

[Johnnie99]

Has anyone else spotted the slight mis-match of thoughts here?

This fellow is Buddhist, and yet he is celebrating the Christmas season by painting a Buddhist temple's wall.

I know that of course Buddhism, being only a philosophy, and not a religion, is entirely compatible with any religion, yet it just seems odd.

[uptheos]

Has anyone else spotted the slight mis-match of thoughts here?

This fellow is Buddhist, and yet he is celebrating the Christmas season by painting a Buddhist temple's wall.

I know that of course Buddhism, being only a philosophy, and not a religion, is entirely compatible with any religion, yet it just seems odd.

As far as I know a person is free to join in the celebrations of most seasonal holidays.

The Thai's like Christmas too especially the receiving presents part.

[joepattaya1961]

He's probably living opposite the temple and had to deal with a view on an ugly wall.

In that respect he's doing this for his own well being

[bangon04]

The monks will be sitting inside the temple counting their millions and going .......SUCKER!!!!!!!

He is not doing this for the monks. He does it for his own well-being. He sees a job that needs doing, and makes his contribution to the community. .

A selfless act which is a valuable contribution does not make him a sucker, surely.

does not really explain why the monks who run the temple or the locals who claim to cherish it, have allowed the walls to get in such a bad state in the first place.....

[Sviss Geez]

A nice gesture but if no one used a high-pressure water spray to clean the walls first the new paint will be off in no time.

I've always thought that this is the sort of job that high school students should be made to do one or two days a month, to learn some civic pride. Also collecting litter on beaches etc.

"I've always thought that this is the sort of job that high school students should be made to do one or two days a month, to learn some civic pride. Also collecting litter on beaches etc."

Did you do that when you were at school or is it just the sort of thing others should do?

[soalbundy]

Well done sir for doing something positive.

I can smell the envy at the respect and gratitude he is getting from the local Thais, something I'd wager some of the bitter whingers in Pattaya seldom get unless the wallet is out and its pension day......

I helped once to clean up the area outside the temple together with village people and monks. When we were about halfway through i was approached by a monk who asked if i would pay to have part of the outside wall repaired, 120,000 Baht, i laughed and said no,you have collected 6 million Baht for a new temple it cant be too difficult to collect a further 120,000. He smiled and said that he had thought i would pay as i am chairman of the collection committee. I stared at him in disbelieve for a few moments and asked how that came about,i hadn't applied for the post and hadn't signed anything to that effect. The Abbot thought it was a good idea to have the name of a farang on the committee as that would inspire trust among the villagers and i had a good name. I told him to tell the Abbot to remove my name as i didn't want to be involved in any temple scams otherwise i would call the police. The Abbot doesn't great me anymore.

[LennyW]

Well done sir for doing something positive.

I can smell the envy at the respect and gratitude he is getting from the local Thais, something I'd wager some of the bitter whingers in Pattaya seldom get unless the wallet is out and its pension day......

I helped once to clean up the area outside the temple together with village people and monks. When we were about halfway through i was approached by a monk who asked if i would pay to have part of the outside wall repaired, 120,000 Baht, i laughed and said no,you have collected 6 million Baht for a new temple it cant be too difficult to collect a further 120,000. He smiled and said that he had thought i would pay as i am chairman of the collection committee. I stared at him in disbelieve for a few moments and asked how that came about,i hadn't applied for the post and hadn't signed anything to that effect. The Abbot thought it was a good idea to have the name of a farang on the committee as that would inspire trust among the villagers and i had a good name. I told him to tell the Abbot to remove my name as i didn't want to be involved in any temple scams otherwise i would call the police. The Abbot doesn't great me anymore.

That sounds about right, seems there are a lot of people on here with no idea of how lucrative a business a temple in Thailand is!!

[khaowong1]

The monks will be sitting inside the temple counting their millions and going .......SUCKER!!!!!!!

My thoughts. Fair play to the Guy if he just wants something to do and to help out, but why buy the paint. Now he has left himself open to be hit upon time and time again by not only the monks but by the locals who will see him as an soft touch.

Monks make more each month than a bank manager. Recently in a village near me, an elderly monk who died had more than half a million baht in his dwelling and over 7 million in a bank account. The temple where he was the head monk looks very shabby could certainly do with some restoration and paint. I thought the idea of Buddism is to give, not to take. I have a young brother-in-law who just recently decided he wants to become a full time monk in the local village temple, not the 10days or so that many do, Within a fortnight he had enough money to give his Parents 3,0000B each. He wants to join his cousin who, is a monk in Bangkok, in the New Year because, as he says 'I can make more money'. If he can make this money as a fledgling monk what do the more senior monks get? Monks make so much money from weddings, funereals etc plus there is free clothing free food. You only have to go to somewhere like Big C and see the monks around the large flat screen TV's or buying top of the range mobile phones.

I am regularly asked to contribute to yet another building to be erected in the temple. I politely decline. I am not a Budhist. My wife and her family give, in my opinion, way too much to the village monks. They all agree that being a monk is the best paid job in the land but they keep on giving for merit or hoping for good luck on the next lottery day. Belief or stupidity!!

No I am not a scrooge. In my own way I help our village but for those that need help such as when it is Children's Day in January. My wife and I will spend a reasonable amount of money to buy things to give the 60+ children in the infant school. Many of these children come from extremely poor families. The children can't help themselves but the Monk's with all their donations can.

Wow.. the seven years I spent as a monk in a country temple in Lopburi must have been a waste.. None of the monks I knew, including myself, had enough money in their pocket at any one time to buy a coke. Sometimes some monk would get maybe 500 baht from their family and buy the other monks there a soda or ice cream. We had several vehicles at our temple that were donated and they all were a piece of junk, always breaking down. I should have done some research before I ordained to find the lucrative temples. I keep reading about all these rich monks, including Nem Kham, but never actually met one.

Good on that Brit to paint that fence. Some people will call him a sucker, but not the people around the temple.

[Suradit69]

good on him, but the cynic in me says all done while the Thai men sit by drinking Lao Khao and calling him Ba.

What does the one have to do with the other? And who are "the Thai men" you are imagining? Do people sit in front of the temple drinking beer? Or do you mean any Thai anywhere in Pattaya who happens to be drinking beer while he's painting? I'm pretty sure plenty of farang men are sitting around drinking beer in Pattaya. If someone does a good deed, does that mean everyone in a 20 km radius needs to stand at attention with heads bowed?

There's nothing to be cynical about. It's just another case of totally illogical Thai bashing based on something that doesn't even exist except in your imagination.

In your country if someone paints a temple/church/synagogue/mosque wall is there an automatic national ban on beer drinking?

Edited December 19, 2014 by Suradit69

[ThePlant]

What does the one have to do with the other?

Oh dear. You flew into a rage at this 'Thai Basher' and missed the gist of his post; which I'd say was that the Thais are probably kicking back over a beer while this gent gets on all fours and paints their temple for them....

No need to get your knickers in a twist at anything you perceive as 'Thai Bashing' when, as in this instance, it is absolutely nothing of the sort. Are you seeing the Purple Snakes yet? I think you owe Nev an apology.

Edited December 20, 2014 by ThePlant

[falangjim]

the man in photo look nothing like 77 in age.

He has led a good and sheltered life resulting in that baby faced look.

He's a Briton living in Thailand. How sheltered could his life be,

Edited December 20, 2014 by Rimmer
Flame removed

[Basil B]

The monks will be sitting inside the temple counting their millions and going .......SUCKER!!!!!!!

He is not doing this for the monks. He does it for his own well-being. He sees a job that needs doing, and makes his contribution to the community. .

A selfless act which is a valuable contribution does not make him a sucker, surely.

does not really explain why the monks who run the temple or the locals who claim to cherish it, have allowed the walls to get in such a bad state in the first place.....

Well if he had a long white beard, A British beer gut and a red outfit with white trimmings he would have all the locals believing in Santa Claus...