Temple in Thailand to hand out smart phones to lure young attendants

[webfact]

Temple to hand out smart phones to lure young attendants



BANGKOK: -- A temple in Phitsanuloke province is to hand out five I-Phone 6 smart phones to people who attend a major merit-making ceremony to be held during December 27-January 4.

This market gimmick employed by WatRatburana to lure young people to get into the temple has become of heated debates in the social media.

Phra Khru Sitthithamwipat, the abbot of the temple, said today that the smart phones distribution was a policy of the temple too lure Thai youths to return to the temple and to become interested in Buddhism. He believes that youths will be attracted to the smart phone handout and will turn out in force to attend the festivities to be held on the compound of the temple.

The monk said that just extending invitation for the youths to attend an event may not work. But distributing handouts such as smart phones might be an incentive to lure more people to attend the event.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/temple-hand-smart-phones-lure-young-attendants


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-19

[Somtamnication]

Nothing more religious than looking down at your phone while praying to Bhudda.

[kalbo123]

Mickey Mouse Buddhism in Disneyland!

[Chang_paarp]

The phones may be smarter than the recipients.

Let's not condemn the Abbott for at least trying to use a relevant marketing ploy to attract a new generation of customers. He is showing more nous than a lot of his contempories across the planet, or for that matter, he is using a better marketing tool than a lot of companies.

[ezzra]

High time that all temples and places of worship in Thailand will under go a vigour audit, as many of them

engage in fund unscrupulous funds raising and acting like a business for all intends and purposes and have

more money and assets than many of local big companies here, and who is the beneficiaries of such wealth?

the public? hardly, the abbots and the monks and their cronies? for sure...

[canuckamuck]

A great way to teach about the end of attachments and materialism.

[terryp]

obviously buddhism has changed in thailand ...........^{_{this is the problem in thailand from the top down, Consumerism is the new religion.}}

[chainarong]

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The phones may be smarter than the recipients.

Let's not condemn the Abbott for at least trying to use a relevant marketing ploy to attract a new generation of customers. He is showing more nous than a lot of his contempories across the planet, or for that matter, he is using a better marketing tool than a lot of companies.

Every now and then a promo is great , everyday boring , I remember way back the Archbishop of Perth ( West Oz) had rock groups in, to encourage younger people, this eventually fizzled out , like all things religious.

[noitom]

These Thais know how to "lure."

[wellred]

A great way to teach about the end of attachments and materialism.

This story is almost a paradox based on this.

[H1w4yR1da]

Maybe it's to lure in young boys. Looking at past incidents, they seem to be favored by monks.

[bboy]

Just what the doctor ordered, more brain-dead youngsters that don't know how to converse unless via social media on a &lt;deleted&gt; smart phone.

[SOTIRIOS]

..........the premise is....utter nonsense....

....the marketing value is......genius........

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Our local temple has coyote dancers.

It lures me in!

(and they were singing 'Kan hoo')

[bushwacker]

The head monk calls a meeting of his trusted advisers and says, "look guys we have a real problem here. We are not getting the support we need from the younger generation. They do not come, they do not give us food and money. And most importantly they do not believe our teachings about Materialism being the route of all evil, suffering and unhappiness. So put your collective heads together and come up with a solution or there will be no food tomorrow or the next day or maybe ever again".

After many hours of careful consideration, discussion and debate using such Western Management Style techniques like Brain Storming, the trust advisers returned to the Head Monk ... and said ... "the only way we can attract the young and get there support is if we entice them to come with something like free SMART PHONES. Then we will continue to eat!"

The Head Monk thought about it and said ... "OK lets do it ... after all, eating and keeping financial support is far more important than all this other historical beliefs, dogma and teachings".

[JOC]

RIP Bhuddism.

[canarysun]

I think they should ban these smart phones from temples,offices,schools,stations and all work places! We managed for years with out mobile phones so we don't really need then now.( It should be noted viewers that i myself am the owner of a " smartphone " but leave it in my room 24 hours a day.Nothing worse than somebody " disturbing me " while i am out on a gentle stroll or listening to some cool tunes...) I spotted a sign in Bangkok a while back which really summed it all up - " PLEASE WATCH WHERE YOU ARE WALKING AS YOUR FACEBOOK UPDATE CAN WAIT " .....

Farang jaidee ( " oblivious to the world around me " )

[lee b]

Was does this sound just wrong ???

[mike324]

"He believes that youths will be attracted to the smart phone handout and will turn out in force to attend the festivities to be held on the compound of the temple."

Translation: Lure people to temple festivals and spend more money so the temple can profit more. Temple have no intention to lure young folks to follow the Buddhist principles or what not, just a marketing scheme to generate more cash.

[kriswillems]

Look at is this way: An Iphone costs 25000B but the number of people coming to the temple will be huge and they will all donate.

So, it's actually a smart investment.

[Lupatria]

This is a kick in the groin to everyone who ever donated to these marketing monks.

[klauskunkel]

aaah, that's why there are so many monks in Panthip: marketing research

[biplanebluey]

These Thais know how to "lure."

YEA !!!-------- 5 phones and they will "Turn out in force"

[CelticBhoy]

Beats an orange at Harvest.

[Floater 7]

Am I the only one who uses his smart phone to read novels, see where something is located, and to translate Thai to English, and vice versa? It's a tool, and like most tools, it's all in how it's used.

[BangkokHank]

I just came across this related article:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2014/12/thailand-tainted-robes-2014121710360199852.html

[A1Str8]

I'll be there.

[FangFerang]

The problem is that most of the young are not interested in Buddhism.

The young are thinking beings. They look around, they see, they want to know. They look around at powerful and ridiculously happy people who are corrupt and successful in business, law enforcement, and the military. They see every politician who has ever been on Thai television and hear them lying, and also see these politicians being powerful and ridiculously happy people who are corrupt and successful. They young also all know about the bad monks, powerful and ridiculously happy people who are corrupt and successful.

The young know results when they see them, and are highly competitive, and will cheat to win (like young people of every culture). Corruption encourages corruption. The young want to win. They want results.

It has been said "Nice guys finish last," which is optimism.

Nice guys never get to even be in the race...

(insert nonexistent 'shrug' emoticon here)

[kerrysum]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never knew that Obama's plan was so universal..... Thailand you need to find yourself, and not at the cost of others .... It is happening here in the USA also...

Merry Christmas and to all a good night....

[SiSePuede419]

Now if they could give the kids a yaa baa pill and a broom, the world would be a cleaner place, 555

I tried it a couple times as a teenager. Boy, was my sock drawer ever organized!