Frans Amsterdam in Pattaya (part 10): 'The Thai Ten Commandments'
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Frans Amsterdam has settled down again in Pattaya and entertains us, until there are no more 'like' ratings, with his experiences in a follow-up story.
Cat is recuperating at her 'auntie' in Bangkok. Above all, she needs to recover from her failed escapade to Bahrain. To speed up and intensify that process, she will soon go through life as a nun for a period of three days, in a temple.
In Thailand, women cannot officially join a Buddhist order. Of course creative solutions have been found for this, but a long life as a nun is not that easy. Most privileges are reserved for monks, their status is incomparable to that of monks and the subordinate position of women in Buddhism means that they are often used as servants.
They are dressed entirely in white, hence the name 'white nuns'.
Instead of the five precepts that ordinary lay Buddhists must adhere to, there are eight (temporary) Mae Chi.
They read, roughly translated in the style of 'The Ten Commandments', as follows:
- Thou shalt not kill living creatures.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not engage in sexual activity.
- Thou shalt not speak ill.
- Thou shalt not use narcotics.
- Thou shalt not eat from noon until the next sunrise.
- Thou shalt not attend entertainment venues and wear jewellery/perfume.
- Thou shalt not use a high and comfortable bed.
So rules 6 to 8 apply in addition to those for the common believers, and rule 3 has been modified, laymen only have to refrain from sexual misconduct. There are also lay people who want to rise above the level of the masses without staying in a temple, and observe the 8 precepts one day a week, or whenever they feel the need. This can easily be done at home on your own.
My translation 'Thou shalt' is not correct insofar as the regulations are not seen as imposed rules, but as a way of life that you choose of your own free will.
In my opinion, the short organized periods of 'days of reflection' have become very popular among the ladies in recent years. In the past two weeks alone I have already spotted three acquaintances in white on Facebook. The hair on the head and eyebrows should actually be shaved off, but in practice only some who opt for a longer stay do so. These are usually somewhat older women, who are dependent on this 'shelter' due to the lack of a family network.
For men, boys, it is much more common to go through life as a monk for a while - usually a few months - and it is a phase in the coming of age.
Cat herself describes it as a period of doing well, thinking well and not drinking. She let me know that I too can improve my life for a few days if desired, but I have no plans to sign up for now.
What always strikes me is how uncomplicated Buddhism deals with many things. With Christian monasteries and churches, the first thing we ask ourselves is, 'How strict are they in doctrine?' and then – woow! – to choose the hare path. Or it is precisely those sanctimonious peeps who keep up appearances and meanwhile do everything that God has forbidden. I don't want any of both.
There is so little flexibility in dealing with new developments.
Not so long ago, having a TV in the house was strictly forbidden, and there are still many municipalities where almost all curtains are closed on Sundays during Studio Sport. It is difficult to give modern needs a place in the old faith, resulting in a fatal emptiness.
During the ceremonies of such a Buddhist retreat, things go relatively smoothly in my opinion, the photos appear 'as it happens' on Facebook, and the selfie stick is allowed to go along.
What I will never understand is how completely natural it is for the ladies to earn their money one day in a beer bar, and the next day to surrender completely to spirituality. On the one hand as crooked as a hoop of course, but somehow it also seems that the circle has been closed again in this way. Buddhism will not encourage prostitution in view of rule 3, I think, but there is also no holy witch hunt for those who do work in that industry. Many Christian organizations claim that 'helping' such depraved ones is their most important task, but en passant the saved souls are actually more or less forced to repent. That's rather double, to put it mildly.
Personally, I have absolutely nothing to do with religion, faith or religion, but if I had to choose, I think Buddhism is perhaps the least harmful. I've even been told that Buddhism is the only religion that has never been used to start a war. But maybe I just know far too little about it to condemn it like all other religions.
– Relocated in memory of Frans Amsterdam (Frans Goedhart ) † April 2018 –
Well, Buddhism is not a religion, but more a philosophy of life according to the life of the Buddha.
Buddhism may not have directly incited war, but what is happening in Myanmar does have aggressive expressions towards fellow human beings.
Buddhism, in my opinion, is more of a belief than a religion. That's why I don't think wars have started because of Buddhism. Wars for the sake of faith, such as Christians and Islam, can no longer be counted. Disgusting.
Although there is a legend that a female pope existed around the year 800, even in Catholicism the status of women is on a completely different level compared to men. And if I have read this several times, this is also no different in Islam, where the woman has nothing to say, and she is only allowed to follow her husband. Even if you compare the commandments of these latter religions, you will see many similarities. The human aspect of observing these commandments is that, like the Buddhist commandments, they are widely broken, with the punishment of these transgressions being much greater in Islam than in Catholicism and especially Buddhism. With Buddhism I always feel that they are very humane and can forgive even faster than other believers. When I look at the 5 Buddhist commandments, which the normal mortal must officially adhere to, I hardly see anyone here in the village who takes this seriously. If you point this out to a Thai Buddhist, I always have to laugh at the often rich fantasy of apologies and double standards they apply. Much more than in other faiths, many think that these commandments can be formed and enforced as it suits them personally. That's why many women who work in the nightlife have no problem going half-naked to customer reception, while condemning a farang woman who walks the beach in a tiny bikini during the day. Not infrequently you see a barmaid before sharing the bed with a customer, lighting a candle at a Buddha statue, while she abhors an unmarried farang woman who goes to bed with her boyfriend. What they do is nothing but financial necessity, and see everything that this farang woman does for nothing as vulgar. The next day they go into the temple, ask the monk's blessing, and reward him with a big bucket of necessities/tambun, and hope that they will get more customers in the evening.
Buddhism is not a religion but a belief I have read..Buddhism is the only belief that allows and embraces other religions
Take a look at the neighbors in Burma…. Not quite I think.
Seems a bit too firm to me too. Myanmar's Buddhist majority are massacring the Muslim Rohingya minority, who are fleeing en masse. Even Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi looks the other way and pretends nothing is wrong. I even saw a video of a high Buddhist monk who says in an interview that he has no problem with the violence against Rohingya. Worrying all.
We must strongly condemn the violence on both sides!
But I also understand that the Muslim minority starts violence every time, and that the Buddhist majority retaliates harshly.
Not good to talk, but one day it will stop.
Whether it is a religion, or as some call it a philosophy of life, doesn't really make much difference. Moreover, it is also written on Wikipedia that Buddhism is one of the 5 largest religions in this world. That is why I can well understand that Frans Amsterdam has not deviated from this either, the more so it does not make any difference in what he describes.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wereldreligie
In my opinion, only "religion" is really incorrect, because Buddha is not a god. Although theologians – theologians – are probably interested in Buddhism. 'Faith' is possible, I think, because you can also believe in a belief in life. Religion seems to me to be the most comprehensive concept that Buddhism can fall under without any problems. Let's not beat each other's brains about it...
The Chinese say: every religion is poison.
Although I of course do not agree at all with the violence that is now taking place in Myanmar, the situation is slightly different if some media would have us believe.
The Rohingya are largely to blame for the current situation, and are now playing the role of victim.
The truth will lie in the middle, you cannot expect the Buddhist majority to adapt to the Muslim minority.
Dear Geert, many of the above reactions are actually about the fact and the question whether Buddhism is capable of starting violence or even war.
Even if it were, as you write, that the Rohingya themselves are to blame for their fate, this certainly still does not give a Buddhist a license to commit mass rapes and murders.
Buddhism boasts of its peace-loving disposition, which is nowhere to be found here on their part.
The truth will certainly lie in the middle, but I still have the feeling that the fact that this minority mainly consists of Muslims will cause it to be shifted by many prejudices. Many people in this world, especially in Europe, still have not understood that many Extremists kill in the name of Islam, although this has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with this faith.
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland/article/detail/3247202/2017/08/31/Ergste-geweld-in-jaren-in-Myanmar-Vrees-voor-etnische-zuivering-met-massamoord-en-verkrachtingen.dhtml
Dear John, it is not a religious conflict at all.
Because a Buddhist monk stirs things up, it is now explained that way.
The Rohingya are simply Bengalis who reside illegally in Myanmar, and cause quite a bit of nuisance there.
I can understand that someone does not want to stay in Bangladesh, I have been there and can tell you that the country is not suitable for human habitation.
But if you are more or less a guest in another country illegally, you can at least try to behave.
And that's where it went wrong, if you can't hang the laundry to dry yet, it will escalate at some point.
So not a religious conflict, but an ordinary neighborly quarrel.
Dear Geert, if you read my response carefully again, you would see that I am not writing about a religious conflict at all. The Buddhist religion/view of life is known as a peaceful/non-violent religion, while in Myanmar they show the opposite. If the peace-loving Buddhism, in which the majority of the people believe, is so dominant, then even in the face of the greatest misconduct of this 2% Rohingya population, they must have other means than the mass rape and murder of people who are already on the run anyway. are to leave the country.
Geert, you are exactly copying the propaganda of the government of Myanmar, which (with Aung San Suu Kyi) forbids the use of the word 'Rohyngia', but refers to them as Bengali, thus also demonstrating their so-called illegal presence in Myanmar. suggested.
Aung San Suu Kyi even managed to get the UN representative for Myanmar to use only the word 'Bengali' in a recent report, thus actually collaborating with the government.
As president of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi's father gave the Rohyngia, most of whom had lived in Burma (later Myanmar) for generations, all the civil rights that Buddhists already had.
Dictator Ne Win took away those civil rights from them in the 80s, so they have become stateless until now, without the right to education, health care, freedom of movement, etc.
On the grounds of the Wat Yansangwararam near Pattaya are a number of small shelters for women who want to reflect for a few days or longer.
Get up at 5 o'clock in the morning, have breakfast, the rest of the day a very frugal lifestyle filled with meditation.
There are many people who stray from their path and do the strangest things. Partly motivated by poverty, but that is too simplistic in my view. The lack of a balance, the right values and standards is the basis for this. This is also the case with this lady Cat. As I mentioned before, this is food for a psychiatrist. Such a Buddhist temple period will not help her any further, but some pastime and some peace of mind will help her. Then business as usual. The sexual pleasure of those who need it and are receptive to it in this way and of course for payment. She's clearly too far gone. Too bad, because I would really like to see all people prosper and be happy in a normal way that does not leave its mark later in life. Scarred for life.
A few years ago there was already an episode on Dutch TV about the problems between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar. I didn't think this was in the Rohingya area, but somewhere in the interior with a fanatical branch of the Buddhists. The reporter could not report normally there without using caution. In the end, the bomb burst between two population groups that have little to do with each other. It was always a Muslim enclave that was tolerated but has grown at the seams. The Rohingya never recognized and provided documents so always resided illegally. Bengali people. Second class citizens, but not native to Myanmar.
Each population group should be provided with its own country, that would be the best. Look at the Kurds who live in three countries but have never been recognized as such. Are also discriminated against by the Turks. In the end, only nasty circumstances and violence will result. Yes, humanity is very busy with each other and what this leads to if there is no compassion. I should not think about it.
The NOS news is rather cowardly by failing to give any insight into an ethnic cleansing of Rohyngia Muslims that has been going on for decades with the approval of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The only thing that could be heard in the NOS news in recent days is that Aung San Suu Kyi warns about expanding Muslim jihadism and about the spread of fake news.
And she prevents journalists and even a UN representative from entering the area where all the violence is taking place.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have already fled. First it happened as boat refugees to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, where they were not welcome either. Mass graves of them were even discovered in the border area of Malaysia and Thailand. The largest flow is now trying to escape to Bangladesh, where they are not welcome either.
Well, the tragic fate of these people has been a subject of international news for so long, but the NOS news acts as if it has only recently erupted about, yes, 'international Muslim terrorism'.
Nice story
and another entertaining take on religion in general and the Buddhist in particular and I must confess I share your view.
First of all: the Buddhism does not exist. And its two main currents, namely Theravada Buddhism, which is very nationalistic and can even be racist to belligerent as the Buddhist current in Myanmar shows led by Aung San Suu Kyi, monks and the army in their persecution of the Rohyngia Muslims.
And there is the more meditative Zen-like Buddhism witnessed by the Dalai Lama, Nepal and India.
In addition, Thai Buddhism is in practice mainly animistic, much to the dismay of important Thai 'scholars' (such as Budhadasa), who think this is nonsense.
That may be the reason why Buddhism is practiced rather opportunistically in Thailand; after all, it is about the spirit world, which is said to be much more important and more determining for life than any Buddhist teaching.
And let's not expand the discussion to whether religion is the main cause in all these so-called religious wars, which is contradicted in a scholarly study by Karen Armstrong: 'Fields of Blood, Religion and the history of violence', in her historical study of a large number of so-called 'religious' conflicts in world history.
For propaganda purposes, conflicts are often 'framed' as religious, as Netanyahu does with his eternal threat of 'Islam terror', thus legitimizing his violent expansion of his own 'territory' in Israel. And a recent example is Aung San Suu Kyi, who, despite the decades-long ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Rakhine state, which has now reached genocidal proportions, blames it on Muslim jihadists. And she is referring to that group of people who desperately offer armed resistance to the massacres, arson, and mass rape by soldiers.