Predictions and Buddha's right?

Somewhere in the middle of the Isaan is a small village. A street with a few houses. When you arrive at 05.00:0 in the morning, the whole street is already full of cars of people who want to have their future predicted by the local medium that talks to ghosts. Cost: XNUMX baht.

But if the prediction is correct, you share that happiness with the medium. A lucrative business because her house looks bigger and more beautiful every year. She apparently does the forecasting well because people keep coming and coming and are especially grateful. There is always something mysterious about her and her house when you walk in.

You can make an appointment, but often the medium has just left because the spirits have directed her elsewhere. Strange as a Westerner because a deal is a deal and ghosts calling you away, right? huh? And especially if you are there at 06.00 in the morning with your girlfriend who firmly believes in it. But if she is there then I “kill” time by waiting in the car and/or looking/walking around.

monks

And always while waiting, the Buddhists walk down the street early in the morning with their covered wagon to collect their food for the day. Everyone really comes out of their house and gives food, no matter how little they have themselves. In return, the Buddhists pronounce their blessing on the husband/wife/family/pets and the whole house. Some even take a chair outside so that the oldest Buddhist can rest from his long walk past the houses. Everything extremely peaceful and respectful. When the Buddhists begin to pray, a soothing tone of their prayer fills you. The Thai people kneel, bow or sit low to receive the blessing of "good luck" especially well.

But are there miracles in the field of prediction? No idea. The woman I just mentioned throws some ashes and bones and other remains of an animal into a bowl and reads the future from it. The Buddhists do it numerologically. Based on your date of birth and time of birth, the monks calculate what awaits you in the coming time (years). Or you get sick. When it is better to stay indoors or when you should do something specific.

Nice to have it calculated for you, recommended to have it done. Do take an envelope with a stamp with your own address already filled in on it and a piece of paper with your date of birth and time of birth on it. Preferably according to our calendar and according to the Buddhist calendar (+543 years if I counted correctly). He predicts and calculates your future in peace and alone (so you are not there) and sends the predictions. You will be amazed at what (often general and global) you will receive in terms of happiness. But he can't know some things in it and when they come out it's pretty creepy. Because how does he get there.

Gold

You can also have gold inserted under your skin for good luck and health. I strongly doubt the latter because I seem to remember that (too much) gold in your body can be fatal. But the Thai almost all have this inserted under the skin by such a monk. Status perhaps?

Anyway, my girlfriend asks the local Buddhist to predict how things will go with obtaining a visa and residence permit for the Netherlands. It is August 2005. If you know that the permit has not yet been applied for at that time and that the average processing time for an application is 3-6 months, then it is already strong that Buddha makes a prediction based on numerology based on date. He said on November 1, 2005 you will receive confirmation that everything has been approved and in January 2006 you will go to the Netherlands.

Now it is the case in the Netherlands that if you want to bring a partner to the Netherlands, you must also submit all kinds of evidence about how and where you met (photos, correspondence, etc.) in addition to the application. In the first instance, you submit an application to the IND and the IND then asks additional questions and information that they want from you. The application will be submitted sometime in mid-September.

Forecast

I knew from acquaintances how the process would go. So I had a hard head in those predictions. But nothing turned out to be less true and without having to provide anything to additional ones information or any form of acknowledgment of receipt of the application, the approval will come on November 2, 2005, one day later than Buddha's prediction. Turnaround time 6 weeks and not 3 -6 months. Just right in one go. Weird right? Acquaintances all reacted surprised because they had only had problems with the application for an MVV. No need to provide additional information, just everything okay.

Something that would break up later because when the permit was issued at the embassy in Bangkok, the ambassador wondered how things could have turned out this way. He refused to hand over the already paid permit waiting there because he was of the opinion that the IND had really made procedural errors here. The ambassador couldn't really do anything more. The permit was approved and paid for. Did I now have to become the victim of procedural errors by the IND? I was actually in Bangkok myself to collect that permit together with my girlfriend. After a weekend of thinking (we were stressed of course) he called me in Bangkok and gave permission to collect the permit. Buddha was right again because my girlfriend was in the Netherlands in January 2006 and shortly after that she already had a residence permit of 1 year and soon a Dutch passport and Dutch nationality.

Ghosts

In return, the first return in Thailand a pig's head was sacrificed and money was given to the Buddhists, because happiness must flow back to its source. I understand the Thai's rock-solid belief in ghosts, Buddhism and everything related to it. Because this kind of 'accurate' predictions can only make them believe it (if you don't already).

Incidentally, this sacrifice of a pig's head happens early in the morning around 6 o'clock and the head is eaten by the whole family and neighbors after the sacrifice. I have often walked around with the idea of ​​exporting pig heads to Thailand because here you get them for free at the butcher and they pay almost 500 baht for half a head. Big business perhaps?

But how could the local Buddha, based on date and time of birth, predict this so accurately? It does make you think. Could there be more between heaven and earth after all?