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LUCKY SEVERSON, correspondent: There’s a struggle going on inside Thailand. It’s between two powerful influences. One side can be found in places like this; the other in crowded spaces like this. For now it seems that one side is falling behind. This is Professor John Butt, senior advisor to the Institute of Religion at Payap University in Chiang Mai. PROF. JOHN BUTT: It’s a real clash with modernity, with social change, and it’s been very intense. The changes that took place in America and in Europe have been extended over a couple of centuries; here it’s been a couple of decades. SEVERSON: This is a country where almost 95 percent of the population is Buddhist, where the constitution mandates that the king be a Buddhist, and where there are temples almost everywhere. PROF. BUTT: I think probably this is one of the central if not the central Buddhist country in the world. SEVERSON: It’s a country that has recently seen a remarkable rise in economic prosperity. There was a time not that long ago when it would have been difficult to find a mall, let alone one so crowded. The roads would have been clogged with motor scooters, and the fancy cars belonged only to diplomats and the very rich. Not anymore. The Thais have embraced consumerism with gusto. This is An Jang Sang, professor emeritus at Chiang Mai University. AN JANG SANG: Some of them may be interested in materialism, consumerism, but deep down in their heart they are still Buddhists. SEVERSON: But he agrees they’re not going to the temples, also known as wats, as much as they once did. PROF. BUTT: In the past the wat was not just the religious center, it was the life center of the village community. The social life took place there, counseling, respect, authority for the monks. That’s, I think, decreased tremendously. via Read the rest at PBS.

I was reading this article the other day and thought it was an interesting conversation point. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/dalai_pr.html I guess the central message of the article is that people like the Dalai Lama are trying to tie Buddhism to science. That some Buddhist monks have taught their brain to focus their brains on certain things like compassion at a level that the rest of the world does not experience. Scientists can see (via MRI scans) that various parts of the brain are much more active in Buddhist monks than normal people. I don't know why I found this article around the same time I was watching a documentary about doctors trying to find the essence of a soul but the two seem to marry. One doctor took a patient that was in a vegetative state and could not respond to even simple commands like move your eyes right or left. When he put the same patient under a MRI and told her to think about playing tennis the part of her brain that most people use to think about a physical activity lit up. When he asked her to imagine walking through her home a completely different part of her brian lit up (the same part of the brain that would light up if asking a normal person to think about walking through their home). And I guess as a completely random occurrence, I was reading the print edition of Wired Magazine and they had a series of articles about AI (artificial intelligence) and they were discussing about how AI researchers have given up on trying to replicate the human mind because after years and billions in research they discovered that we don't know enough about the human mind and how it works to even begin trying to replicate it. I don't know . . . sort of interesting stuff to ponder on if you have a few extra moments :-)

A little-known Thai woman has been identified by researchers as the most likely author of an important Buddhist treatise, previously attributed to a high-profile monk. Thammanuthamma-patipatti is a set of dialogues, supposedly between two prominent Thai monks last century. Buddhist text’s true author identified as Thai woman

[h=1]Burma's monks call for Muslim community to be shunned[/h] [h=3]The Buddhists have reportedly tried to block humanitarian aid getting to ethnic group Monks who played a vital role in Burma's recent struggle for democracy have been accused of fuelling ethnic tensions in the country by calling on people to shun a Muslim community that has suffered decades of abuse. In a move that has shocked many observers, some monks' organisations have issued pamphlets telling people not to associate with the Rohingya community, and have blocked humanitarian assistance from reaching them. One leaflet described the Rohingya as "cruel by nature" and claimed it had "plans to exterminate" other ethnic groups. The outburst against the Rohingya, often described as one of the world's most oppressed groups, comes after weeks of ethnic violence in the Rakhine state in the west of Burma that has left more than 80 dead and up to 100,000 people living in a situation described as "desperate" by humanitarian organisations. As state-sanctioned abuses against the Muslim community continue, Burma's president Thein Sein – credited by the international community for ushering in a series of democratic reforms in the country and releasing political prisoners such as Aung San Suu Kyi – has urged neighbouring Bangladesh to take in the Rohingya. "In recent days, monks have emerged in a leading role to enforce denial of humanitarian assistance to Muslims, in support of policy statements by politicians," said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan project, a regional NGO. "A member of a humanitarian agency in Sittwe told me that some monks were posted near Muslim displacement camps, checking on and turning away people they suspected would visit for assistance." The Young Monks' Association of Sittwe and Mrauk Oo Monks' Association have both released statements in recent days urging locals not to associate with the group. Displaced Rohingya have been housed in over-crowded camps away from the Rakhine population – where a health and malnutrition crisis is said to be escalating – as political leaders move to segregate and expel the 800,000-strong minority from Burma. Earlier this month, Thein Sein attempted to hand over the group to the UN refugee agency. Aid workers report ongoing threats and interference by local nationalist and religious groups. Some monasteries in Maungdaw and Sittwe sheltering displaced Rakhine people have openly refused to accept international aid, alleging that it is "biased" in favour of the Rohingya. Monks have traditionally played a critical role in helping vulnerable citizens, stepping in to care for the victims of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 after the military junta rejected international assistance. Many have been shocked by the response of the monks and members of the democracy movement to the recent violence, which erupted after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman, allegedly by three Muslims, unleashed long-standing ethnic tensions. Monks' leader Ashin Htawara recently encouraged the government to send the group "back to their native land" at an event in London hosted by the anti-Rohingya Burma Democratic Concern. Ko Ko Gyi, a democracy activist with the 88 Generation Students group and a former political prisoner, said: "The Rohingya are not a Burmese ethnic group. The root cause of the violence… comes from across the border." Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said: "We were shocked to have [Ashin Htawara] propose to us that there should be what amounts to concentration camps for the Rohingya." Ms Suu Kyi has also been criticised for failing to speak out. Amal de Chickera of the London-based Equal Rights Trust, said: "You have these moral figures, whose voices do matter. It's extremely disappointing and in the end it can be very damaging." The Rohingya have lived in Burma for centuries, but in 1982, the then military ruler Ne Win stripped them of their citizenship. Thousands fled to Bangladesh where they live in pitiful camps. Foreign media are still denied access to the conflict region, where a state of emergency was declared last month, and ten aid workers were arrested without explanation. [/h] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-monks-call-for-muslim-community-to-be-shunned-7973317.html?origin=internalSearch

A long read for us TF'ers, but it's a good one. Most of us have probably already read these at some point. Refresh your memories. This came up in a meeting today. We were wondering what values we plan on offering to the world, and a lot of them came from the eightfold path. I certainly don't live by these, but I do try for most of them...at times. I struggle at most of them as well. Anyway, I'm not sure if I should have made this a journal, or whether much discussion will come of it. Regardless, it's a good thing to review: The Noble Eightfold Path [TABLE] [TR=bgcolor: #EBEBEB] [TD=bgcolor: #FFFFFF][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD=align: center][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #EBEBEB] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #CCCCCC] [TD][/TD] [TD=align: center][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #CCCCCC] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #CCCCCC] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #B2B2B2] [TD][/TD] [TD=align: center][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #B2B2B2] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR=bgcolor: #B2B2B2] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other. 1. Right View Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions. 2. Right Intention While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion. 3. Right Speech Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary. 4. Right Action The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts. 5. Right Livelihood Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided. 6. Right Effort Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen. 7. Right Mindfulness Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena. 8. Right Concentration The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.

Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives: An Invaluable Source of Wisdom Nida Tunsuttiwong Story and picture by: http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1033578 The late Venerable Buddhadasa Indapanno (1906-1993), also known as Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, is one of Thailand’s most respected and highly revered Buddhist monks, who dedicated most of his life to spreading the teachings of the Lord Buddha. During his life, the venerable monk kept numerous journals and notebooks regarding Theravada Buddhism, so a group of his loyal followers teamed up with government agencies and private companies in a project aimed at storing his life’s works in a single location. The ‘New Suan Mokkh’ On August 1, the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, occupying a corner of Suan Rod Fai Park in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, were officially opened. The facility has already been labeled Suan Mok Mai (‘the new Suan Mok’), with reference to the temple of Wat Suan Mokkhaphalaram in the southern province of Surat Thani. This is the temple where the venerable monk taught lay followers about ‘pure Dhamma’, while clarifying areas of misunderstanding. The building that hosts the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives has been designed with a very ‘clean’ look, with no reference to the rather intricate designs that are typical of many Thai temples. Since the venerable monk was renowned for his Zen teachings, the archives feature clean and simple lines, featuring gray (unpolished) and black polished concrete. This means that most of the building is gray, while most of the decorative features, such as lamps, are black. At Wat Suan Mokkhaphalaram, Buddhadasa Indapanno often used to teach through the use of numerous paintings and sculptures, depicting peoples from various cultures, including paintings from Bhutan and Egypt. The new archives include many of these paintings and sculptures within an area called Larn Hin Kong, which is a form of crescent-shaped, stone-built courtyard. Remarkable Views In an outdoor area by the courtyard, I saw lots of visitors taking a rest on some manufactured, rock-like structures, while enjoying an impressive view across the park. Some other visitors seemed to be meditating in this serene and peaceful setting. Reading Matter A bookstore called Dhamma Books & Media stocks a range of books filled with Dhamma teachings and publications focused on personal self-improvement. Many of the publications were penned by the venerable monk, while others were written by other venerable monks. Dhamma CDs and posters are also available at this outlet. On the building’s second floor, I stumbled upon two meditation rooms, featuring large windows that provide a stunning view over the park. Along a balcony, right outside the meditation rooms, is a collection of photographs, accompanied by quotes attributed to Buddhadasa Indapanno. An upcoming exhibition (starts October 3) called Taste of Nibbana, which will be held in a room within the new building, refers to the Theravada Buddhist idea of Nibbana. Another notable attraction on the building’s second floor is a Zen-influenced, rock garden called Paticcamuppada, which refers to the Buddhist concept of 'a cycle of dependent origination'. A Comprehensive Collection The building’s third floor plays host to offices and the comprehensive collection of the venerable monks note and journals. In total, it is estimated that the archives include 20,000 items classified as books, journals, letters and notes, along with 50,000 drawings and 1,900 Gigabytes of voice recordings. The Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives’ Foundation will be tasked with converting all the documents into digital formats and storing them on a database that will be made available to members of the general public via websites, or other popular forms of electronic media. Events are being organized on a weekly basis at the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, including sermons given by revered monks, discussion sessions organized by the Bhuddhadasa Book Club, along with meditation, Tai Chi and yoga activities, which visitors to the center are able to participate in based upon the weekly schedule. For further information, visit the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives’ official website at http://www.bia.or.th. About Buddhadasa Indapanno (Buddhadasa Bhikkhu) Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906-1993) is a highly revered Thai monk, famous for his innovative interpretations of Buddhist doctrine. Born in Surat Thani, he ordained at the age of 20 and changed his name from Nguam Panitch to Indapanno ('One with the wisdom of the God Indra'). He later went to Bangkok for further religious instruction and training, but later felt that this path was not right for him and that many of the Lord Buddha's teachings had been misinterpreted. He returned to his hometown and established the temple that became better known as Suan Mokkh in 1932. Possessing a strong will to spread Buddhism and correct misunderstandings regarding the Lord Buddha's teachings, he changed his name to Buddhadasa, which means ‘Servant to Buddhism’, or 'Servant of the Lord Buddha'. Transport Connections: Train: Take the BTS skytrain to Mo Chit station. On arrival at the station, you can take a motorcycle taxi to Suan Rod Fai Park. The Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives are located near the park’s entrance number 2 (Thai: Pratu Song). Tap or signify to the motorcycle taxi rider in some other way that you wish to get off as soon as you see an entrance to the park. This will be entrance 2 since you have to pass entrance 2 before reaching the park's main entrance.

In Malaysia, Muslims: If you are a non-muslim, and if you marry a Muslim girl/guy, you must be converted into Muslim according to Malaysian Islamic Law (only in Malaysia) and your name must add a Muslim name. Christian: If you want to be a Christian, just goto a church and ask that u want to be saved, and you will have to read the Sinners prayer, and do baptising (at a later stage) once you are ready to take up a new life as a Christian Now what about non-thais,wanting to be Thai? I only understand that majourity of the Thais are practicing Buddhistme, which we have Buddhistme here in Malaysia too (majourity is Chinese) but I feel the Buddhistme here is different than what the Thais practice.Just my 2 sens. (but I have yet to hear Chinese Buddhistme temples here chanting and ringing bells in the morning, maybe I am unaware of it)