Thai Lessons...

This week's blog comes from the pleasant confines of the Korn Cafe in Chang An. It is located in a small commercial area adjacent to the rather august town square. Unusually for China, the area has been designed as a pedestrians only precinct, which makes strolling in its environs so much pleasanter than usual. The whole area is somewhat italianate in style, even going so far as to include a three story campanile at its heart.  The lack of traffic almost draws a sigh from me, so pleasant it is to be free at last from that ever-present intrusion. In such conditions, one feels free to focus on the task of composing this week's offering. As ever, when writing these blogs, I find myself to have a wide range of possibilities to choose from, each with its own merits. In the end though, I have concluded that a little reflection on some of the lessons learnt in Thailand would not come amiss.

These tips are intended to be helpful to the would-be traveller. The idea is to allow the enjoyment of some of the pleasanter aspects whilst avoiding some of the more 'catch-all' pitfalls that seem to ensnare so many there. Thailand is a very beautiful country, which the discerning traveller can enjoy on many levels; it is also extremely dangerous, both on a personal safety level and, particularly at the time of writing, on the political level. So, without further ado, here are my own personal top ten tips for enjoying the time you spend in Thailand. Bear in mind, as you read these tips, that they are the work of a middle-aged Westerner who has a penchant for enjoying his pleasures slowly; they may not, indeed defintitely will not, apply to everyone.

1.     Beware of hiring motorbikes! My own personal experience lasted about twelve hours before my orientation was changed from the vertical to the horizontal by a van driver who had apparently never quite got his head around the concepts of lanes. My experience was by no means unique; hundreds, maybe even thousands, of tourists are injured or even killed each year on the roads of Thailand. Much like myself, many came with years of experience of motorbikes and think they should be able to handle themselves relatively easily in this new situation. Thailand is not Europe though, it is not the US either. Totally different rules apply here or, to be more exact, no rules apply here. There is much to recommend the carefree approach to life that many Thais have, it makes them a joyful and happy people, but perhaps it does not serve them that well on the road, where it comes across as irresponsibility, immaturity and an almost total lack of imagination as to the consequences of their actions.

2.     If you wish to stay on the outside of Thailand's infamous prisons, then don't say anything about the King, his extended family, or even the concept of monarchy itself. You may feel that monarchy is wonderful or you may consider it the ridiculous remnants of a particularly poor form of government but, in Thailand, keep your views to yourself.  In the legal system in Thailand, there is a particularly 'diffficult' piece of legislation that comes under the apparently benign heading of section 112. This relates to the 'lese majeste' laws. 'Lese majeste' applies to anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent", and can be punished with up to 15 years in prison. Many rational observers of the situation may view this as quite obscenely excesssive, but be warned, it is the law in Thailand and ignoring that fact could land you in a very 'challenging' situations indeed!

3.     If you plan to stay in the country for anything longer than a couple of weeks, do yourself a favour and at least make some attempt at learning a little of the language. No one will expect you to know that much, the Thais themselves realise that it is not an easy language for Westerners to master based as it is on the use of tones (much like mandarin), but ... making the effort will garner you much respect from the locals. The very basic of basics in Thailand is the phrase 'Sawadee Kah' (if you are a female, 'Sawadee Khrap' if you are a male). You will be greeted by this phrase, sometimes accompanied by a prayer like hand-gesture knowing as 'wai-ing', everywhere you go. It is polite to respond in like fashion. This greeting works for 'hello', 'good morning', 'good day' or even 'good night'. If you can manage nothing else, at least use this phrase!

4.     This one is kinda obvious, but perhaps worth re-stating as it is such a basic truth about Thailand: it is hot! Not hot as in a 'phew, what a scorcher' type day in the UK. Such a day would be considered very mild here. Not hot as in a pleasant Pensylvania afternoon where the mercury pushes pleasantly past the mid 20's C., but hot as in really, really hot. When I left a week ago now, the temperature was around 41C. (106 F.). This basically means that it is best to confine physical activity to the two ends of the day and to avoid any such exertion between the hours of 1330 and 1630. My own favourite way of coping, as befits a flaneur, was to duck into an air conditioned cafe and either read (usually the excellent Bangkok Post or novels by Henry Miller, my personal favourite 'du jour'), write, follow your nose on the internet or, as many Thais do (when they decide not to simply 'kip' it out), indulge in a little socialising. Make sure you drink enough. Tis not enough to sip occasionally – you need to think in terms of three to four litres of liquid per day. Failure to do so can result in such things as heat stroke. I personally experienced this in Chiang Mai a while back and I would not recommend the experience!

5.     Get yourself out into the countryside. Many visitors to Thailand go to Bangkok or Patthaya and believe they have see the country. Both these places have their attractions, but are more suited to certain classes of tourists than others. There is so much natural beauty in Thailand as to make the experience quite mind-boggling at times. The fauna and flora are a wonder to behold; the place quite literally teems with life. In recent months, the Thai military government, it their seemingly infinite wisdom, have decided to put the prices up in the National Parks. For Thais, they increased the charges a tiny amount, meaning that the entrance fee for natives is now around 40 baht (£0.80). For tourists, it went up a very large amount to the literally princely sum of 400 baht (£8.00). This, apparently, was a popular move with some Thais, but is hardly likely to help the already severely flagging tourist industry. Luckily, there is far, far more natural beauty in Thailand than is confined by the National Parks.

6.     The last point allows a rather neat seque into the next: the inherent racism within Thai culture. This comes as something of a shock to those who expect a Buddhist based culture of tolerance and acceptance. To be fair, Thais are generally pretty tolerant and accepting, and certainly friendly by nature, but the casual racism with which they regard outsiders can become a tad annoying at times. To be even fairer, it is far from unknown for other groups of people to harbor similar delusions of their own grandeur and believe they are in some way special, chosen or somehow better than others, but the Thais are more open about it than most. This is a somewhat controversial issue, indeed many will deny that it exists at all, often using some pretty impressively convoluted logic to demonstrate how attitudes towards farangs are not racist. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that such people are in some sort of denial. There is a belief for many Thais (by no means all), unfounded and unsupported by any fact, that anyone not Thai is not as intelligent, are culturally less developed, and are of lesser ability and value. The value of Thai superiority is drummed into the kids from an early age, and if they have never left the country, they will encounter few views amongst their peer group to contradict this somewhat odd notion.

7.     On a somewhat less controversial note, one has to say that Thai food is simply superb. I cannot vouch for the whole range as I am vegetarian and therefore refrain from the many meat and fish dishes on offer. Even given that restriction, the choice is still amazingly large, invariably tasty and very uniquely Thai. My personal favourite was Rad Naa, a dish of mixed vegetables in a bean gravy, served in a high-sided bowl with some very thick noodles. Away from Bangkok, in the smaller towns, the food tends to be very fresh and often locally sourcecd. The drinks are also a pleasure, particularly the many forms of fruit shakes, although care needs to be taken with these because of the Thai's habit of sweetening everything, usually with some form of a syrup or just straight sugar. On the more natural side of things, coconuts are a boon. The juice is great for rehydrating; many believe it to be as good as over-the-counter phramaceuticals such as rehydrat. You also get the pleasure of spooning out the white flesh afterwards. Fruit is also both varied, fresh and amazingly cheap.

8.     Speaking of fruits (as in 'oranges are not the only … '), I think I should say a few words about kaetoys. Many a guy has gone into a bar in Thailand and, not quite believing their luck, found himself 'pulling' a stunning looking 'girl', only to discover on subsequent inspection that what he has pulled is not a girl at all, but comes complete with the extra plumbing more commonly associated with being a guy. My only advice in such circumstances, would be to extract yourself (no pun intended … ) as seemingly and as politely as possible. Of course, there are some who feel that such a situation is not a problem at all. If this is what rocks your particular boat, then I personally have no problem with that. A good friend of mine, oddly with an often expressed horror of homosexuality, feels that spending his nights in Thailand with ladyboys does not qualify for that epithet. I would respectfully beg to differ but … each to his own!

Yes, they are all ladyboys. One cannot blame some guys for getting a tad confused at times!

9.     For my ninth tip, I think I will go back to the problems of travelling in Thailand. Covering long distances by rail can be an onerous chore, mainly due to the slowness of the trains. Because of this factor, and because of the relative expense of flying, many choose to utilise the long-distance buses. They certainly look and feel luxurious, usually being double-decked and having such creature comforts as wi-fi, TV and deeply reclining chairs. The problem I have with this mode of transport is twofold. Firstly, the construction: as one blogger noted, these things seem to be 'made of discarded yoghurt cartons and held together by paper clips'. One sees them being worked on in grubby workshops, guys with acetylene torches welding skinny struts together that look as if one could easily bend them with minimal force and using just one hand, if so desired.  Secondly, the drivers: these are sometimes completely knackered before they even start, having worked unreasonably long hours.They can also be beetle-juice fuelled maniacs, often with little or no experience, but who do have a somewhat inconsiderate habit of disappearing once they have wrapped the bus around a tree or plunged it over a ravine. It seems that almost every week one reads of yet another multi-fatality accident involving these things. If at all possible, it is better to steer clear...

10.    The final tip that I have room for addresses the problem of accommodation. Hotel prices are cheap in Thailand. If you are paying anything more than £25 a night away from Bangkok, then you should be living in some kind of air-conditioned palace. Reasonably luxurious rooms can be had for far, far less. If you wish to stay in any one place for an extended length of time, say a month or more, then think about renting a flat or house. This was my personal choice and I ended up in a flat with a single bedroom, lounge, bathroom and verandah, complete with TV and wifi thrown in, for the princely sum of £60. A German friend found a very decent and much more modern flat, complete with air conditioning and access to a garden, for £50. Houses in Kanachanaburi started from around £100 a month and a two bedroom place with access to a pool could be had for £135. Not at all bad methinks, such an amount would not even cover the council tax back in the UK.

Having come to the end of my ten tips, I have the feeling that there is so much more that I have left out. Such things as haggling, arranging your own trips, local buses, spiritual retreats and best value buys all deserve a mention, but space and time are at a premium, so I had better wrap-up this weeks missive at this point.

My newly found watering-hole is still quiet and pleasant, even though the time has moved on to five in the evening now. As cafes go in China, I have to say that this is definitely one of the better offerings. The pleasantness of the ambient music (nice and quiet!), the availability of magazines and books, the sumptuous nature of the sofa-like chairs, all go to make an excellent impression. Last week, I was feeling somewhat cynical as to the standard and the interest of cafes on offer in China, or at least in this part of that enormous land. This week, much to my surprise, I have come across several really rather plesant offerings which shall be explored and reported upon over the next few blogs. A pleasant prospect for a foot-weary flaneur!

Development

Taking due care not to breathe too deeply, I am currently enjoy the delights of the 85C Bakery Cafe in Chang An. The cafe is modern and a little soulless, built to cater for the aspirations of many Chinese  twenty somethings and their desire to be as much like Americans as possible. The coffee itself is imitation Starbucks and, if I am honest, really not too bad. There is little here though to distinguish the place from any number of other coffee outlets which one finds almost anywhere around the globe these days. One of the pleasant things about Thailand, apart from Bangkok, was the rather delightful variety of establishments where one could partake of liquid libations. The same cannot be said of modern China, where all such hostelries seem to be much of a muchness; pleasant enough, but essentially dull and lacking in anything other than the wished for corporate identity.

After nearly managing to miss a plane at Bangkok's Don Meung airport, I find myself back in the day to day turmoil that is life in 21st century China. As readers of my blog will know, I prefer the charms of leisurely travel with huge amounts of space built into the schedule to enable time to be taken for whatever diversions that one takes a fancy to en route. On this occasion however, due to social commitments, I was unable to leave Kanchanaburi until one in the afternoon to take a flight at seven. As ever, when one fails to build in enough slack, anything going wrong will put stress on the schedule, and therefore stress on the traveller. In this case it was the entirely predictable mayhem that is Bangkok's traffic. If one can avoid the busiest periods in Bangkok, traffic will generally flow at a reasonable rate, but … if arriving between half three and half seven, then traffic can slow to a rate barely above walking pace.

'Development' as it is known, was going on apace throughout the northern part of Bangkok, thus adding another level to the difficulties. This generally took the form of improved road schemes, the building of yet more dull glass and concrete monstrosities to clutter an already overcrowded skyline, and extensions to the rail transport system in the city. In theory, the economy here is only just growing, but by the look of certain parts of Bangkok, some people are doing very well indeed.

All this seemed a far cry from my adventures of only two days before. A friend took to their head the notion that kayaking on the River Kwai might be fun, despite the ambient temperature being around 38C. After some persuading, I finally acquiesced. I envisioned being hot, sweaty, overworked and under rewarded for my efforts; nothing could have been further from the truth.

We were taken by van to a point several miles upstream where, in the shadow of a Buddhist temple, we were assisted, by a very helpful group of children, to launch onto the gently flowing waters of the Kwai. After a short lecture on how to control the direction of the vessel, the two of us set out from the shore. Much to my surprise, I seemed to take to it like the proverbial duck to water and was pleasantly amazed at just how little effort was needed. After a couple of minutes of orientating ourselves to the situation, we set off downstream letting, for the most part, the current do the majority of the work.

Down at the level of the river, the temperature seemed surprisingly pleasant. We had taken care to bring along around three litres of water for the trip, and one could easily cool off by dipping a hat into the cool, clean waters and placing it, still dripping wet, back on one's head. The scenery was gorgeous, an endless variety of trees and plants lining the shores with tall, impressive, forest-clad mountains as a backdrop. A huge variety of wildlife was also on view, the bird-life in particular being both stunning in its variety and so colourful in the range of plumage. Cormorants and herons were plentiful, along with a variety of waders strutting the muddy banks on their elongated legs, every  now and again plunging their long beaks down into the shallows in search of tasty titbits.

At one stage, we saw a couple of water monitors. Ostensibly harmless, they are still a little intimidating, being all of two metres long and having the appearance of small crocodiles. These slid into the waters about twenty metres from our kayak and we experienced a nervous moment or two, half expecting them to come bumping into our less-than-completely-stable vessel.

Thailand, despite its crazy politics and archaic systems of governance, can be a wonderful place to spend an extended break. If one escapes the mad busy-ness of the cities then one is often rewarded with beautiful vistas, gentle people and the constant presence of amazing wildlife, both fauna and flora. The sheer abundance of this is hard to take in at times, and almost movingly beautiful at others. As far as the kayak trip went though, the River was lovely indeed until we passed under the famous railway bridge (built by prisoners in World War Two). At that stage, as we re-entered 'civilisation' the presence of humans was all too obvious by the amount of detritus that had been dumped in the river, particularly the ubiquitous plastic bottles, and the need to counteract the wake produced by high speed launches ferrying tourists from the bridge to the main town.

It is rumoured that the Thais and the Chinese have agreed to a high speed train connection that will pass through Kanchanaburi at some stage in the not too distant future. This, it is believed, will lead to more 'development'. What this basically means is more hotels, more factories, more people, more rubbish in the river, more species disappearing, more damage to what it is that is beautiful about Kanchanaburi and its environs.

The beauty of the Kwai above Kanchanaburi was but a memory by the time I reached Shenzhen in Southern China. Everywhere I looked beyond the new airport were new buildings, new roads, new everything. China seems to be fast disappearing under concrete. From Hong Kong to Guangzhou, a distance of some sixty miles, it is hard to tell where one city ends and a new one begins. This area is home to some 115,000,000 people. At climate talks, the Chinese often claim concessions, saying that their country is still 'underdeveloped'. If this is underdeveloped, I would hate to see what overdeveloped looks like …

The Chinese, like so many other countries around our planet, measure their success in terms of economic growth. What this growth has created in reality is a country where the air is nearly unbreathable, the water undrinkable and the food bordering on inedible (pesticides, dubious production methods, genetic modification, all unbridled and unchecked) and cancer rates sky-rocketing. If this is the fruit of economic growth, then one has to question the underlying assumption that such growth is necessarily a good thing.

Indeed, it seems that many thinkers in the past have done so. One often hears it said that we need economic growth to raise the standards of living of the less well-off. Oddly though, there is plenty of evidence that in many countries where growth has occurred in recent times, it has actually led to a worsening of economic inequality, not an improvement (the UK, the US and China all being obvious examples). In many economies what is needed is at least the intention of addressing the inequality of wealth distribution, rather than endlessly trying to grow economies to the further enrichment of the super rich, with all the subsequent damage to the society and the environment.

Back in the 85C Bakery Cafe, a couple of hours have passed and the place is now crowded with smokers, much to the detriment of the air within. Often smoking is banned in such places but, as ever in China, such rules are rarely enforced. In many ways, one can understand the fatalism of the Chinese smoker. Perhaps they rationalise that the air is so bad anyway that one might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. I find myself looking back to the joys of the kayaking on the Kwai and the feeling of fresh air in the lungs. Sadly, it may be some weeks before I get to experience the latter once more ...

Too many cooks ....or too many crooks?

Today, after a week of temperatures just below 40C, I have chosen to arise early and and write at the small, informal coffee hut attached to the Morning Baan guest house in Kanchanaburi. I have been staying in a small cottage at the side of the guest house for the past few weeks. It is a tad expensive at £60 ($90) a month, plus bills. The bills in question normally come to about £3 a month but I manage to get by anyways. The coffee hut itself offers Nescafe instant, a local brand of decaffeinated coffee and yellow label tea, if one is so inclined, in a completely self-service format. They also supply marmalade and toast, both of which are as much appreciated by the ubiquitous ants as by the customers.

One of the reasons for choosing this particular location, apart from the obvious pecuniary advantages, is its all pervading quietness. The only disturbance experienced is the singing of the birds and the odd scattering of dried up leaves as a lizard runs full-pelt through the detritus, often on its hind legs.

It is a good place to sit and think, and a good place to write. Since publishing last week's effort, events concerning the Dhammakaya temple have become ever more dramatic with claims and counter-claims being bounced back and forth by those involved in the dispute. A former aid to Phra Dammachayo, Mano Laohavanich, has come forward and made scathing criticisms of some of the financial misdoings of the organisations and, in particular, of the leaders themselves. Having made such accusations, he says that he now fears for his life and has asked for appropriate protection. He may well have a point. The connections of Wat Dhammakaya are far-reaching within Thai society, including some high ranking civil and military figures.

Oddly, images from Dhammakaya services somehow remind me of the Neuremberg rallies of Germany in the 1930s, not sure why...

All such shenanigans seem a very long way indeed from anything Gautama Buddha propounded two and a half thousand or so years ago. Dhammakaya seems to be a very status and rank conscious organisation within which, at least according to its critics, position and status is more related by the ability of the devotee to pay for appropriate merit than it is by deeds, character or spiritual attainment. There is also much criticism of the type of 'Buddhism' being taught at Dhammakaya. Mostly, this concerns such things as the ignoring of even such basic Buddhist concepts as non-self (anatta), and the somewhat obsessively materialistic nature of Dhammakaya preachings (to say nothing of the lifestyles of some of those running the organisation).

Perhaps at this point it should be stated that the Thai Buddhists, even those of the Dhammakaya sect, are by no means unusual in this. It seems to be the fate of all human organisations to change, dilute and essentially corrupt whatever system of belief they were originally intending to promote. A couple of examples might suffice to clarify the point. There are many possible of course, this process seeming to be almost ubiquitous in human affairs.

Firstly, in the religious area, we could take the Christian church and the early influence of the Emperor Constantine. Due to political pressures at the time (around CE 325) it became necessary for the Roman empire to try to create a unified church rather than the endless disputes that fractured early Christianity. To this end, the conference of Nicea was called which established the notion of the divinity of Christ, stated which gospels were to be included in the Canon (and perhaps more importantly, which were to be left out), and imbued the nascent Roman church with much power.

Over the centuries since, many schisms have occurred within the church, usually as a result of devotees within perceiving the all too apparent corruption of the status quo and, as a reaction, choosing to establish another Christian order. Within an all too short a period of time though, the same process occurs, and the inevitable corruption sets in. Organisation, in and of itself, and perhaps by its very nature, seems to invariably lead to the misinterpretation, distortion and corruption of whatever message was originally intended to be communicated.

Essentially, if one looks at the history of Buddhism, Islam or any number of other religions, one will find much the same kind of process occurring. As we progress further and further from the source, it seems to be more or less inevitable that the underlying and pure message will become more and more contaminated. As stated last week, if one is interested in a given spiritual view then it seems wiser to go to the source rather than rely on any subsequent interpretations through churches, temples or any other body that involve self-interested men. I would recommend to anyone who is inclined towards such spiritual matters to go to the source, go to the writings or speeches of the originators of these spiritual systems, rather than rely on later interpretations by those within the system who may have had other things on their minds (power, money, influence, etc) than the spiritual advancement of people.

In politics, much the same sort of process occurs with a truly alarming regularity. For a very obvious example, I could cite my own recent visit to China, when it was all too readily apparent that whatever was going on there in the name of communism, it was about as far removed from anything that Marx or Engels would have advocated as one could get.

In the US and the UK in recent years, those inclined towards capitalism and idealistically recommending that 'market forces' be allowed to dictate circumstances suddenly found themselves asking for massive state intervention (policies much closer to socialism or even communism) when they themselves were threatened by a sudden deterioration in the financial situation.

One could go on citing examples almost indefinitely. The process of corruption and misinterpretation are very much the norm once an organisation such as a church, a movement or a party are formed; so much so in fact that I am hard put to think of an exception...

When such widespread and ubiquitous corruption is seen from religions to government, from the so-called forces of law and order to scientific bodies (supposedly ruled by logic but all too often dominated by the usual urges to power or to have influence) it seems small wonder that some give up hope that any such human organisation can ever be free of such urges.

Many people have been struck by such thoughts as these in the past, from the early days of the cynicism of Diogenes of Sinope (famous for barrel living...) and Crates of Thebes, to such relatively modern-day luminaries as Henry David Thoreau and Mikail Bakunin. Often, the response they have recommended comes under the general term of anarchism, a term often misused to imply a state of chaos, but which actually is more concerned with returning the power in organisations, particularly governments, back to the individuals and away from the centre.

Perhaps Thoreau put it most succinctly when he said: "That government is best which governs least". He added, as an afterthought, the clarification: "That government is best which governs not at all!"

Naturally, this attitude can (and maybe should) be applied to many other forms of human organisations, not just government.

Back outside the simple coffee house in the garden of the Morning Baan guesthouse, the sun is reaching its zenith and it is time to seek some kind of escape in a slightly more modern, and hopefully air-conditioned, establishment. Fortunately today, there is a slight breeze coming off the river, rendering the environment just about bearable. Tis a beautiful place, despite the presence of a few timber huts dotted here and there, one is very conscious of being in natural surroundings. It seems that wherever one goes in Kanchanaburi, wherever nature has been allowed to predominate it is invariably rather beautiful. The ugliness only comes when the humans start to interfere...

Heaven Help Us...

The mercury is rising at an alarming rate here in Kanchanaburi in recent weeks. We are reaching that time of year when the hours between one and five are best spent in some place that has air-conditioning as part and parcel of the fixtures and fittings. Thus it is that this week I found myself in the Century cafe at the down-town end of the tourist strip in Kanchanaburi. It is a fairly minimalist affair, simply a glass box with walls on two sides. Furniture is very square, wooden and extremely simple in design. The one nod to comfort is the two-seater settee on which I have ensconced myself.

The presentation of the fayre is rather impressive though. The coffee is served in an elaborate styled yet plain white porcelain cup that swirls elegantly in a clockwise cone, the cup itself supported on a square, wave-form saucer. It is perhaps a little too much of an example of form over function but one has to admit that the presentation is pleasantly pleasing on the eye. Due to the excessive heat of recent weeks, I have taken to enjoying a large smoothie each and every time I indulge in an Americano. The strawberry smoothie I am indulging in today at the Century is one of the best I have tasted in this town. The tendency is to over-sweeten them, but this one seems simpler and a tad more wholesome than most on sale in Kanchanaburi.

Above the counter are a couple of golden figurines, seated in traditional meditation poses. Such Buddhas and similar statuettes are common features of the cafes and restaurants in this country. Almost every minibus, taxi and bus will also have something similar. Given the way Thais normally drive, any divine influence to ensure a safer journey is welcome indeed. They lose massive amounts of people each year to road accidents but, given what is considered 'normal' behaviour on the roads here, the only wonder is that it is so few.

Buddhism here is very much the religion of the people and the Sangha (Buddhist Community) is much respected here. Monks are also given a great deal of deference as a matter of course. Buddhism of itself is a very profound, and in some ways a very beautiful and logical expression of human spirituality. As ever in such situations though, once human beings become involved and start to structure a formal 'religion', the day to day reality becomes further and further removed from the ideas that inspired it. One of the original traditions that one sees re-enacted every day is the collecting of alms by the monks. The saffron clad monks come around every morning, begging bowls in hand, and people give food and other refreshments. It seems though, that of late what is considered reasonable for the monks to collect to sustain them in their roles in life has become more and more liberally interpreted. A friend reported recently sitting next to a Buddhist monk on a station and finding that amongst the sustenance carried in his bag was a bottle of whiskey. Apparently the monk smiled a somewhat sheepish grin when he noticed that the farang sitting next to him was aware of the presence of the whiskey. Who knows, perhaps it was there for spiritual support …

For many years, Buddhism in Thailand was considered the apotheosis of the religion by many, and spiritual seekers from all over the world would come especially for such things as meditation courses, retreats or to spend time in one of the forest monasteries. These days, following a series of scandals and Western visitors observing the reality of Buddhism in Thailand as it is practised day to day, the image of the peaceful and profound religion has become somewhat tarnished.

Presently in Thailand, Theravadan Buddhism is ensnared in any number of scandals and seems to have been taken over, to some extent at least, by some very unethical characters. Some of the 'Buddhists' at the top of the clerical heirarchy seem to live lives that are a long way removed from the material denunciation advocated by the Buddha himself. One recent film that caused something of a stir featured two monks taking a flight in a private jet, the pair still wore the traditional saffron robes but completed the ensemble by sporting Ray Baan sunglasses, and a Louis Vuiton bag had been casually cast aside on a nearby seat.

One monk was recently caught with 120,000 methampthetamine pills whilst another actually managed to get himself dismissed from his temple, a fairly rare feat given the indulgence of the ruling council for such misdeeds, for investing US$1.2 million on the stock market.

Perhaps the biggest controversy of late concerns Wat Dhammakaya, the huge Buddhist temple located just to the North of Bangkok. This particular establishment is run by a Phra Dhammachayo who, according to a recent article in the Bangkok post, loved to look good, used body lotions and cosmetics and was fond of facial massages administered three times a day. A woman was allocated to change his sheets each day. He gets up any time he likes as seems to not feel any obligation to collect alms as is normal for a Buddhist monk. He also has a creative bent, being fond of sculpture and, in particularly, of the female form. Apparently he had, as a youth, some admiration for a variety of powerful historical characters, his particular favourite at the time being one Adolf Hitler ...

This is all very well for the profile of an interesting, if somewhat flawed, character. It hardly seems the profile that would be suitable for a Buddhist monk though or the leader of a particular brand of the religion ('brand' being the operative word it would seem).

During the early years of Dhammakaya, the organisation was beset with financial problems, in particular the disappearance of large amounts of money. Apparently, a fair amount of this money found its way into the personal accounts of Phra Dhammachayo. After an investigation, a substantial quantity of the money was returned to the Sangha, but the process took quite a considerable time. At the same time there were also controversies linked to the ownership of land. Again, these were, to some extent at least, subsequent resolved but again there was quite some delay in the process. Currently, there is an ongoing controversy concerning money laundering and the Dhammakaya organisation. There is an old saying: 'No smoke without fire', in the case of this organisation, there does seem to be an awful lot of smoke...

One of the more controversial aspects of this form of Buddhism is the process of giving donations in order to obtain 'merit'. Having such merit is supposed to be beneficial at a future stage when you reach heaven; having sufficient merit guaranteeing the purchaser a favourable status in the afterlife. This is not unlike the processes used (mis-used?) by the Christian church in Europe for many centuries, and led to many similar problems involving corruption.

Anyone who has any knowledge whatsoever of Buddhism will understand that such teachings are so far removed from anything the Buddha taught as to be completely unrecognisable, or even antithetical to the basic precepts of Buddhist thought.
It seems that the same patterns must repeat themselves again and again, and in many forms. Each time men organise a 'religion' in order to structure spiritual experience the process invariably ends in some form of corruption. We see this again and again in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam, in Hinduism and sadly in that simplest and most direct of all systems, Buddhism. I would humbly suggest that if one wishes to obtain insight from the great masters and leaders of these systems to simply go to the source, read what the originators themselves said and thought, and avoid the indirect interpretations presented by the various representatives of organised 'religion'.

Troubling thoughts on such a hot day. Fortunately the cafe remains a cool sanctuary, ideal for the purpose of such ruminations. The blog itself has taken a couple of hours now and I am of a mind to dwell on lighter matters. It is still far too hot to think of wandering down the street to The Jolly Frog for a little evening qi-gong exercise, so instead I order another fruit-shake and indulge myself in reading a little Henry Miller (The Tropic of Capricorn – highly recommended!). Oddly, there seems more direct, and even spiritual, insights to be had in this much-banned book than in many a prognostication out of the mouths of priests, monks, mullahs and rabbis.