You mention belief in an afterlife/rebirth in connection with a Buddhist tradition about which you are dubious. In this regard, I understand the Buddha to have taught that seeing past and future lives was an empirical fact for those who had developed a level of consciousness which permitted such vision.
The Buddha does not ask one to believe in this cycle of births and continuing existences. He says that he developed the ability to see them. He says that you can, too. If you can’t see them, don’t worry about them.
It is difficult to reject the Buddha’s claim. I have met individuals who claimed to have developed the same power. They were quite convincing. However, it would be pushing the point to call this evidence irrefutable. If you have not developed this ability in yourself, and you have not met anyone who seemed to you to have this ability, then perhaps you are best off leaving the subject alone. One can’t know everything, or develop every possible ability. Perhaps some day you may develop it? Who knows. In the meantime, it does not pay to completely discount the claims, either. They may be true. The point, I guess, is that this version of Buddhism which I am presenting here does not require a belief in reincarnation. It does seem to require an open mind on the subject, something which an ‘There Is Absolutely No Such Thing As Reincarnation’-Atheist might not be able to abide.
Not as far fetched as you might think “treble”.In any case why on earth would you raise the mind map as defence for the Royal Thai Army and their CIA weapons ? That along with the GT200 proves how mental they are doesn’t it ? – There are more snippets of infomation that might interest you: for instance the former Thaksinite major and hotel owner was replaced with Pannada Disakul as major of Chiang Mai and is the very same man given the task of “cleaning up Chiang Mai” by the royalists according to all reports. -But Pannada as you will also know is no ordinary major,as it was he who was named in court as the person responsible for bringing the Lese Majeste charges against Prachatai.Hardly a democrat then ? And lets face it when Agent Orange and a host of other chemical weapons are the norm and prefered weapons of use by the CIA controlled goverments of Asia and an historic fact,the odds this is just another conspiracy get slimmer and slimmer by the day especially when you consider the obvious cover-up.(ie. cleaning rooms prior to WHO inspection and handing over “poor quality samples” .
[…] built numerous temples and personally translated large sections of the Indian Ramayana epic into Thai as well as carving Wat Suthat’s exquisitely intricate doors, disposing of his special chisels […]
“I would like to know myself how does Christian provides their beleivers to stick to their faith.”
BY preaching to them the beauty of the faith and the rewards “in the hereafter” I guess
One thing is certain .. they do not punish or threaten to harm them in any way….. that mode of keeping the faithful went out in history, along with the crusades, inquisition and the like. That is so middle ages.
Sad to say, Islam is just going thru the “middle ages” of its development, so persuasion and teaching falls second to threats and punishments.
@surachai thongpanich – is everything in Thailand about Thailand wanting to chair Asean? Thailand wanted to chair Asean a couple of years ago. Was everything the government did then – in economic policy, politics etc dont to be able to chair Asean? The Myanmar government wants to chair Asean the way it has any other foreign policy goal, it’s important to the foreign ministry, it’s not important to the president or others at the top. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t it doesn’t matter. To think that the junta would dissolve, Than Shwe retire, a new constitutional system be set up , Aung San Suu Kyi be brought into politics, ceasefires agreed, major economic reforms started, political prisoners released, media freed-up, to CHAIR ASEAN? ??? It’s laughable.
[…] fellow bloggers over at New Mandala have a post up titled The princess and the FROC that we could swear began life as The Monarchy Strike Back. It is something of a storm in a teacup […]
I think Comment 5’s brilliant analysis needs to be added to CRES’s mind map of a year or two back. Just needs Roswell, Lee Harvey Oswald and 9/11 to be slotted in there somewhere and the picture is complete
“Only a few months ago, Thailand was lobbing anti personnel shells into Cambodia…” well not just any anti personnel shells.That rotten duo of Abhisit and Prayuth were actually using a specifically banned cluster munition, and which there is no reasonable doubt they knew has a long term cost in civilian casualties,mainly children.On top of that, is the allegation that these cluster bombs were laced with toxic gas.This is even more worrying when you consider at the same time Thailands Royal Army was committing these crimes, tourist’s were dropping dead at the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai from “chlorpyrifos poisoning” at the hotel of a political allie of Thaksin.The connection and links to all this being that Bill and Hillary are financed by Dow CEO Andrew Liveris,who in turn manufactures Chlorpyrifos,and who just happens to be King Bhumibol’s “special advisor” an award that was awarded him in 2007.
Mr. Achara Ashayagachat according to protocol the correct way to address the current American Secretary of State would be:
The Honorable
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State of the United States of America.
A less formal option is provided as:
Dear Madam Secretary
But I have never heard anyone”formally” address a member of the Diplomatic Corps as “Big Sister”.
Sincerely,
Concerned Observer
Perhaps you should peruse a copy of a protocol manual like this so that you will not inadvertently cause a international incident if by chance you offend someone: http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/p600_60.pdf
Michael – Please see last Sunday’s 13th November 2011 broadcast for details about the China War strategy at: http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/
The US is presently at war with China as it maintains the division between the mainland and Taiwan, but hostilities have ceased for the moment.
Mr Damage is of course correct, but unleashing ” all they could instead ” would mean Armageddon. That was Barry Goldwater’s plan for VietNam which the US public rejected at the polls, only to see protracted slaughter embracing all of Indo China. Seems the public likes Wars for Profit, otherwise they would extend Occupy Wall St to Occupy the Pentagon.
You are right that the issue is larger than interreligious subversion. If the issue concerns whether the Malaysian Fed. Const. is the supreme law of the land, then it is an issue concerning ‘power’: which group or individual should be given the power to enforce their preferred interpretation of the Const. in spite of the existent of other interpretations?
If that’s the case, then one may point to democratic processes to facilitate the delegation of such power. Yet, this merely bring upon another concern: should power be only in the hand of the majority, which eventually means the marginalization of the minority?
Then we realize that we are back to the first concern, how should power be facilitated vis-a-vis dissent?
Seems SteveCM sure has his eye on the ball by pointing out :
“One of the messages that the secretary will bring directly to the Thai people and the government is that we believe it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed,”
The image I have of Ms Clinton is of a roving Minister for War and surely success for her means Puer Thai having a subservient role to the military with its close US connections.
The interests of Thai democracy are otherwise.
The USA is still technically at war with China as it maintains the division of the country between the liberated mainland and Taiwan and an underlying concern is how the USA is developing its plans for war with China and how allies like Thailand and Super Allies like Australia will fit in.
Different ingredients sometimes of oppositing taste are put in different stage of cooking to get a dish.
Than Shwe has masterfully changed the heat and ingredient according to his own recipes and it is simmering nicely.
The main theme of military knows best and would make all the major decisions remains the same. They have impeccable organizational ability, ruthlessness and fine sense of timing. Unfortunately they do not have ability to understand what is best for the people.
For them and unfortunately for the populace for a large portion of the so-called opposition including majority journalists, progressive country for the former and democracy for the latter is simply a few cities in the country like Shanghai, Tokyo or Bangkok connected by high speed trains and large roads and fast cars and broadband iPads. To that end all are united in selling off the coastal lands, rivers and farm lands, most fertile in the word, into foreign hands for quick bucks unsurprisingly with enthusiastic support from potential customers wringing their hands.
Military has written and approved by itself self preserving constitution and now need to change the appearance for the flavor as some buyers might have finicky domestic constituents.
And that is the story so far.
I have written elsewhere this.
Aung San Suu Kyi will be invited to the soft and air- conditioned pilot seat to be with Thein Sein. There they will find that the plane is in fact flown by computer. But they can still push on the buttons. It will not change the course of the flight but it will change the color of the plane from the current dark one reflecting the true inner self to sky blue so that the customers feel more comfortable and the tortured and the raped feels more hopeful.
I don’t know that Thailand should be singled out for this kind of labeling. My last trip to the Philippines, I saw that all of the TV’s and air conditioners the the airport I was in were labeled with the names of the politicians who donated them, but it’s very likely that they bought the goods with public money or corruption money. What happens in the Philippines during this kind of flood emergency? It should be no different than Thailand. Am I right?
“The US secretary of state is equivalent to a foreign minister and prime minister is lowering her status to stand on the same podium.”
Well – good luck with that, as they say. In terms of phu yai points – not to mention realpolitik – few would agree. Very big sister, indeed…..
More of a factor would seem to be the (never accidental) wording in the State Department’s pre-visit briefing*:
The State Department official said Clinton would offer a “very substantial” aid package to Thailand and hoped to reach out to the public in America’s oldest Asian ally.
“One of the messages that the secretary will bring directly to the Thai people and the government is that we believe it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed,” the official said.
“We will do what we can to support that going forward. There are substantial tensions in Thailand and those tensions will not be resolved after one or even a few elections,” he said.
[my bold emphasis]
That seems to suggest a notably clear message to Thailand’s military – and others.
Kind of nit picky and picayune analysis in my mind.
Yes, Hilary Clinton is the Secretary of State not the President. But she is no ordinary run-of-the-mill Secretary of State, instead she is way above average in terms of her status, knowledge, ability and her “not highly reported” closeness to Obama, not to speak of having run a “co-presidency” with Bill for 8 years.
And not only will Yingluck be having a major face-to-face meeting with Obama next week in Bali (for which the Hilary visit is prep) but Obama will be inviting Yingluck to visit him in the White House, something Abhisit and Kasit often trolled for but never came close to getting.
Yingluck is a total asset to Thailand in terms of her international image and charisma just as Obama is the same for the U.S. And yet the anti-Obama groups in the U.S. constantly make mundane small talk whenever Obama visits outside the U.S. As it appears the anti-Yingluck group also does for her re: her so far very successful visits to Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.
Only a few short months ago, Thailand was lobbing anti-personnel shells into Cambodia and quarreling with most of its neighbors about irrelevant matters. And represented at major international venues by the totally inept Kasit. Remember the “walkout” from UNESCO, all the International Court nonsense and the Germany/Prince’s airplane fiasco? In the past few months, under the new government led by Yingluck, all of that has disappeared.
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Unpopular facts about one of Buddhist philosophy’s most popular doctrines
Billy Budd,
You mention belief in an afterlife/rebirth in connection with a Buddhist tradition about which you are dubious. In this regard, I understand the Buddha to have taught that seeing past and future lives was an empirical fact for those who had developed a level of consciousness which permitted such vision.
The Buddha does not ask one to believe in this cycle of births and continuing existences. He says that he developed the ability to see them. He says that you can, too. If you can’t see them, don’t worry about them.
It is difficult to reject the Buddha’s claim. I have met individuals who claimed to have developed the same power. They were quite convincing. However, it would be pushing the point to call this evidence irrefutable. If you have not developed this ability in yourself, and you have not met anyone who seemed to you to have this ability, then perhaps you are best off leaving the subject alone. One can’t know everything, or develop every possible ability. Perhaps some day you may develop it? Who knows. In the meantime, it does not pay to completely discount the claims, either. They may be true. The point, I guess, is that this version of Buddhism which I am presenting here does not require a belief in reincarnation. It does seem to require an open mind on the subject, something which an ‘There Is Absolutely No Such Thing As Reincarnation’-Atheist might not be able to abide.
Big sister in town
Not as far fetched as you might think “treble”.In any case why on earth would you raise the mind map as defence for the Royal Thai Army and their CIA weapons ? That along with the GT200 proves how mental they are doesn’t it ? – There are more snippets of infomation that might interest you: for instance the former Thaksinite major and hotel owner was replaced with Pannada Disakul as major of Chiang Mai and is the very same man given the task of “cleaning up Chiang Mai” by the royalists according to all reports. -But Pannada as you will also know is no ordinary major,as it was he who was named in court as the person responsible for bringing the Lese Majeste charges against Prachatai.Hardly a democrat then ? And lets face it when Agent Orange and a host of other chemical weapons are the norm and prefered weapons of use by the CIA controlled goverments of Asia and an historic fact,the odds this is just another conspiracy get slimmer and slimmer by the day especially when you consider the obvious cover-up.(ie. cleaning rooms prior to WHO inspection and handing over “poor quality samples” .
Thai students, political animals
[…] built numerous temples and personally translated large sections of the Indian Ramayana epic into Thai as well as carving Wat Suthat’s exquisitely intricate doors, disposing of his special chisels […]
Apostasy in Malaysia: The hidden view
Mujahid # 20
“I would like to know myself how does Christian provides their beleivers to stick to their faith.”
BY preaching to them the beauty of the faith and the rewards “in the hereafter” I guess
One thing is certain .. they do not punish or threaten to harm them in any way….. that mode of keeping the faithful went out in history, along with the crusades, inquisition and the like. That is so middle ages.
Sad to say, Islam is just going thru the “middle ages” of its development, so persuasion and teaching falls second to threats and punishments.
Media, politics, Burma
@surachai thongpanich – is everything in Thailand about Thailand wanting to chair Asean? Thailand wanted to chair Asean a couple of years ago. Was everything the government did then – in economic policy, politics etc dont to be able to chair Asean? The Myanmar government wants to chair Asean the way it has any other foreign policy goal, it’s important to the foreign ministry, it’s not important to the president or others at the top. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t it doesn’t matter. To think that the junta would dissolve, Than Shwe retire, a new constitutional system be set up , Aung San Suu Kyi be brought into politics, ceasefires agreed, major economic reforms started, political prisoners released, media freed-up, to CHAIR ASEAN? ??? It’s laughable.
Big sister in town
I forgot to mention the 12 redshirts “poisoned coffee” btw…
The princess and the FROC
[…] fellow bloggers over at New Mandala have a post up titled The princess and the FROC that we could swear began life as The Monarchy Strike Back. It is something of a storm in a teacup […]
Big sister in town
u can kid da world,But not ur big sister .
Big sister in town
I think Comment 5’s brilliant analysis needs to be added to CRES’s mind map of a year or two back. Just needs Roswell, Lee Harvey Oswald and 9/11 to be slotted in there somewhere and the picture is complete
The princess and the FROC
Tom – again, degrees of abhorrence. I’m sure it happens in many places, morality judgements are always going to be subjective.
Big sister in town
“Only a few months ago, Thailand was lobbing anti personnel shells into Cambodia…” well not just any anti personnel shells.That rotten duo of Abhisit and Prayuth were actually using a specifically banned cluster munition, and which there is no reasonable doubt they knew has a long term cost in civilian casualties,mainly children.On top of that, is the allegation that these cluster bombs were laced with toxic gas.This is even more worrying when you consider at the same time Thailands Royal Army was committing these crimes, tourist’s were dropping dead at the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai from “chlorpyrifos poisoning” at the hotel of a political allie of Thaksin.The connection and links to all this being that Bill and Hillary are financed by Dow CEO Andrew Liveris,who in turn manufactures Chlorpyrifos,and who just happens to be King Bhumibol’s “special advisor” an award that was awarded him in 2007.
Media, politics, Burma
Burma inexplicably launches a charm offensive.
Burma wants to chair ASEAN in 2014.
Obviously these 2 things are completely unrelated.
Big sister in town
Mr. Achara Ashayagachat according to protocol the correct way to address the current American Secretary of State would be:
The Honorable
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State of the United States of America.
A less formal option is provided as:
Dear Madam Secretary
But I have never heard anyone”formally” address a member of the Diplomatic Corps as “Big Sister”.
Sincerely,
Concerned Observer
Perhaps you should peruse a copy of a protocol manual like this so that you will not inadvertently cause a international incident if by chance you offend someone:
http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/p600_60.pdf
Diplomatic movements in Canberra
Michael – Please see last Sunday’s 13th November 2011 broadcast for details about the China War strategy at:
http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/
The US is presently at war with China as it maintains the division between the mainland and Taiwan, but hostilities have ceased for the moment.
Mr Damage is of course correct, but unleashing ” all they could instead ” would mean Armageddon. That was Barry Goldwater’s plan for VietNam which the US public rejected at the polls, only to see protracted slaughter embracing all of Indo China. Seems the public likes Wars for Profit, otherwise they would extend Occupy Wall St to Occupy the Pentagon.
Apostasy in Malaysia: The hidden view
Hi Greg #19,
You are right that the issue is larger than interreligious subversion. If the issue concerns whether the Malaysian Fed. Const. is the supreme law of the land, then it is an issue concerning ‘power’: which group or individual should be given the power to enforce their preferred interpretation of the Const. in spite of the existent of other interpretations?
If that’s the case, then one may point to democratic processes to facilitate the delegation of such power. Yet, this merely bring upon another concern: should power be only in the hand of the majority, which eventually means the marginalization of the minority?
Then we realize that we are back to the first concern, how should power be facilitated vis-a-vis dissent?
These are questions that I’m not able to address.
Peace & Regards.
Big sister in town
Seems SteveCM sure has his eye on the ball by pointing out :
“One of the messages that the secretary will bring directly to the Thai people and the government is that we believe it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed,”
The image I have of Ms Clinton is of a roving Minister for War and surely success for her means Puer Thai having a subservient role to the military with its close US connections.
The interests of Thai democracy are otherwise.
The USA is still technically at war with China as it maintains the division of the country between the liberated mainland and Taiwan and an underlying concern is how the USA is developing its plans for war with China and how allies like Thailand and Super Allies like Australia will fit in.
Media, politics, Burma
Different ingredients sometimes of oppositing taste are put in different stage of cooking to get a dish.
Than Shwe has masterfully changed the heat and ingredient according to his own recipes and it is simmering nicely.
The main theme of military knows best and would make all the major decisions remains the same. They have impeccable organizational ability, ruthlessness and fine sense of timing. Unfortunately they do not have ability to understand what is best for the people.
For them and unfortunately for the populace for a large portion of the so-called opposition including majority journalists, progressive country for the former and democracy for the latter is simply a few cities in the country like Shanghai, Tokyo or Bangkok connected by high speed trains and large roads and fast cars and broadband iPads. To that end all are united in selling off the coastal lands, rivers and farm lands, most fertile in the word, into foreign hands for quick bucks unsurprisingly with enthusiastic support from potential customers wringing their hands.
Military has written and approved by itself self preserving constitution and now need to change the appearance for the flavor as some buyers might have finicky domestic constituents.
And that is the story so far.
I have written elsewhere this.
Aung San Suu Kyi will be invited to the soft and air- conditioned pilot seat to be with Thein Sein. There they will find that the plane is in fact flown by computer. But they can still push on the buttons. It will not change the course of the flight but it will change the color of the plane from the current dark one reflecting the true inner self to sky blue so that the customers feel more comfortable and the tortured and the raped feels more hopeful.
The princess and the FROC
I don’t know that Thailand should be singled out for this kind of labeling. My last trip to the Philippines, I saw that all of the TV’s and air conditioners the the airport I was in were labeled with the names of the politicians who donated them, but it’s very likely that they bought the goods with public money or corruption money. What happens in the Philippines during this kind of flood emergency? It should be no different than Thailand. Am I right?
Big sister in town
“The US secretary of state is equivalent to a foreign minister and prime minister is lowering her status to stand on the same podium.”
Well – good luck with that, as they say. In terms of phu yai points – not to mention realpolitik – few would agree. Very big sister, indeed…..
More of a factor would seem to be the (never accidental) wording in the State Department’s pre-visit briefing*:
The State Department official said Clinton would offer a “very substantial” aid package to Thailand and hoped to reach out to the public in America’s oldest Asian ally.
“One of the messages that the secretary will bring directly to the Thai people and the government is that we believe it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed,” the official said.
“We will do what we can to support that going forward. There are substantial tensions in Thailand and those tensions will not be resolved after one or even a few elections,” he said.
[my bold emphasis]
That seems to suggest a notably clear message to Thailand’s military – and others.
* http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1165533/1/.html
Big sister in town
Kind of nit picky and picayune analysis in my mind.
Yes, Hilary Clinton is the Secretary of State not the President. But she is no ordinary run-of-the-mill Secretary of State, instead she is way above average in terms of her status, knowledge, ability and her “not highly reported” closeness to Obama, not to speak of having run a “co-presidency” with Bill for 8 years.
And not only will Yingluck be having a major face-to-face meeting with Obama next week in Bali (for which the Hilary visit is prep) but Obama will be inviting Yingluck to visit him in the White House, something Abhisit and Kasit often trolled for but never came close to getting.
Yingluck is a total asset to Thailand in terms of her international image and charisma just as Obama is the same for the U.S. And yet the anti-Obama groups in the U.S. constantly make mundane small talk whenever Obama visits outside the U.S. As it appears the anti-Yingluck group also does for her re: her so far very successful visits to Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.
Only a few short months ago, Thailand was lobbing anti-personnel shells into Cambodia and quarreling with most of its neighbors about irrelevant matters. And represented at major international venues by the totally inept Kasit. Remember the “walkout” from UNESCO, all the International Court nonsense and the Germany/Prince’s airplane fiasco? In the past few months, under the new government led by Yingluck, all of that has disappeared.