Running it up the flagpole

Am I alone in finding some Thai practices unusual. Take the practice of liberating small birds from a tiny cage in order to gain merit. Presumably there's an entire industry of bird-catchers who serve up these boxes to the punters. Do they lose an equivalent amount of merit? I asked a Thai monk once. He didn't know. I guess it's like the devout Buddhist abattoir worker or fisherman, who supplies his output to the dinner tables of Thailand. By the way did you know that carrots emit a quiet scream (http://www.naturalnews.com/033272_living_foods_carrots.html) when they are pulled from the earth? What does this mean for vegetarians? Perhaps Jeremy Clarkson could tell us.

The latest thing I've heard is the practice of placing a hair in a box and nailing it to a flagpole. Must it be a hair from the head, or can it be a pubic hair? The latter are easily harvested from yesterday's underwear. Does anyone know?

[Rush, Yet Again]

By the way did you know that carrots emit a quiet scream when they are pulled from the earth?

In honor of the ever popular quiet scream, let's put 20 seconds on the clock . . .

Same as many bar boys do when they see the customer they booked naked for the first time.

Same as Sunee Plaza bar boys do when they turn 20.

Same as Latintopxxx's moneyboys do when he hands them their tip.

Same as the pavement does when a sexpat books a tenth floor room above.

Same as a Buddhist monk does when he sees yet another backpacker strike a Lotus yoga pose to pray to The Buddha.

Same as the universe does when yet another backpacker wais to the clerk at 7/11.

Same as gogo bar patrons do when that screeching little fem boy being plowed lands on their lap.

Same as a punter does when he discovers the boy he offed has a fang muk.

Same as ChristianPFC does when he discovers the boy he offed wears Fruit of the Loom underpants.

Same as illegal Burmese immigrants do when they hear another dead farang's body has been found.

Same as straight sex tourists do when they discover the hot chick they took back to their hotel room isn't.

Same as Sunee Plaza fans do when they visit Tawan.

Same as newbie visitors do the first time they encounter a squat toilet.

Same as any farang does the first time they hit the toilet at Chatuchak.

Same as any Bangkok visitor does when he needs to catch a taxi in the rain.

Same as any Bangkok visitor does when he follows directions given to him by a Thai.

Same as punters do when their boy du jour says he wants to go to karaoke.

Same as a wallet does when its owner falls in love with a bar boy.

Same as Pattaya sexpats do when yet another dry holiday rolls around.

Same as I do when Noom says he wants to have dinner at Pizza Hut.


As for the freeing a caged bird merit making pastime, I've seen signs posted at a few of the more popular wats asking visitors to not participate in this activity. Not sure if those were due to some religious principle or that the wat wasn't getting its cut from sales though.

[latintopxxx]

rushy boy...why havent i read u before....this is brilliant.....just about peed in my pants laughing...and even better i get a mention...bff

[a447]

Priceless!

As for the freeing a caged bird merit making pastime, I've seen signs posted at a few of the more popular wats asking visitors to not participate in this activity. Not sure if those were due to some religious principle or that the wat wasn't getting its cut from sales though.The only explanation that makes any sense.

[Surfcrest]

rushy boy...why havent i read u before....this is brilliant.....just about peed in my pants laughing...and even better i get a mention...bff
Same as Christianpfc does when latintopxxx misses Rush Yet Again's Bangkokboi's posting signature and asks; "why haven't I read u before".

Surfcrest

[pong]

With generous positive thinking, these ''merit-making'' is often aimed at giving money to poor people, but having them at least DO something for it. Such in essence well meant activities are always corrupted the sooner as possible. Same for ''feeding fish/turtles'' at many temples with leftover bread that cannot be sold normally anymore.
In temples there may simply, after all TIT, perceived competition for other temple money raising activities.

[lego]

Am I alone in finding some Thai practices unusual. Take the practice of liberating small birds from a tiny cage in order to gain merit. Presumably there's an entire industry of bird-catchers who serve up these boxes to the punters. Do they lose an equivalent amount of merit?
Boring, it gets more interesting when you replace birds by people. Thai prisons are notoriously overcrowded. He who has the power to free prisoners is certainly gaining A LOT of merit.

It gets more interesting when you replace birds by people. Thai prisons are notoriously overcrowded. He who has the power to free prisoners is certainly gaining A LOT of merit.Quite so.

Here's another ethical/merit-earning conundrum for you. You and your CEO both like playing with guns and you're alone in his office late one night with only the cleaners around. You pick up what you think is an unloaded revolver, point it at him and pull the trigger. He dies instantly. You're his obvious successor and it's thought the company won't survive without you. The police blame the cleaners - who could suspect you, after all (and you're such a pivotal figure)?

The cleaners are arrested. You remain silent
The cleaners are committed for trial. You remain silent
The cleaners are found guilty. You remain silent
The cleaners are executed. You remain silent

How much merit have you gained?

[fountainhall]

How much merit have you gained?
No doubt as much as the 16-year old girl with no driving license who rammed into a minibus on the Don Mueang Tollway killing 9 people from one of the universities in 2010. From a hi-so family (naturally), she received a two year suspended sentence.

Or as much as the grandson of the Red Bull heir who was driving around 200 kph along Sukhumvit at 5:00 in the morning in 2012, running down and killing a traffic cop. After dragging his body for several hundred meters, he then hid himself and the car in the nearby family compound. Police were only able to gain access some 8 hours later. Vorayuth had drugs and liquor in his system. The liquor was explained away as the need to drink something to calm him down after the accident! Despite the Police Chief telling a media Conference he was so incensed he'd resign if Vorayuth was not brought to justice, he has so far managed to escape charges. Even more shockingly, in 2013 the police changed their story by saying he might neither have been speeding nor drunk when the accident happened! Not surprisingly, though, his family's worth equalled 2.1% of Thailand's GDP in 2012. As a postscript, the policeman's family accepted US$90,000 as a payoff. The Ferrari was worth a great deal more than that!

Or as much as the former Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Juthamas Siriwan, who along with her daughter took $1.8 million in bribes from Gerald and Patricia Green, a pair of Hollywood producers, in return for their running the Bangkok Film Festival from 2004. FBI documents unequivocally proved the money trail and the Hollywood pair were sentenced to 6 months in jail and 3 years probation. Thai authorities delayed action against the lady - another hi-so. First she disappeared and did not turn up for hearings. Then in 2010 Thai justice officials said they were waiting for more evidence from the US legal authorities. They've been waiting a long, long time!

Last month a member of the National Anti-Corruption Committee finally announced that prosecution of Ms Juthamas and her daughter will go ahead. Or, of course, they may just fail to turn up and another half decade will pass.

Wonder why merit-making is so easy in the LOS?

Wonder why merit-making is so easy in the LOS?It's such an advantage not to have to worry about the little people don't you think? I mean, what if they were able to express their frustration by ... oh, I don't know ... voting? Holding the government to account?

[lego]

Here's another ethical/merit-earning conundrum for you.
Nice one, kommentariat, it was a real joy to read how you've adapted that story to a business context. :)

What I've always found disturbing with (at least the Thai version of) Buddhism is the concept of р╕Шр╕Щр╕▓р╕Др╕▓р╕гр╕� �р╕╕р╕Н (tanakarn boon, literally "merit bank"), basically a bank account with a balance that is calculated by tallying up all your good deeds and bad deeds. It reminds me too much of the Catholic "Sale of Indulgences" for my liking, my number one reason to despise the Catholic Church even before their various witch hunts. For me, most of these excesses with monks we've been hearing about are ultimately deeply rooted in that concept. It obviously also isn't beneficial to the morals of those who are not members of the clergy, for as long as they can "balance out" their bad deeds somehow, they are allowed to lead respectable lives and are thought to make progress towards enlightenment.

So, to stay with your story, as long as the businessman in question does more good than evil (and let's assume he's got plenty opportunity to do so once he's CEO), he's netting a shitload of good merit. Assuming that you believe in the actual existence of that kind of merit about as much as I do, that shouldn't really trouble us too much though. :ymdevil:

He who has the power to free prisoners is certainly gaining A LOT of merit.
Assuming that you believe in the actual existence of that kind of merit about as much as I do, that shouldn't really trouble us too much though. :ymdevil:

[lego]

So? My first post was describing the "merit system'" as it is constructed, my second post my personal opinion about it. Glad you've noticed there's a difference.

[PeterUK]

rushy boy...why havent i read u before....this is brilliant.....just about peed in my pants laughing...and even better i get a mention...bff

Another one for Rush's excellent Silent Scream list: Same as anyone does when congratulated on a post by latintopxxx.