An american monk in thailand.

jll

jll

any comments?

Cinorjer

I got more of a kick out of this monk's surroundings than the words he was saying, although they were fine. The narrator tried his best to present the forest monks as living in isolation and strict ascetic monastic conditions like the original Buddha. What I see is a well fed monk with an electric fan pointed at him in an obviously well visited tourist destination. Nothing wrong with that, but I suppose a bit of hype comes with the territory.

Songhill

Ajahn Sumano Bhikku is right. We are not this psycho-physical organism. We are, so to speak, in the body but not of it. Desire to live in such bodies (the fuel) keeps the flame of suffering burning. To exhaust this fuel so that the burning is no more in which we abide in cool deathless nirvana is surely a joy (sukha), the highest of joys.

vinlyn

I got more of a kick out of this monk's surroundings than the words he was saying, although they were fine. The narrator tried his best to present the forest monks as living in isolation and strict ascetic monastic conditions like the original Buddha. What I see is a well fed monk with an electric fan pointed at him in an obviously well visited tourist destination. Nothing wrong with that, but I suppose a bit of hype comes with the territory.

I'm curious why you say it's an obviously well-visited tourist destination?

RebeccaS

I really like this guy And I think the guy doing the interview seems nice, too. He's really polite and respectful and seems genuinely interested.

Sabre

Thanks!

Cinorjer

I got more of a kick out of this monk's surroundings than the words he was saying, although they were fine. The narrator tried his best to present the forest monks as living in isolation and strict ascetic monastic conditions like the original Buddha. What I see is a well fed monk with an electric fan pointed at him in an obviously well visited tourist destination. Nothing wrong with that, but I suppose a bit of hype comes with the territory.

I'm curious why you say it's an obviously well-visited tourist destination?

Oh, the signs posted outside, including a map for the visitors, and the instructions in various languages. I'm not saying busloads of kids are brought there, but like the Tiger Temple in Thailand, visitors and tours provide a vital source of revenue for many monks. Not saying it's wrong at all. In Korea, the working temples accomidate tourists and visitors and have a donation box.

Cinorjer

by the way, did anyone notice the hanging skeleton, looks like a medical model, at the cave altar? Anyone know what in the world that's doing there?

RebeccaS

by the way, did anyone notice the hanging skeleton, looks like a medical model, at the cave altar? Anyone know what in the world that's doing there?

Maybe it's the remains of a human sacrifice?

I wondered, too.

Sile

Maybe it's related to this:

"Yesterday I listened on the radio a very good sermon on “Meditating on Bones” by Luang Pu Sim Putthajaro. Luang Pu Sim was one of the first students of Luang Pu Mun Phurithatto, who was the well known monk in the Northeastern Thailand forest tradition. Luang Pu Sim taught what is called “Itthikang Kradook Samroi Ton” (อัฏฐิกังกระดูกสามร้อยท่อน) in Thai. He asked us to sit in the usual meditation posture and visualize ourselves as nothing more than a skeleton. No skin, no flesh, no internal organs, just bones and skeleton.

...

So next time when you look at yourselves, try to meditation and stay focused on the fact that our physical bodies are nothing but a heap of bones. We are all skeletons, and in fact we are all ghosts! If we are afraid of ghosts, then we should be afraid of ourselves. If we are afraid of death, then we should be afraid of ourselves here right now at this very present moment, because we are already dead as we are just a skeleton consisting of three hundred pieces of bones. These three hundred bones, Luang Pu Sim teaches, belong to nobody. They are just parts of nature and they will come and go according to their own causes and conditions. Meditating on this, we find a way to eliminate all the defilements — greed, anger and delusion — because these delusions arise only because of we do not see the truth that we and all others are nothing but bones."

More here:

http://soraj.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/meditating-on-bones/

Sile

The advert for Wat Bovornives Vihara includes, "If you're here on a Sunday afternoon, you can visit the Dhamma Museum in the tall building near the street; exhibits include Buddha images, temple paraphernalia, skeletons and other meditation objects..."

RebeccaS

That's a spooky meditation!

But really interesting nonetheless.

vinlyn

I got more of a kick out of this monk's surroundings than the words he was saying, although they were fine. The narrator tried his best to present the forest monks as living in isolation and strict ascetic monastic conditions like the original Buddha. What I see is a well fed monk with an electric fan pointed at him in an obviously well visited tourist destination. Nothing wrong with that, but I suppose a bit of hype comes with the territory.

I'm curious why you say it's an obviously well-visited tourist destination?

Oh, the signs posted outside, including a map for the visitors, and the instructions in various languages. I'm not saying busloads of kids are brought there, but like the Tiger Temple in Thailand, visitors and tours provide a vital source of revenue for many monks. Not saying it's wrong at all. In Korea, the working temples accomidate tourists and visitors and have a donation box.

At first I thought it was a temple I had visited up in the north -- Wat Tham Seua, but now realize it's out in Issan near Buriram.

Wat Tham Seua (which does mean tiger cave temple...but not the more famous one with actual tigers), does have visitors, but I would not say it was touristy. There was a trail that led through the forest where you could see the kutis where monks lived, as well as a small cave. There were a few visitors when I was there...maybe a dozen people, but I didn't see it as a tourist destination...which some temples certainly are. I have seen skeletons like that in several Thai temples, and not sure why they are there. I have also seen several Thai temples with the mummies of old monks.

I kinda made a fool of myself visiting one temple in Thonburi. It was touristy, as we went into a large kuti where a famous monk was meditating. We kneeled there for maybe 10 minutes, as did a constant stream of Thais. After we went out I told my Thai friend it was amazing how still the monk was...that I couldn't even see him move a bit. He just laughed out loud and told me it was a was statue! Duh!

yamada

by the way, did anyone notice the hanging skeleton, looks like a medical model, at the cave altar? Anyone know what in the world that's doing there?

i wondering that too

Sabre

It's there for reflection. Not only for contemplation of the body, but also to remind that we're going to die one day. That's how this body will one day be like.

I believe it's not uncommon for a monastery to have such a thing. It may seem a bit creepy, but actually it's there to show just the way things are.

yamada

@Sabre : thanks sabre for the information yup, it seems a bit creepy

Cinorjer

It's there for reflection. Not only for contemplation of the body, but also to remind that we're going to die one day. That's how this body will one day be like.

I believe it's not uncommon for a monastery to have such a thing. It may seem a bit creepy, but actually it's there to show just the way things are.

Interesting. I've often thought if I designed another meditation class, I'd bring in a stuffed animal toward the end for people to meditation on death and mortality. I think it would do the same as a skeleton.