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High Definition videos of Luang Prabang, Laos by James Quilty at Vimeo.
- Mee and Tho’s Luang Prabang
Mee and Tho are children who live on the other side of the Mekong river from Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos. Each day they cross it to sell trinkets to the tourists and help their family in the markets. We met them at a museum devoted to traditional Lao houses where they and their friends hang out and attend art classes on weekends. Mee and Tho offered to show us their Luang Prabang. This is the first of a three part series. The traditional music is from the album “Music of Laos: the Buddhist Tradition.”
- Mee and Tho’s Luang Prabang - The Mekong
On the second day Mee and Tho show us the morning market and we take a journey along the Mekong to see the Buddha caves and the waterfalls. We end the day watching the semi-annual boat races. This is the second of a three part series. The traditional music is from the album “Music of Laos: the Buddhist Tradition.”
- Mee and Tho’s Luang Prabang - Almsgiving
On the final day of our trip to Luang Prabang, Yui and I cross the Mekong to visit Mee and Tho’s villiage, Ban Xiangmen. We participate in the almsgiving to the local monks and meet with the senior monk who shows us the ancient temples Wat Chom Pet and Wat Long Khon. Ban Xiangmen is almost as rich with history and architectural beauty as Luang Prabang. This is the third of a three part series. The traditional music is from the album “Vision of the Orient - Music from Laos”
Updated Photos 5/1/2008:
Wat in the last clip at 4:43 with the animal in question (Screen shot 1) that the Thai interpreter claimed that it is a symbol that Laos was once ruled by Thai King, which I don’t believe it is the case. In Buddhist iconography, we find the lions (Singhto) in their role of dharma protectors supporting the throne of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. They are also found at the entrance of the monasteries and shrines. I think the lions here are symbolic of the bodhisattvas, the “sons of the Buddha” or “Buddha’s lions” holds true here, and not the sign of Thai King. See full explanation in comment, below are screen shots, and photos by James Quilty at Flickr.
Screen shot 1:
Screen shot 2:
You can visit his blog at Notes From Thailand, and I also added him to my blogroll for future visit.
It is so easy for us to think of our duties to ourselves and also of our rights. It is quite true that we have duties to ourselves and we also have rights. But if we allow ourselves to center our thoughts on self, then we have overlooked something that is very important in the Buddhist way of life, and that is our duty to others.
No one can ever be truly happy who thinks only of himself, of his own needs and wants, his own likes and dislikes and his own pleasures. Each of us has duties towards our family, friends, associates, and to all living beings everywhere.
In modern times, we hear a great deal about cooperation. The Chinese have a very expressive way of stating the idea of cooperation. It is “pulling together.” To be self-centered is to pull away from others. Most of the good things in life can be had more easily by all of us if there is more and more pulling together.
Our Buddhist religion teaches us that selfishness is a poison. If we seek only our own personal happiness, then we are pulling against ourselves. A man may gain riches, power and fame, but they are not sure guarantees of happiness. There is a very beautiful word, which is the same in both Sanskrit and Pali, Mudita, meaning the joy we find in the joy of others. A person who is glad that others are happy has an unselfish heart and such a person, whether child or grown up is good at “pulling together.” Envy at the sight of others’ happiness is a sure sign of selfishness.
While we are still young, we ought to start learning the importance of group-effort, of “pulling together,” in order to bring about the well being and happiness of all. We must never make the mistake of believing that anyone who thinks only of himself and keeps to himself can find real happiness.
This is based on Buddhist Sunday School Lessons, by the Venerable Sumangalo
After my oldest sister found out that I want to write about Buddhism, she gave me a book called Ten Lives of The Buddha, Siamese Temple Paintings and Jataka Tales by Elizabeth Wray, Clare Rosenfield, and Dorothy Bailey, with photographs by Joe D. Wray. The photos are beautiful and below is called The Temiya Jataka from Wat Yai Intharam, Chonburi Thailand.
Temiya tests his strength by lifting the chariot. Temiya’s raising the chariot causes the horses hitched to it to twist their necks around and shocks the gravedigger into looking up. According to the Pali text of this story, the gravedigger does not see Temiya at this point; he continues to dig. The painter here has chosen to ignore this fact in favor of artistic unity.
I am fascinated with Buddhism temple painting and the architecture of the Buddhist Temple (Wat). I often imagine an angel to look like Temiya.
- Lao Damnern Sai
I wrote a story of Loi Krathong Festival of the time when I was little growing up in Thailand; this is mainly from my view on things as a kid. There is more to the story than what was told, and I came upon the story whilst reading Buddhism for Young students by Ven. Dr. C. Phangcham, which explains in depth of what the two events are, and both the Lao and Thais celebrate Kathin and Loy Krathong Festivals.
Photo by Frans.Vanderlee, Royal Kathin Ceremony
As for Kathin, when Buddhism was first established, the number of monks and nuns was relatively small. Originally, monks did not stay at any one particular place. Most of the time, they moved around the country in their mission to spread the teachings of the Buddha for the happiness and welfare of the entire population.
During the rainy season, when the country experienced heavy and frequent rainfalls, things were quite difficult for them and their travels were often impeded or interrupted. In this season, the farmers also cultivated their land and grew crops.
The Buddha allowed his disciples to remain stationed in a specific place temporarily and to stop wandering during this time. It was called VASSA or Rains Retreat. It begins on the 15th day of the Waxing Moon of the 8th Lunar Month and ends on the 1st Lunar Month (approximately July through October.) All Buddhist monks and fully ordained nuns in all parts of the world have to observe the Rains Retreat during this period, thought in certain countries the custom has been modified.
In the Countries of Southeast Asia, where Buddhist monks and nuns live, after three months of Retreat observance, people have a very grand festival of offering food to the monks in various monasteries. At the same time, they prepare special yellow robes, which are offered to the Sangha. This special yellow robe offering is called the Kathin Offering Ceremony. It can be done only during the period from the end of the Retreat to the first day of the Waning Moon of the 12th Lunar Month.
Photo by Hartfried Schmid, Loy Krathong
Then there is Loy Krathong, at the end of the Kathin Festival season, when the rivers and canals are full of water, the Loy Krathong Festival takes place in all parts of Thailand and Laos on the full moon night of the Twelfth Lunar Month. The people who want to participate in this festival bring their bowls (Krathong) made of leaves (which contain flowers,) candles and incense sticks, as well as some food and coins to the appointed places.
Everyone lights candles and incense sticks in his or her Krathong and then makes a wish and floats the Krathong gently on the surface of the rivers, streams, ponds, or canals. The traditional practice of Loy Krathong was meant to worship and pay homage to the Holy Footprint of the Buddha on the beach of the NAMADA River in India. It was originally a Brahmanical rite whereby Hindus gave thanks to the Mother (goddess) of the Ganges River, which is their source of life and vigor in their country.
It is said that in Thai literature of the Sukhothai period, Nang Nophamas, a virtuous lady in the court of King Ruang, was skilled in the art of making beautiful Krathongs for the occasion. The season of Loy Krathong is important not only for its religious aspect, but also for development of artistic crafts and social bonding. It offers a good opportunity for people from different areas and for boys and girls to meet one another. These festivals have been observed from the Sukhothai period to the present time.
I’m not one to believe in Karma but after reading Laotian Teacher’s post on Karma, I think it is somewhat interesting. I guess I don’t believe mainly because I seem to be a magnet on the bad things and attracted strange people into my life and I’ve come to a conclusion that niceness is not the answer to every situation.
I came across a reading about Karma in my Buddhist Sunday School Lessons book that I thought was interesting and like to share with those that have interest. Karma is a Sanskrit word meaning action. As we Buddhists use the term, the meaning is clearer if we describe it as action and reaction, or act and result. Another way to describe Karma is cause and effect.
There are several good examples given in the book; when we plant rice, we do not expect a harvest of pepper. We do not make a fire in order to produce coolness. In everything in life we find that if we know all the causes, then we can reliable predict the effects. For example, we know that if we are careless with matches, a fire is likely to result and many even destroy the house. But we also know that we can never burn down the house with ice. It is the nature of fire to burn and destroy. Ice has a different nature and produces entirely different effects. Let us think of producing something else. Let us pretend we want to bake a cake for someone’s birthday. We know we must have flour, salt, milk, flavoring, etc., and must mix all these ingredients carefully. Then, when we have put the batter in the pan, we must have the oven at a certain temperature. After leaving the batter in the oven a certain length of time, we take out the cake tin and let it cool. Then we have a cake. The cake is the effect or result, and the mixing of the proper ingredients and the right length of time in an oven at the right temperature is the cause.
The Buddha taught us that happiness and unhappiness are effects or results, just as much as fire is a cause that produces heat as a result. If we lead selfish, ignorant, evil lives, we can expect only such results as go along with selfishness, ignorance, and evil. Bad acts always produce bad results; good acts always have good results.
Probably many children have saving banks at home, and put some coins in the bank each week. Our thoughts and actions are like putting money in the bank of life; bad thoughts and actions are like counterfeit money. Sometimes people are arrested for trying to spend counterfeit money, either made of lead or else printed imitations of real money. Misfortune is sure to come to anyone who tries to spend such money. Misfortune is also sure to come to anyone who puts bad thoughts and bad acts into “The Bank of Karma.” We can save up real happiness only if we think good thoughts and do good acts. No one can ever rob us of our karma. Evil results always come from evil causes; good results always come from good causes. If we wish to be happy, then we must store up causes of happiness, just as we plant rice seeds in order to get a harvest of rice.
It is extremely important for all people to keep in mind the importance of getting a practical understanding of the Law of Karma. If we have this understanding then we shall be able to control results by controlling causes. We shall know that doing good produces happiness, and doing evil produces unhappiness. This law of Karma is a very deep subject, but even a small child can understand the main idea and learn how to live in such a way that happiness will result.
I think it’s an interesting concept and I’ve been practicing it without knowing, but an act of niceness doesn’t always warrant goodness in return because sometimes niceness attracts creeps, weirdos, stalkers, trolls, and scammers out there, if that act of niceness attracts these bad things, then one should cease doing nice things, cut off all interaction with these creeps, weirdos, stalkers, trolls, and scammers, then they will go away. But I’m still glad that the Law of Karma still works its magic that niceness also attracts nice people as well.
- Thin Red Line
This is based on a book called Buddhism a Living Message, by Thera Piyadassi, this is especially helpful for those that like to say inappropriate things to people, is it really necessary to play mind game?
Our nervous exhaustion is increasing with the speeding up of our life. People often return home after work with their nerves on edge. As a consequence, their concentration is weakened, and mental and physical efficiency are lowered. Man becomes easily irritated and is quick to find fault and pick a quarrel. He becomes morbidly introspective, experiences aches, pains, and suffers from hypertension and sleeplessness. These symptoms of nervous exhaustion clearly show that modern man’s mind and body require rest, rest of a high quality.
Let us bear in mind that certain aloofness, a withdrawing of the mind from the busyness of life is a requisite to mental hygiene. Whenever you get an opportunity, try to be away from the town and engage yourself in quiet contemplation; call it yoga, concentration, or meditation. Learn to observe the silence. Silence does so much good to us. It is quite wrong to imagine that they alone are powerful who are noisy, garrulous, and fussily busy. Silence is golden, and we must speak only if we can improve on silence. The greatest creative energy works in silence. Observing silence is important. We do that in our meditation.
People are so used to noise and talk, that they feel lonely and out of place if they do not speak. But if we train ourselves in the art of cultivating silence, we will learn to enjoy it.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember that there is peace in silence. We must take time off to go into retreat in search of silence. We must, now and then, break away from motion to remain motionless. It is a peaceful form of existence. In lonely retreat, we experience the value of silent contemplation. We make an inward journey. When we withdraw into silence, we are absolutely alone to see ourselves as we really are, and then we can learn to overcome the weaknesses and limitations in ordinary experience.
Time spent in secluded contemplation is not wasted; it goes a long way to strengthen a man’s character. It is an asset to our daily work and progress if we can find the time to cut ourselves off from routine and spend a day or two in quiet contemplation. This is surely not escapism of living in idleness, but the best way to strengthen our mind. This is beneficial introspection; for it is by examining our thoughts and feelings that we can probe into the inner meaning of things and discover the powers within.
- Ga Lah Tae Sar
Buddhism makes us understand our own character. Hence, if we can understand our own mind and recognize our own weaknesses then we can easily train it. This is the only way to gain peace and happiness. The Buddha taught us how to analyze our mind so that we can understand where our defilements lie and why disturbances arise to pollute the mind.
The Buddha was such a practical teacher that he just did not stop there. He went on to the next stage and showed us how to change that mental attitude. If our minds are conditioned to be hot-tempered, selfish, greedy, jealous, and cruel, the Buddha taught us different methods to train such minds. He said that ‘mind is the forerunner of all mental states.’
Whatever we do, it all begins in the mind. This reminds us of the well known principle embodied in the preamble to the UNESCO Charter on Human Rights which states: ‘Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace can be constructed.’ So if we stop evil thoughts from arising in the mind we will be capable of only doing good. This is the way to practice Buddhism. But many people have generally tended to ignore all the important aspects of the Buddha’s teaching and have instead concentrated more on the ritualistic aspects, thereby looking for an easy way out of suffering. In Buddhism, we cannot gain salvation by simply pleasing or praising the gods without training the mind.
Then there is the Supreme Wisdom. Wisdom here is not simple academic or scientific knowledge. We can gather vast book knowledge through learning but that in itself does not bring wisdom. Wisdom cannot appear in the mind as long as selfishness, hatred, and delusion predominate. It is only when these mental hindrances are completely erased from the mind and replaced with mental development that real wisdom will appear.
When I saw a photo of this man on Thairath news, 9/4/07, a 39 year old man who was wearing over 1000 amulets of Jatukarm Ramathep lucky charm at the ceremony of the making of the new edition, this is what they called a number one fan, but I’m sure he is not the only one, the majority of Thai citizens are head over heals for these amulets.
Since I wrote a post on “Laser Art of the Jatukarm Ramathep Lucky Charm,” I do have to say that this has been one of my top ten posts since July 2007 and it has been very consistent. I posted a history on “The Legend of Jatukarm Ramathep” and hoping that it gave you some idea as to who this famous Jatukarm Ramathep talisman.
Not too long ago, my dad received a Buddha statue from a local temple where he keeps on his Buddha Mantle, I remember that he didn’t use the term purchase, more like ‘Bu Sar’ or donation, and in return received a Buddha statue as a gift.
Formerly in Thailand, Buddhist amulets were not traded, but were gifts offered by monks to the donors, and meditation masters to their disciples. It’s not as that anymore, when did this all changed. It was the crisis of the Indochina War between Thailand and France in 1941 that gave birth to the amulet market, as many soldiers and volunteer recruits sought the power of protection and invulnerability in battle. After the war, the demand for amulets (boosted by stories of their miraculous powers of protection) persisted and even extended to include all kinds of portable sacred objects. Over the past 50 years, the market has grown hand-in-hand with capitalism in Thailand. [1]
The Jatukarm Ramathep is, however, a special case as it is not directly related to the sacred Triple Gems. From its very name, it is a pair of twin gods, the guardians of the Phra Dhaat(u) of Nagor Sri Dharma Raj, the largest and most sacred pagoda of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand. The first generation of the amulet of this god(s) was produced for the first time three decades ago. But for some unknown reason, the twin gods were caste in the shape of one god with a demonic appearance. It was not a god in Buddhism, but rather a demon with many arms surrounded by eight other demons or Rahu (Asura).
Photo from Thairath.co.th
Society in general is better educated now than it has ever been in the past, but in spite of vast advances achieved in the field of scientific knowledge, many people still suffer from fear, suspicion and insecurity. The root cause of these states of mind stems from ignorance, uncertainty, and craving. Because of our ignorance of the non-existence of a permanent self, we believe in our ego and this belief gives rise to craving. We are filled with insatiable desires and fear of losing that we will face ‘bad luck’.
So what do we do? We turn instinctively to our animistic past and depend on special talismans and amulets (eg. The Jatukarm Ramathep talisman) to protect us. The Buddha has clearly stated that external objects are not strong enough to protect those whose minds are weak and confused. Our only security is to take refuge in our knowledge of the truth and in our realization of the true nature of the self and other phenomena. Once we understand that there is no reality in a self that can be harmed, we become secure and confident. No harm can come to him who is unafraid, or unselfish.
Originally uploaded by: Roli Schoenholzer
It is common practice among many Asian communities to think that they are the victims of black magic and charms whenever they face some unhappy experiences in their lives. At the slightest indication that something unpleasant has happened they would often run off to consult seers, astrologers, mediums, and ‘bomohs’.
Of course, the livelihood of these vendors of magic and charms depends on telling their customers that something is wrong or that some evil forces have been employed by someone to bring about their family misfortune. They then claim to be able to counteract these evil forces and charge large sums of money by promising to ‘cure’ them. More often than not, the only effect is that these unsuspecting victims end up becoming lighter in their pocket and as a result are none the wiser for their experience.
I once wrote a post on “Laser Art of the Jatukarm Ramathep Lucky Charm”, and now I want to write about “The Jatukarm Ramathep Lucky Charm Fever,” but first let me give you a little history of the legend, and who is Jatukarm Ramathep?
There are many legends about the origins of Jatukham Rammathep, the name used to identify a certain kind of amulet, but it is generally agreed that it goes way back in the mists of time, long before the northern kingdoms emerged.
Perhaps the most credible account is provided by late crime-buster Phantharak Rajjadej, who helped to create the famous amulets, as described in an almanac authored by Seawrite Award winner Jamlong Fangchollajit, a native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where the history of it is set.
Jatukham Rammathep is two people, not one. The names are the aliases of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasoke realm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after his father who founded it.
When I saw a post at Sim’s blog this morning about Graffiti Research Tags Buildings With L.A.S.E.R. TAG, I thought it was rather cool and interesting, then when I saw it being used to draw image of Jatukarm Ramathep on a building in Bangkok, Thailand, which is one of the biggest symbols there is, I thought people have gone mad. There will be a ceremony performed on the 84th floor.
Jatukarm Ramathep is one of the hottest lucky charms at the moment; I’ve noticed that even Id, lead singer of Pong Lang Sa On was wearing a huge one on Friday. People in Thailand are crazy for Jatukarm Ramathep, why?…because it’s guaranteed to make them rich. I’ve noticed that they were selling it at the Wat (temple) also, my GI Joe sister even has one, and she wouldn’t want to miss her opportunity of becoming rich.
Continued from Part II, Article from Kwanruen Magazine, written in Thai language by Mayavadee, translated by Nye.
You’re familiar with your own shadow…what about a shadow of your life? Have you ever seen it nor aware of its existent?
You see your own shadow, from your physical being, from the reflection in the water, from the reflection in the shiny metal, then most often, from the reflection that you see everyday in the mirror. You look at your outer appearance, as if to look for beauty, which is given to you by nature, but it seems that you’re not pleased with what nature has given you. What is beauty? All varies according to regions I’m afraid; beauty to one person might not be to another, that’s why beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Where does it all begin? Let us start with the sunlight, it has not just provided us with brightness, without sunlight no life would have came into being on your planet; it’s in many ways essential to your existence here on earth. Light rays form waves and carry energy; some light has long waves and does not carry much energy, other light has short waves, very close together, that carry lots of energy, which may be harmful such as the ultraviolet light. Don’t be surprised that I know about light; since I’m a spirit, an energy form, then light should be something that I’m familiar with, a second nature to me.
I should be the one asking you a question, ‘Why do you not know your own spirit?’
Continued from Part I, Article from Kwanruen Magazine, written in Thai language by Mayavadee, translated by Nye.
Those that committed Borb (sin) will definitely pay for their actions; all living creatures in this world will revolve around their Gomh (sin), sort of like the circle of life. You must have faith, many Buddhas have had shown us that by properly training oneself, one can reach the state of nirvana, therefore you should ask yourself, do you have faith in yourself?
Your understanding of the truth is your business, not mine, but have you once asked yourself what is the truth?
I’ll explain it to you, knowledge of the truth may be of 2 kinds, the first, knowledge consisting in understanding, and the second, knowledge consisting in penetration, e.g. realization. Amongst these, knowledge consisting in understanding is mundane and it’s arising with regard to the extinction of suffering, and to the path, is due to hearsay, therefore not due to one’s realization of the super mundane path. Knowledge consisting in penetration however is super mundane with the extinction of suffering as object, it penetrates with its functions of the 4 truths (in one and the same moment), as it is said, “Whosoever, O monks, understand suffering, he also understands the origin of suffering, the extinction of suffering and the path leading to the extinction of suffering.” On the other hand, the knowledge of the mundane kinds, the knowledge of suffering by which various prejudices are overcome, dispels the personality-belief; the knowledge of the origin of suffering, dispels the annihilation-view; the knowledge of extinction of suffering, the eternity-view; the knowledge of the path, the view of inefficacy of action.
To understand where spirits come from you must fist have tranquility (which lead to understanding the 5 groups of existence), and insight.
Then you have to ask, ‘What are they?’
See, human came up with these terminologies, at the end; you are stuck with your own language.
TheQiupster comment: …I have wondered about spirits and hell - and how to avoid hell...Boon loy (100) vhan is design to avoid hell and it is a hectic event, I know.
I like to comment on this a bit, from what I understand, Boun isn’t designed to avoid hell, it’s designed to increase karma, happiness, prosperity, and lessen suffering, for both the living and passed love ones. Borp (sin) is designed to avoid hell, if you don’t want to go to hell, then don’t commit these Borp (sins.) below,
In standard religious Buddhism committing one of these five or seven sins is said to earn one a place in the lowest and worst of the hell realms, which are not harming sentient beings, not stealing, not lying, not indulging in improper sexual acts, and becoming intoxicated. Lastly, the most deadly or heinous sin of all are killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, shedding the blood of a Buddha, destroying the harmony of the monastic order (the sangha), and either killing a Buddhist saint (arhat) and/or destroying Buddhist scriptures and statues.
From the last sermon that I gathered, if I understood correctly, there are 3 types of Borp (sin), the first type if you committed, you have to pay for it in your next life, second type if committed, you have a chance to Tum Boun (good deed) to replace or lessen the sin, third type if you committed, you have to pay for it in this life, this is when Lao people said ‘Borp Tun Ta Henh’, what goes around, comes around.
What kind of expectation do people have when they Tum Boun? What does Boun look like? Where does Boun go? In addition, how does Boun get there? It’d be a lot easier to see if Boun has physical appearance, and we can actually see that it gets to where we intent for it to go, this is the part that faith comes into play. We all have faith that when we Tum Boun, the Boun would some how get to that person, whether it’s for yourself, your love one, passed love one, or generally given to all living creatures (dead or alive) and wandering spirits. Just because we Tum Boun, doesn’t mean that it’ll go to those that I’ve just mentioned above, there has to be a messenger that deliver the Boun and many times we’d hear it in the chanting of offering of Boun; which is to ask the person to come and receive the Boun, and for some unknown reason as to why that person can’t come, then we’d invite Tavarda (angel from above), and Ma Jour Tor Ra Nee (mother earth from below) to deliver a message to that person (mention name) to come and receive the Boun. Some of us might remember the ceremony of water pouring called Yord Nom. Have you ever wondered why we’ve to pour the water while the monks were chanting and after that, we’d pour the water outside, normally to a huge tree or bush. This is a way to communicate with Ma Jour Tor Ra Nee (mother earth) because when we pour the water on to earth, we’d ask her to deliver the message of Boun to our passed love ones, make sure you mention name(s), very important, so they can come and receive their Boun.
Therefore, that’s how the Boun gets to your passed love ones, when you Tum Boun 100 Vanh, but if you don’t offer it to anyone, then it’s mainly for yourself, and some people when they Tum Boun, they actually want the Boun for themselves, let us just say, still have greed for Boun. If your passed love ones are at a stage that they can’t come to receive their Boun, whether it’s because they’re up above in heaven at the stage of Ni Phan (nirvana, no longer suffering) , or reincarnated into another life form, then what would happen to the Boun? Where will it go? In a situation such as this, then the Boun would come back to the offered, which is nice to know that it’s not a waste. As a Buddhist, it’s good to Tum Boun in the form of Tuk Badt, it’s believed by many that it’s a Boun of life, that they’ll live a long and healthy life; which technically speaking, by Tuk Badt, they’re offering foods to the monks to sustain their livelihoods.
The money tree looks beautiful, and NO, money doesn’t grow on tree at our house, if it does at yours, please let me know, the soil must be extremely rich. The money tree is called Tonh Ga La Pirk, we’d commonly seen at home that Tum Boun; this would give friends and families the opportunity to Tum Boun with the host; offering their money by hanging it on the tree. The tree is then offered as part of the donation to the temple(s), which I think is a nice gesture, and what amount you’re offering is up to you. Some people believe that if you Tum Boun with someone, then maybe you’ll see them again in your next life, and of course, this is a common belief among Buddhists.
Tuk Badt is another task that we’ve commonly seen in Boun 100 Vanh, or other Boun events. Some might ask if it’s a requirement for Boun 100 Vanh, the answer is no; Tuk Badt is another form of Tum Boun and offering to our passed love ones, using the monks as the median. Back in Laos, it is required daily task for monks to go and Bin Ta Badt (morning alms), and have to walk bare feet, which seems cruel, but that’s one of the many sacrifices that they made when vowed into monkshood, to give up of material possessions. It warms my heart to see people offering foods to the monks by Tuk Badt (morning alms), of course everyone have their own reasoning as to why they are doing it. Some might Tuk Badt because they don’t want the monks to have to worry about their next meal, their time should be utilized in teaching Tum Mah (Buddhist religion), which I think it’s a very good idea. Some might Tum Boun for themselves, to increase their Karma, which after Tuk Badt, the monks would normally give blessing. Others are less selfish and would Tum Boun for their passed love ones, or Jour Gum Nye Vain (animals that we ate, asking for forgiveness), then the monks would perform a mini ceremony, and this is when you’d pour water 
called Goud Nom Pra Maid Ta to mother earth so she can tell your passed love ones, or Jour Gum Nye Vain to come and receive their Boun. Since isn’t convenient for monks to Bin Ta Badt (morning alms) in the US, or other foreign countries because our Lao community is so scattered, most people then would incorporate Tuk Badt when ever they Tum Boun, whether it’s Boun 100 Vanh, or Buddha House Blessing. At my mom Boun 100 Vanh, we also had Tuk Badt. If you Tum Boun and invite more than 5 monks, it’s called Sunka Tarn, which is considered a mega Boun event, at my mom Boun 100 Vanh; we had 6 monks, as Cathy would say ‘We did her HONOR.’ If you are going to Tum Boun, aim high and shoot for Sunka Tarn, in our case, we just got lucky.
Prah Gun Taid (offering of money for the monk sermon in a bowl) is another that we’ve had seen in any Boun, and Boun 100 Vanh is no exception. When we’re offering money for this, we’re Tum Boun for knowledge, the offered believe that they’ll become smarter either in this life, if not, I guess settle for next life, let us just say it’s a wishful thinking. As for me, I’m just hoping for knowledge for this life, more or less understanding the current sermon was all I’m asking. One of the sermons was about finding the truth; people would search high and low to find the true meaning of life, and happiness. No need to search further, we don’t need to look far, just look inside, look at oneself; you have the answer, if you’re happy with yourself, that’s your answer, but first you have to understand yourself. I think it’s a very simple concept but most people can’t get this because they live in a material world and think that material possessions will make them happy, life long quest for happiness, sad but true.
Just because we Tum Boun 100 Vanh for our passed love ones, doesn’t mean that Tum Boun has to end there. Some people would Tum Boun every year, and call it Buddha House Blessing. If it’s not convenient to do it at home, then many people find that a temple is a better place to Tum Boun, it’s called Sunka Tarn, and can be done more than once a year. Any types of Boun, including Boun 100 Vanh is a part of our Buddhist tradition, it is something that we should preserve and pass down to younger generations, and I hope that this will give you a better understanding as to why we Tum Boun, especially Boun 100 Vanh.
It has been over 100 days since my mom passed away, it’s also our tradition to show respect by having a memorial service for her which Lao people called it Boun 100 Vanh. As I was talking to different Laotians, old and young, surprisingly they knew very little, and pretty much explained that it’s our tradition and have been passing down for generations. For some, this might be a good enough explanation, but it’s not for me, I want to understand why I’m doing it, my mom is very special to us, and it’s very important for me to understand the event, she won’t be ‘past-tense’ to any of us, because she is a part of us. Since her death, I have many friends that gave me great comfort, some by their kind words, and others by patiently listen. The greatest comfort of all came from one of our local monks by high ranking of Maha that lead the service at my mom Boun 100 Vanh this past Sunday. His words of wisdom has touched our hearts when he said to us ‘even though your mom passed, but she’s always a part of you, your bone structure is a gift from your dad, and the mass and liquid forms of your body are of your mom.’ So if one day you’d ask me, where is my mom? I’ll remember to tell you that she’s with me, today, tomorrow, and always.
Since my mom’s funeral, I’ve been visiting several temples and spoke to numerous monks and some of them thought that it’s almost comical that I’ve had so many questions, some even jokingly asked if I’m a reporter, and if I do make any money for me to donate to the temple. I thought about submitting to a Lao magazine, which means that I won’t be able to publish on my blog, but money is not everything to me, and this post is worth a lot to us; no amount of money would be worth the content of my understanding of Boun 100 Vanh, and special thanks to our local temples for doing such good job in explaining, and performing the ceremony of Boun 100 Vanh for my mom.
For most of us, we don’t normally think about death. When my mom passed, her body turned cold, I never gave much thought why? There’s a good reason why, each of our body are made up of 4 elements, such as earth, water, wind, and fire (everybody’s make up vary according to the region that you were born, which I posted this at Foods From Nature); when a person died, these elements left the body therefore turned cold. For a second there, it might seem ridiculous but it’s so true, and I’ve never thought of it that way before. For a traditional Laotian funeral service, there’s very specific detail as to how a body is being marched to the cemetery, or the crematory site. For some, you might remember this ‘4 Kone Homh (carry), 3 Kone Haih (parade), 1 Kone Nung Krah (sit on the mantle), and 2 Kone Nom Thung (lead the way). Of course, you don’t see this in most Laotian ‘traditional’ funeral services, but what we’ve common seen were the monks leading (seems the more, the better), followed by novice monks (same deal here, the more, the merry), white mai chee (white nuns), the casket, then followed by people (large crowd shown that a person was well respected by the Lao community.) There’re no specific in detail of 4, 3, 1, 2, and most people might not know what I’m talking about; but some might understand the basic terminology because of Lao wordings, but the true meaning of them, I think not.
After hearing the explanations from Maha monk, made perfectly sense to me. The term 4 Kone Homh, why 4 people have to carry the casket, simple reason, the 4 elements that made up a person, which are earth, water, wind, and fire. Why 3 Kone Haih, parade of 3 people behind the casket, symbolize the basic reality of life, no matter who you are, rich or poor, we can’t escape the reality of ‘impermanent, suffering, non-self.’ 1 Kone Nung Krah, would appear to be the body in the casket, but it’s actually our spirit, each only has 1, which immediately leaves our body after we die. Lastly, Why 2 Kone Nom Thung, the casket should only be lead by 2 people, which represent Borb (sin) and Boun (karma, or good deed), where you go from here is lead by your Borb and Boun. So after a person die, there’s no need for the body, leaving it at home would only create problems for the living, this was the explanation given to us by Maha monk, seems cruel to think this way, especially when referring to my mom, but really, it’s so true.
Most Lao people would say Boun 100 Vanh is to Tum Boun (offering of charity to our love ones that passed), which is nothing wrong to think this way, even though there’s more to it. In Lao and Thai tradition, after a person passed, there’s a service at 7 days called Jack Kao, at 50 days as Boun, which it’s not commonly known to most people, and 100 days, which we called Boun 100 Vanh. As for the Thai belief, I read once that after a person died, its like a (long) sleep, s/he’d wake up at 7 days, 50 days, and 100 days and that’s why the Boun are held on these days; but Lao people don’t share this belief. As for my mom Boun 100 Vanh is a Lao tradition, a memorial service in remembrance of my mom, 100 days followed her death, hoping that the Boun that we’re offering to her, will lead her the way, if she is currently suffering, to help alleviate, and if she’s at peace, then to help her achieves even more. As for the point of view of foreigners of all the services that we did for my mom; which my mom’s hospice nurse Cathy nicely put it, ‘You all did her HONOR’; every time I heard those words, I can’t help to feel that what we did for my mom were very noble; her words were comforting to us, which managed to bring tears of mixed emotions every time. As to my mom, Cathy was her angel, my mom felt so blessed to have known her, even at her final moment, she spoke about going to visit Thailand with Cathy, which clearly shown that she was a special person to my mom, and we all feel the same way; thank you for bringing comfort to my mom at her final moment.
Continued at Boun 100 Vanh, A Memorial Service For My Mom – Part II
I attended my first 2 years of high school in NYC, and have a Vietnamese friend that I found her to be a bit odd, but yet very interesting. There was one time that she wrote a letter to her family for them to open in the event of her death. She said that you never know, what will happen if you die unexpectedly, at least you have a chance to say good-bye to them and they’ll know how you truly feel about them. It was difficult for me to read her letter, and I’m not sure how she wrote it without crying, I don’t think that I could do it. Her letter described in detail of what she was leaving for her family in the event of her death, and how much she loves them; and my name was in there too, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what she was leaving for me. I moved to a different state and completed my high school there, and by the time, I moved back to NYC for college, she went away for college like many of my friends. I’ve not kept in touch with her, or heard from her since. I often wonder from time to time what she’s been doing or where she’s living now.
What made me think of her is this article that I’m reading, it’s from Kwanruen Magazine, written in Thai language by Mayavadee, which after I finished reading it, I’m still a bit confused, really can’t make heads or tails. I’m translating it and it’s very difficult to translate because of her usage of words and almost talking in riddles, but you can tell me what you all think of it. It was called a letter to your spirit or a letter to yourself.
These art works were hand painted by Thai Artists from Thailand. Art work at Wat Lao Buddhavong of Washington DC
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I think most Lao and Thai people have a Buddha mantle or ‘hing pra’ in their house, most house that I visited anyway. The ‘hing pra’ would be at the eastern part of the room or house. Some Lao or Thai people even have a room in their house just for Buddha statues; they called this ‘houng pra’. When I visited a temple several weeks ago, I’ve also noticed that there were many Buddha statues, and most temple have a room designated just for this. Some Buddha statues have round heads, commonly seen in Japan and some have pointy-heads, which is something that the Lao and Thai people are familiar with. The monk at the temple (Wat) explained to me that the pointy-head symbolizes bright, or smart (houw lam).
I’ve noticed that more and more westerners are using Buddha statues as art, decorating their house in Zen style, whether it’s out in the garden, inside a house, some even use it as a hat, or coat rack. I don’t know how some Buddhists feel about this, but I feel a bit sad that people misused the Buddha statues, to the point of abusive, in my humble personal opinion. When I see Buddha statues at a department store or a garden, I want to take them away from those places because I feel like they don’t belong there. I want to put them somewhere that is a bit higher than where they are, I guess it’s a bit selfish on my part but I just don’t like to see Buddha statues as a display or decorative items. I can’t imagine what kind of collection I’ll have if I end up buying all that I see. I guess if I have too many, I can always donate the statues to the temple and they can turn around and give it to those that truly want it for worshiping. My dad received a Buddha statue from a temple (Wat) not too long ago, of course you can’t buy anything from a temple, you have to ‘Bu Sah’, which means you make payment (or offering) in the form of donation, there’s no set amount, you give according to what you have, whether it’s $1, or $100, what you offer is up to you.
I found an interesting article in Kullastree Magazine, written by Thienchai Easondath in Thai language, which gives people an odd reason why people should not commit suicide. Personally, I think that there’s always an answer to a problem, you just have to take a step back to be able to see it. I think that committing suicide should not be an answer to any problem, if anything it only creates more problems for those that are still living. Read on to see what this article has to say about why people should not commit suicide.
In modern Thai society, the majority of people think that they only live in this life time, and only live for a few people around them, if life gets tough, some might think that committing suicide is an easy way out, put an end to all problems. There are many reasons why modern people commit suicide, such as they think that they are not important to anyone, no significant impact if they are no longer in this world, and there’s no reason why they have to continue with their suffering. Another twisted reason is revenge, hurt or killed themselves because they are the love of the person that they are revenging. This one is classic among Japanese fighters, committing suicide to restore their pride, especially if they lost in a battle, it is an honorable thing to do. For whatever reason, people will try to justify why it’s okay for them to commit suicide, and their reasoning might varies and seems like a good idea at the time.
Thai and Lao way of life and traditional have a strong belief why a person should not commit suicide. From a religious point of view, ‘committing suicide is a sin’, which is a way to prevent people from taking their own life. From the perspective of those that don’t have much personal problem, they think that those that kill themselves only think in short term, Thai and Lao traditions believe that life is longer than the time we are here on earth, there’s the past life, the present life, and the future life, therefore it’s a long journey that have no ending. Worst, our religion, Buddhism also stress that committing suicide is a sin (gum), therefore every life you will end up committing suicide and the vicious cycle will never end, until you come to realization and able to pass that past sin (gum gao).
I recently visited Wat Lao Buddhavong of Washington D.C., and thanks to the link[sorry no new link] from the old Laoplanet, I was able to get the address and driving direction. I borrow many interesting books, which I hope to be able to share with everyone but regret that they don’t have as many varieties of books like the wat in Long Island, NY.
There’s one chanting that most, whether if you are Laotian or Thai would be familiar with, which is Buddhabbigiti Supreme Chanting to the Lord Buddha. I recalled that I was able to only chant ‘Namo Tassa Bhagavato, Arahato, Sammasambuddhasa (3X),’ and everything else I had to keep my head low because of embarrassment of not being able to do a simple chanting. I think if you are considering yourself a Buddhist, you should at least be able to chant these verses. I personally will be learning these verse, and hope that the next time I will be able to chant with every one else as well. see the rest of Buddhabhigiti, Supreme Chanting to the Lord Buddha chanting.
Below are pictures taken at Wat Lao Buddhavong.
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