Driving to the GM factory in Rayong today was an enlightening experience for me. Seeing me read the scriptures while driving to the Factory, Kalos, my Thai coworker, brought up the topic of religion. While he was politely disinterested in Christianity, I learned a lot about Buddhism from our conversation.
First, I learned that Buddhism requires Thai men to become temporary monks during their lives. Much like how LDS members go on missions at 19 or 21, so Thai monks usually become a monk at 20 years old. Ideally, the Thai believer is a monk for 3 months, but this time can vary depending on the situation. At an earlier lunch, I learned that another coworker was only a monk for seven days. Kalos, on the other hand, was a monk for several months.
Being a monk is not easy. Each Thai person has 5 rules to live by—much like the 10 commandments that is expected of Christians. Stealing, lying, killing, drinking and committing adultery are all discouraged by the five basic Buddhist rules. Being a Monk, however, is more difficult to live by: the rule list expands from 5 to 227. These additional rules include waking up early to say prayers, shaving the head, and wearing orange robes. Celibacy is taken to the extreme; not only are monks not to have spouses, but they are forbidden to touch a female. If a woman is presenting a gift to a monk, it is custom to set the present on the floor first. If a gift were given hand to hand this would leave a slight, unacceptable possibility of touching a monk’s hand. Also, monks are not allowed to eat after lunch (incidentally, this is why one coworker was only a monk for seven days—he says he couldn’t stand being hungry all the time!)
While monks exist in Catholicism, monks play a much larger role in Thai life than for the average Catholic. For instance, Mink, the secretary in the PR office, has a brother who has decided to become a monk for life. She sees him on occasion, but the rules for monks prevent her from hugging or having a meaningful conversation with her brother. Kalos, my other coworker, tells of his girlfriend’s father who is a monk. After being married for a time, the father decided to renounce his past and join the monk fellowship. Monks are common in Thai culture, whereas they are very minimal in western culture. While I consider becoming a monk to be an inefficient use of time and energy, my coworkers have great respect and admiration for those who enter the Buddhist service full-time.
First, I learned that Buddhism requires Thai men to become temporary monks during their lives. Much like how LDS members go on missions at 19 or 21, so Thai monks usually become a monk at 20 years old. Ideally, the Thai believer is a monk for 3 months, but this time can vary depending on the situation. At an earlier lunch, I learned that another coworker was only a monk for seven days. Kalos, on the other hand, was a monk for several months.
Being a monk is not easy. Each Thai person has 5 rules to live by—much like the 10 commandments that is expected of Christians. Stealing, lying, killing, drinking and committing adultery are all discouraged by the five basic Buddhist rules. Being a Monk, however, is more difficult to live by: the rule list expands from 5 to 227. These additional rules include waking up early to say prayers, shaving the head, and wearing orange robes. Celibacy is taken to the extreme; not only are monks not to have spouses, but they are forbidden to touch a female. If a woman is presenting a gift to a monk, it is custom to set the present on the floor first. If a gift were given hand to hand this would leave a slight, unacceptable possibility of touching a monk’s hand. Also, monks are not allowed to eat after lunch (incidentally, this is why one coworker was only a monk for seven days—he says he couldn’t stand being hungry all the time!)
While monks exist in Catholicism, monks play a much larger role in Thai life than for the average Catholic. For instance, Mink, the secretary in the PR office, has a brother who has decided to become a monk for life. She sees him on occasion, but the rules for monks prevent her from hugging or having a meaningful conversation with her brother. Kalos, my other coworker, tells of his girlfriend’s father who is a monk. After being married for a time, the father decided to renounce his past and join the monk fellowship. Monks are common in Thai culture, whereas they are very minimal in western culture. While I consider becoming a monk to be an inefficient use of time and energy, my coworkers have great respect and admiration for those who enter the Buddhist service full-time.
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