Former monk on armed mission

Bangkok Post ^ | Tuesday 01 November 2005 | WASSANA NANUAM JETJARAS NA RANONG

[ctdonath2]

"When you're good, you don't have to be violent. The technique almost takes the volence out of it."
- Announcer of the '94 Ultimate Fighting Championship

[festus]

Sounds like this buddhist finally became enlightened.

[killjoy]

This is actually a non-story. Monks and Buddhism in Thailand can't really be compared to western religion. In western Christian religions, when you become a Priest, it is done for life... or at least a large portion of your life. In Thailand, this also happens where someone will devote their lives to Buddhism and become a Monk until old age.

More commonly, a Thai will become a Monk more for tradition than because they actually want to be a Monk. This is done for a variety of cultural reasons. One of the biggest is to make 'merit' for their parents. It is also done for auspicious reasons such as a death in the family, before getting married, etc... This temporary Monkhood can last anywhere from a day to a few weeks, months, or years.

Keep in mind that every Buddhist Thai male has at one point in time been a 'Monk'. This includes Thais serving in the police and military.

If this story was about someone who had been a Monk for years and then went and did this, yes it is newsworthy. Since the article doesn't make mention of this, I highly doubt it is the case. This article is no different than a paper in the US printing the headline, "High School Graduate Decides To Join The Army".

[jaguaretype]

Grasshoppa is that you?

[correctthought]

If I'm not mistaken, weren't the first Hundred disciples of Buddha, warriors? And wasn't Buddha himself trained as a warrior?

[injin]

If I'm not mistaken, weren't the first Hundred disciples of Buddha, warriors? And wasn't Buddha himself trained as a warrior?

no & no again
the Prince Siddhartha was trained in a princely manner to
go thru the motions , but I do not think anything hard core.
He was the apple of his Daddy's eye (the King)
The business of a warrior is to kill , the King of the Shakyas did not want his boy becoming acquainted with Death , as he remembered the Sage's prophesy about the possibility of the baby boy becoming a great renunciate.
The first 'disciples' were fellow sadhus and various other
scholars and guru groupie types , a few Brahmin's and some
merchants and the like .
Maybe you are thinking of later , the Great King Asoka ?
After leading his Mauryan people to conquer most of India
he experienced a revelation after speaking to a monk after a great battle , wherein the monk ask him : " O Great King , you have such power! You have put to death so many thousands of men , can you bring the life back to this one child?"
(holding up a dead baby) Of course he could not and that started him on the way to becoming the worlds foremost Buddhist practitioner and peaceful monarch of his time.

[Cronos]

Buddhists can open up a can of whoop-ass when they need to.

They and Hindus pretty much have the same attitude as Christians -- live and let live. You want to follow your religion, fine, let me follow mine. But the slammies are different.

[Cronos]

The original martial arts specialists were the Shaolin Buddhist Monks. Buddhism is not necessarily a pacifist religion. It practically invented the arts of self defense against political tyrants.

Well, the Shaolin are actually latecomers -- the first martial arts was developed in, surprise, surprise, Southern India, in Kerala. This "Kalaripayattu" was taken by the Buddhist missionaries from India (remember that Buddha was born and taught and lived his entire life in India. After his death in the 6th century BC, Buddhism spread in India until the Emperor Asoka, who conquered most of what is now the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan) and parts of Burma, Iran, Tibet etc. converted to Buddhism and sent missionaries to all parts of Asia -- including central Asia, China, South east asia etc.).

The Missionaries spread Indian culture and martial arts to the rest of Asia.

Kalaripayattu

[Cronos]

This is how Buddhism found it's way to Tibet and SEA , via fleeing practitioners!

aCtually you're wrong -- it spread to those lands, much earlier -- 3 centuries before Christ and 1 millenium before Mad Mo.

Also, Buddhism was diminished in India by 300 AD because the Gupta Emperors who came to power followed Brahminical Hinduism -- Hinduism clawed it's way back and converted most Buddhists back, this was done peacefully.

But you are right about the Muslimess treating Buddhists badly.

[injin]

ever been to Nalanda ? I have ...there was nothing peaceful
about the islamic invasion that swept over that place.

[Cronos]

I may be wrong. Let me read up some more. If you have any links, I would be grateful if you could share them.

[injin]

I am not learning this stuff off the Internet
I go to India and see for myself and learn the history
first hand .
and...I also may be wrong as you point out .
It all happened in phases , but ; the great Buddhist
College of Nalanda was wiped out by moslems not hindus
and all the great monks and teachers scattered or killed.
So many originated there , but never after....
I have been there , I have seen it with my own eyes.
It's like Bamiyan . 'They' have been up to this
business of theirs for centuries...
It has to end .