Some Thoughts about Thailand
In Thailand the poorest people are generally the kindest.
Monks in Thailand are ranked in terms of popularity
not unlike the way athletes are ranked in other countries.
In a nation with over 200,000 Buddhist monks,
why are Buddhist nuns so rare?
In a nation where 5% of the people own over 70% of the wealth,
any semblance of a democracy is likely to be superficial.
If a nation has more coup de etats than constitutional changes,
any talk of democracy should be regarded with skepticism.
In many parts of Thailand, the police are simply uniformed gangsters.
The Buddhist Church in Thailand serves a role not unlike the Church of England in the U.K.:
cementing orthodoxy, empowering the royalty,
and offering perfunctory services for the poor.
Les, bi, trans, or gay seem perfectly O.K. if you smile in a Thai way.
One measure of the wealth of a nation is the ability of its people to smile.
In this sense, many Thais are rich.
The elite of Bangkok are not unlike Boston brahmins who regard
the rest of their nation as a bunch of primitive hillbillys.
Buddhism is a jewel, but is valuable only to those who acknowledge it.
And the non-Buddhists in Thailand would be better off if the Thai church and state
were separate. Come to think of it, this is a good idea in general.
Let people pray untainted by any political or worldly ambitions.
