Showing 41 - 50 of 83
When faith enables fraud
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 05/09/2016
» Faith is an important factor in our decision to hold someone or something to our hearts, or turn our back on them and walk away. As far as a religion is concerned, however, faith must go hand in hand with wisdom, or else it might easily become blind faith.
Demerit for 'just' good intentions
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 16/05/2016
» Making merit is a good deed and deserves praise. In some cases, however, what we believe is a meritorious action might turn out to be flawed and frowned upon by others. An interesting recent example of this is the story of a monk releasing 100kg of fish into the river, causing an uproar on social media.
Beware the ticking time bomb
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 27/05/2016
» What happens to books that are precariously stacked in a big pile if one more is added to the top? Is it bound to come crashing down? In a similar sense, what is likely to happen when a person, who suppresses his or her anger, reaches boiling point?
Earthly matters and the role of religion
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 21/03/2016
» Most Thai Buddhists are relieved after the government decided to shelve the Sangha Supreme Council's (SSC) nomination of Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, or Somdet Chuang, as the new supreme patriarch. The move was triggered by his alleged involvement with a luxury car tax evasion scam.
Crime and no punishment
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 05/01/2016
» Last month I was surprised to see two people I know win big in the lottery. My brother won the fourth prize and got 200,000 baht, and a colleague at work was blessed with 2 million baht.
Damaging the good name of Buddhism
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 26/01/2016
» The Sangha Supreme Council's (SSC) nomination of Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn or Somdet Chuang to be the next supreme patriarch has sparked a series of heated debates and stirred up concerns in our Buddhist community over the weeks. The row mainly focuses on whether the 90-year-old monk who is abbot of Wat Pak Nam is truly qualified for the top job.
Your guess is as good as my fortune teller's
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 24/11/2015
» The Thai saying "mordoo mak koo kab mordao" roughly translates as "fortune-telling and guessing are often inseparable". In many cases, however, the practice can also be a simple case of downright deception.
Respecting the monkhood
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 21/10/2015
» Everyone knows that religion is a delicate subject but when an issue concerning Buddhism arises, not many of us look at it with sensitivity. The case in point is the controversy over the movie Arbat (which is now called Arpat), which threw a lot of Thai Buddhists into heated debate for weeks after the release of its trailer last month.
Accepting impermanence
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 19/08/2015
» Everybody dies, sooner or later. This is a fact of life we must learn to accept. But it isn't easy when we lose a loved one to suicide. The shocking news of musician Prachathip "Singha" Musikapong's jump to death late last month saddened many people. His story made headlines for an entire week and the pictures of his family, girlfriend, friends and fans shedding tears at his funeral were very touching.
Growing surrogate pains
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 10/09/2015
» It's normal for a loving heterosexual couple to want a baby to fulfil their dreams of starting a family together. But when a gay couple tries to make the same dream come true, things get complicated.