During my latest visit to Wat Pa Sukato, I observed something that I found odd. I met two girls (in their 20s and 30s) who said that they have no idea when they'll leave; they'd like to stay as long as they could. One just quit her job, and another hasn't had one yet.
The girls look like an urban-hippie type: cute, friendly, helpful, idealistic, educated, practicing dhamma, loving nature and respecting poor folks (รักธรรมชาติและไม่ดูถูกคนจน), and (in my eyes) living in their own worlds. I guess, in a way, I fit into that type too (except the cute and friendly parts), but I feel I'm too sarcastic and too old to be so dreamy...
I wonder if these girls are common in this generation. I'm not sure if it was Ajahn Kovit Anakachai who said that, in Theravada Buddhism (e.g., as practiced in Thailand), realizing dhamma is an individualistic endeavor. But in Mahayana, it's broader; a Tibetan monk (lama) can be married or lives in celibacy. The recent rise in popularity of Vipassana meditation retreats is probably because the idea of evading from this society, go and hide somewhere, and search for "the truth" fits into their romantic ideals. Is the yearning to be anywhere but here healthy? I mean, for themselves and to the society as a whole?
Of course, the probability of everyone living sparingly in monasteries for the rest of their lives is almost zero. But if "good folks" refuse to take any actions but shut themselves off, what happen to the rest? If capable persons don't take up responsibilities, who would?
For any types of practices (Vipassana, yoga), challenges and difficulties are necessary to achieve progress. I'm not saying that living a monastic life is easy; people who live there can be as insane and nonsensical as anywhere else, but the chance of running into these weirdos are quite slim in monasteries. Well, I take it back, I guess craziness takes different forms in there...
I wrote this post as a way to ponder about this issue. It helps me reflect about my own motivation...
Another insightful comments that I heard was that, actually, most rural folks in Thailand already live "sufficiently," in a sense of never going hungry. Thus, the idea of sufficient economy does not appeal to them because if they live that way, they can't get a new house, buy electric appliances, or own a pickup truck. If they grow cash crops that quickly rips nutrients off the soils, the money gained allow them to live an urban lifestyle like they've seen on TVs.
I was like, hmm, I never think of it that way before... Perhaps the idea of sufficient economy is another romantic concept that urbanites have and impose on the rest of the people...
The girls look like an urban-hippie type: cute, friendly, helpful, idealistic, educated, practicing dhamma, loving nature and respecting poor folks (รักธรรมชาติและไม่ดูถูกคนจน), and (in my eyes) living in their own worlds. I guess, in a way, I fit into that type too (except the cute and friendly parts), but I feel I'm too sarcastic and too old to be so dreamy...
I wonder if these girls are common in this generation. I'm not sure if it was Ajahn Kovit Anakachai who said that, in Theravada Buddhism (e.g., as practiced in Thailand), realizing dhamma is an individualistic endeavor. But in Mahayana, it's broader; a Tibetan monk (lama) can be married or lives in celibacy. The recent rise in popularity of Vipassana meditation retreats is probably because the idea of evading from this society, go and hide somewhere, and search for "the truth" fits into their romantic ideals. Is the yearning to be anywhere but here healthy? I mean, for themselves and to the society as a whole?
Of course, the probability of everyone living sparingly in monasteries for the rest of their lives is almost zero. But if "good folks" refuse to take any actions but shut themselves off, what happen to the rest? If capable persons don't take up responsibilities, who would?
For any types of practices (Vipassana, yoga), challenges and difficulties are necessary to achieve progress. I'm not saying that living a monastic life is easy; people who live there can be as insane and nonsensical as anywhere else, but the chance of running into these weirdos are quite slim in monasteries. Well, I take it back, I guess craziness takes different forms in there...
I wrote this post as a way to ponder about this issue. It helps me reflect about my own motivation...
Another insightful comments that I heard was that, actually, most rural folks in Thailand already live "sufficiently," in a sense of never going hungry. Thus, the idea of sufficient economy does not appeal to them because if they live that way, they can't get a new house, buy electric appliances, or own a pickup truck. If they grow cash crops that quickly rips nutrients off the soils, the money gained allow them to live an urban lifestyle like they've seen on TVs.
I was like, hmm, I never think of it that way before... Perhaps the idea of sufficient economy is another romantic concept that urbanites have and impose on the rest of the people...
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