Had Yai Siam Teng for coffin donation.
__________________
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
another coffin donation at Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok)
Sources: http://blog.tourismthailand.org/EugeneTang/?p=781/
Merit Making:Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) – Offering a coffin for a good cause
October 28th, 2008 at 12:04am |
Merit Making:Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) – Offering a coffin for a good cause
Making merit is a way of life for most Thai people. There are many ways of making merit in Thailand such as giving alms to monks and setting captured animals free??but coffin donation is unique to me. An old Thai proverb says : if you do good you will receive good; if you do evil you will receive evil. Making merit is a good way to accuminate good Karma for present and next life.
Besides paying respect to Four-Faced Buddha and Guan Yin Chao Mae, coffin donation to the less privileged has become part of travel routine in Bangkok.
Merit Making:Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) -Making a donation
Ruamkatanyu Foundation is located above San Yan Station (Underground subway) next to Wat Hua Lampong. The Foundation is within walking distance from PatPong Night Bazaar in Silom. Founded on 22 June Buddhist Era 2513, the Foundation provides coffins to victims killed in accidents or murdered in the event that no one comes forward to make a claim or identify the body.
Merit Making:Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) – Offering a prayer
Making a Donation:The donation sum is voluntary and a donation of 500THB entitled a coffin and a piece of white cloth for the body. Just simply write the donated amount on the pink slip and you’ll receive your tax deductible receipt. Paste the pink slip on the yellow wooden coffin.
A Taoist Shrine (Ruamkatanyu Foundation,Bangkok)
Pick 20 joss-sticks and place the joss-sticks into the labeled urns. Strike the drum and bells (three times) after the session. Most Thai people will burn away the official recepit.
As a Buddhist, I believe in Karma. Let’s make this world a better place by giving.
Beware:
Avoid making any donation on the streets.
Visit www.ruamkatanyu.or.th for more information
Checkout also Poh Teck Tung Foundation
Getting There:
Take the underground subway to Sam Yan station. Use Exit 1.
The Foundation operates round the clock.
Best Hotel Rates Around Wat Hua Lampong
CLICK HERE
Merit Making:Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) – Ambulance on standby for emergency
Coffin donation in Bangkok
Sources: Coffin Donation in Bangkok – Poh Teck Tung Foundation (Bangkok’s Chinatown)
Coffin – 600 THB
White Cloth (‘cloth for the dead’) – 50 THB
Coffin + White Cloth – 650 THB
Single Grave Lot – 5000 THB
Big bag – 1500 THB
Small bag – 70 THB
Operation Hours:
6.30am – 12.00am
Poh Teck Tung Foundation
326 Chao Kam Rop Road
Pomprabsatrupai Bangkok 10100
Thailand
Tel: 0-2225-0020, 0-2225-3211, 0-2623-0545-52
Fax: 0-2226-2567
Visit www.tourismthailand.org for more Thailand update.
Coffin Donation in Bangkok – Poh Teck Tung Foundation (Bangkok’s Chinatown)
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:33am |
Temporary site for worship at the Administration building (Poh Teck Tung Foundation, Bangkok)
Besides coffin offering to the destitute deceased at Ruamkatanyu Foundation, there is another non-profit organisation in Thailand called Poh Tech Tung Foundation. Founded in 1910, this charity organization has been established by Dr. Utain Techapaiboon for arranging funerals for unidentified corpses, such as accident victims. Supported by Thai Chinese living in Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown, people from all walks of life step forward to offer a helping hand. Each coffin is 650 Baht (about S$28 or US$20.00) as compared with 500 Baht at Ruamkatanyu Foundation.
Offerings (Poh Teck Tung Foundation, Bangkok)
Poh Teck Tung Foundation’s Shrine is now undergoing work renovation and should be finished by 27th October 2010. The Foundation will celebrate 100 years as an organization.
Making a contribution (Poh Teck Tung Foundation, Bangkok)
Making A Donation :Coffin – 600 THB
White Cloth (‘cloth for the dead’) – 50 THB
Coffin + White Cloth – 650 THB
Single Grave Lot – 5000 THB
Donation Receipt (Poh Teck Tung Foundation, Bangkok)
Rice Donation for the less fortunate :Big bag – 1500 THB
Small bag – 70 THB
Operation Hours:
6.30am – 12.00am
Rescue vehicles on standby (Poh Teck Tung Foundation, Bangkok)
Contact Information:Poh Teck Tung Foundation
326 Chao Kam Rop Road
Pomprabsatrupai Bangkok 10100
Thailand
Tel: 0-2225-0020, 0-2225-3211, 0-2623-0545-52
Fax: 0-2226-2567
Visit www.tourismthailand.org for more Thailand update.
Poh Teck Tung Foundation (Bangkok) – Donating a coffin for a good cause
Thai Buddhist > Life of a Monk > Life in a Thai Temple
This story about life in a Thai temple is part of a series written by Richard Barrow. Over a one month period, he documented the life of a newly ordained monk.
This afternoon, I went to visit Phra Nattawud at the temple where he has been a monk for the past three weeks. This was the first time I had seen him since the time I acted as his "temple boy" during his morning alms round. I had decided to wait for him to settle down before I asked him about life in the temple. To be honest with you, I was quite shocked and amazed when I learned about his typical day. Before you read on, I should point out that not all temples are the same. Some abbots are very strict and others are more lenient. You will also find that some people will become monks as a "career choice" whilst others are doing it because of circumstances beyond their control.
I first asked Phra Nattawud to describe a typical day for him.
"I usually get up at about 5 a.m. and then take a shower. I then prepare myself to go out on the alms round. It takes a while for me to put on all of the robes. I then leave at about 6 a.m. When I come back, I put all the food on a tray and sort it out. For example: curries, desserts and drinks. We then give some food to the Buddha image and do some chanting. After that we just eat until we are full. I then usually go back to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes I walk around the temple grounds and chat with other monks. Sometimes we watch t.v. We do this until lunchtime which is about 11
a.m. We cannot sit down for lunch later than 11.30 a.m. Most people think we cannot eat after mid-day. But that isn’t true. If we don’t get up from the table, we can actually eat all afternoon! But no-one is going to do that because that is crazy. In the afternoon I might sleep again or chat with the other monks. Sometimes I watch t.v. In the late afternoon, when it has become cooler, we then do our chores. We sweep around the temple and water the plants. At 7 p.m. I go with a group of other monks to the big meeting hall to chant. Not everyone goes. It is your choice. We chant for about one hour. After that, my group of monks usually goes to sit by the river and drink and chat. When I say drink, I mean soft drinks! We are not allowed alcohol. We chat there until about 9 p.m. Then we go to bed."
What was it like on your first alms round?
"It made me very uncomfortable to walk around because everyone had to wai me and pay me respect. Even my parents. It was hard to get used to that. I also had to walk with bare feet and it hurt a lot. Sometimes it is a concrete road and sometimes it is gravel. I think there is something in a cut in my foot as it still hurts now. I have to walk several kilometers every day. I have never walked so much in my life. Wan Phra is the worst day. This is the Buddhist holy day like your Sundays. A lot of people come out to make merit on those days. I had so much the other day that it filled up three or four bags. I had to come back by motorcycle taxi as it was too much to carry. We cannot refuse them because it would be very rude. That is also the day when we get a lot of money. They put it in envelopes for us as a way of making merit. Some monks can get 1000 baht or more. These monks have been here a long time so they know the good places to hang out. But I only got less than 200 baht. We keep the money ourselves because we have to pay for everything at the temple. We have to pay for electricity and water and things like that."
What things have you found the hardest so far?
"The ha
rdest thing for me so far is studying the yellow book. This is full of chants that we have to use during the day. Some chants we use everyday and they are the easiest to remember. However, sometimes we are invited to people’s houses or funerals and there are different chants for us to remember. To help us, one of the monks is a senior and he leads the chanting and we follow. I cannot just pretend I am chanting by moving my lips. I really have to chant. I go outside the temple to do this about once or twice a week. We all take turns. The abbot is the person who chooses which monks can go. But he makes sure everyone has an equal chance. This is because we usually make money when we go and everyone wants to do it. And the food is always very good. I sometimes get between 200 and 500 baht each time. But, one of my friends recently got 1000 baht for chanting at an ordination. It wasn’t my turn that day."
Out of the 227 precepts you have to keep, which ones do you think are the hardest?
"I don’t really know them all. There are too many. I think you have to be here a long time before you can remember them all. But for me, the difficult ones are: not being allowed to be alone with a woman, not eating after lunch, not sleeping with a long pillow or on a soft mattress.
But some monks do have a comfortable beds and pillows. They even have air-conditioning, cable tv and computer in their room. There are different kinds of monks here. Some are serious about being a monk. Others are here because they cannot do anything else. If you stay in the right temple, it can be quite a comfortable life. Good food and good money. I think most monks make about 10,000 baht a month. There are of course some bad monks. I know that the ones in the kuti next door to mine take drugs. They order the drugs by mobile phone and it is delivered to their door by motorcycle taxi in the evening. Talking about delivery. Guess what I had for lunch today? My aunt ordered pizza for me!"
Well, I don’t know about you, but I was pretty shocked by the layback attitude of the monks. It almost seems too simple. I thought it was supposed to be a hard life. If all temples are like this then I think it could be easy for me to be a monk. But then, what would the point be? If I am going to do something like this, I would want to do it properly. Otherwise there is no reason to do it. I might just as well stay at home. Of course, like I said in the introduction, abbots in other temples are far stricter. Some of them won’t even let monks ordain if they have tattoos or if they smoke. Now, the question is, has Phra Nattawud gained anything from this experience? I will keep that question for later. It won't be long before he disrobes and comes back to his normal life. But first, the abbot has to consult his astrological charts to find the most auspicious day and time for doing this. Why is that so important? I will tell you all about it next time.
This story first appeared at thai-blogs.com
This afternoon, I went to visit Phra Nattawud at the temple where he has been a monk for the past three weeks. This was the first time I had seen him since the time I acted as his "temple boy" during his morning alms round. I had decided to wait for him to settle down before I asked him about life in the temple. To be honest with you, I was quite shocked and amazed when I learned about his typical day. Before you read on, I should point out that not all temples are the same. Some abbots are very strict and others are more lenient. You will also find that some people will become monks as a "career choice" whilst others are doing it because of circumstances beyond their control.I first asked Phra Nattawud to describe a typical day for him.
"I usually get up at about 5 a.m. and then take a shower. I then prepare myself to go out on the alms round. It takes a while for me to put on all of the robes. I then leave at about 6 a.m. When I come back, I put all the food on a tray and sort it out. For example: curries, desserts and drinks. We then give some food to the Buddha image and do some chanting. After that we just eat until we are full. I then usually go back to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes I walk around the temple grounds and chat with other monks. Sometimes we watch t.v. We do this until lunchtime which is about 11
a.m. We cannot sit down for lunch later than 11.30 a.m. Most people think we cannot eat after mid-day. But that isn’t true. If we don’t get up from the table, we can actually eat all afternoon! But no-one is going to do that because that is crazy. In the afternoon I might sleep again or chat with the other monks. Sometimes I watch t.v. In the late afternoon, when it has become cooler, we then do our chores. We sweep around the temple and water the plants. At 7 p.m. I go with a group of other monks to the big meeting hall to chant. Not everyone goes. It is your choice. We chant for about one hour. After that, my group of monks usually goes to sit by the river and drink and chat. When I say drink, I mean soft drinks! We are not allowed alcohol. We chat there until about 9 p.m. Then we go to bed." What was it like on your first alms round?
"It made me very uncomfortable to walk around because everyone had to wai me and pay me respect. Even my parents. It was hard to get used to that. I also had to walk with bare feet and it hurt a lot. Sometimes it is a concrete road and sometimes it is gravel. I think there is something in a cut in my foot as it still hurts now. I have to walk several kilometers every day. I have never walked so much in my life. Wan Phra is the worst day. This is the Buddhist holy day like your Sundays. A lot of people come out to make merit on those days. I had so much the other day that it filled up three or four bags. I had to come back by motorcycle taxi as it was too much to carry. We cannot refuse them because it would be very rude. That is also the day when we get a lot of money. They put it in envelopes for us as a way of making merit. Some monks can get 1000 baht or more. These monks have been here a long time so they know the good places to hang out. But I only got less than 200 baht. We keep the money ourselves because we have to pay for everything at the temple. We have to pay for electricity and water and things like that."
What things have you found the hardest so far?
"The ha
rdest thing for me so far is studying the yellow book. This is full of chants that we have to use during the day. Some chants we use everyday and they are the easiest to remember. However, sometimes we are invited to people’s houses or funerals and there are different chants for us to remember. To help us, one of the monks is a senior and he leads the chanting and we follow. I cannot just pretend I am chanting by moving my lips. I really have to chant. I go outside the temple to do this about once or twice a week. We all take turns. The abbot is the person who chooses which monks can go. But he makes sure everyone has an equal chance. This is because we usually make money when we go and everyone wants to do it. And the food is always very good. I sometimes get between 200 and 500 baht each time. But, one of my friends recently got 1000 baht for chanting at an ordination. It wasn’t my turn that day." Out of the 227 precepts you have to keep, which ones do you think are the hardest?
"I don’t really know them all. There are too many. I think you have to be here a long time before you can remember them all. But for me, the difficult ones are: not being allowed to be alone with a woman, not eating after lunch, not sleeping with a long pillow or on a soft mattress.
But some monks do have a comfortable beds and pillows. They even have air-conditioning, cable tv and computer in their room. There are different kinds of monks here. Some are serious about being a monk. Others are here because they cannot do anything else. If you stay in the right temple, it can be quite a comfortable life. Good food and good money. I think most monks make about 10,000 baht a month. There are of course some bad monks. I know that the ones in the kuti next door to mine take drugs. They order the drugs by mobile phone and it is delivered to their door by motorcycle taxi in the evening. Talking about delivery. Guess what I had for lunch today? My aunt ordered pizza for me!"Well, I don’t know about you, but I was pretty shocked by the layback attitude of the monks. It almost seems too simple. I thought it was supposed to be a hard life. If all temples are like this then I think it could be easy for me to be a monk. But then, what would the point be? If I am going to do something like this, I would want to do it properly. Otherwise there is no reason to do it. I might just as well stay at home. Of course, like I said in the introduction, abbots in other temples are far stricter. Some of them won’t even let monks ordain if they have tattoos or if they smoke. Now, the question is, has Phra Nattawud gained anything from this experience? I will keep that question for later. It won't be long before he disrobes and comes back to his normal life. But first, the abbot has to consult his astrological charts to find the most auspicious day and time for doing this. Why is that so important? I will tell you all about it next time.
This story first appeared at thai-blogs.com
Levels of Making Merit
http://www.thaibuddhist.com/
| Making Merit |
| Levels of Making Merit First I want to refer to a survey carried out a number of years ago where people were asked to place ten items in the correct order of what they thought would give them the most merit: 1. Becoming a monk 2. Contributing enough money for the construction of a monastery 3. Having a son ordained as a monk 4. Making excursions to Buddhist shrines throughout Thailand 5. Contributing towards the repair of a monastery 6. Giving food daily to the monks and giving food on holy days 7. Becoming a novice 8. Attending a temple on all holy days and obeying the eight precepts on these days 9. Obeying the five precepts at all times Source: Monks and Magic by B.J. Terwiel The Alms, the Monk and the Donor The result of making merit depends on the qualifications of the three components. These are the receiver, the alms and the donor. The result of making merit would depend very much on how the alms-receiver is. If we offer alms to a monk, the purer and more observant the monk is, the more merit we will receive. If we give food as an alms to animals, in terms of merit, we will receive very little. The reasons is that an animal is in a lower position than human beings. The animals cannot observe religious precepts. Buddhists believe that observing precepts is moral training or a purification process. For the same reason, if we give alms to those people who do not have the 5 precepts in mind, for example mischievious people, we will receive very little merit, but more than offering to animals. We will gain more merit if the receiver observes the 5 precepts (refrain from killing, stealing, from sexual misconduct, from lying and from taking intoxicants). We would then gain even more merit if they observed 8 or 10 precepts. And of course even more if it was a monk who observes his 227 precepts completely. But, we also have to be aware that the alms we offer is clean. For example, if you offer something that doesn't belong to you. If you are immoral as well and the monk doesn't observe properly all 227 precepts, then you won't receive merit. Only if you are morally clean and have good intentions, and so is the monk who observes his religious precepts perfectly, then this alms-giving will result in a full and perfect merit. Main Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit Merits from Alms Giving I will finish with what Thai people believe will happen to them if they offer certain kinds of things to the monks: * If you offer rice or any stable food, you will be happy and healthy all through your life * If you offer clothing, in your next life, you won't have a problem with clothing and will also have beautiful skin * If you offer candles, flashlight and incense sticks you will have beautiful and bright eyes. Also, in your next life you will not need glasses * If you offer a Buddha image, in your following life you will be as beautiful as that image * If you offer religious books or donate text books and learning materials for school children, you will be intelligent in your next life * If you offer soap, skin lotion or cleansing facilities, you will have nice and beautiful skin * If you donate money and materials for constructing buildings in the monastery, you will have a big and beautiful house in your next life * If you build bathrooms and toilets for the monastery and help to build public hospitals, you will have a healthy and happy life * If you offer toothpicks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, you will have beautiful and strong teeth * If you donate blood, kidney or other part of your body, you will have a fit body and vigorous health in your future lives. Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit |
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The Alms, the Monk and the Donor
The Alms, the Monk and the Donor
| Making Merit |
| Levels of Making Merit First I want to refer to a survey carried out a number of years ago where people were asked to place ten items in the correct order of what they thought would give them the most merit: 1. Becoming a monk 2. Contributing enough money for the construction of a monastery 3. Having a son ordained as a monk 4. Making excursions to Buddhist shrines throughout Thailand 5. Contributing towards the repair of a monastery 6. Giving food daily to the monks and giving food on holy days 7. Becoming a novice 8. Attending a temple on all holy days and obeying the eight precepts on these days 9. Obeying the five precepts at all times Source: Monks and Magic by B.J. Terwiel The Alms, the Monk and the Donor The result of making merit depends on the qualifications of the three components. These are the receiver, the alms and the donor. The result of making merit would depend very much on how the alms-receiver is. If we offer alms to a monk, the purer and more observant the monk is, the more merit we will receive. If we give food as an alms to animals, in terms of merit, we will receive very little. The reasons is that an animal is in a lower position than human beings. The animals cannot observe religious precepts. Buddhists believe that observing precepts is moral training or a purification process. For the same reason, if we give alms to those people who do not have the 5 precepts in mind, for example mischievious people, we will receive very little merit, but more than offering to animals. We will gain more merit if the receiver observes the 5 precepts (refrain from killing, stealing, from sexual misconduct, from lying and from taking intoxicants). We would then gain even more merit if they observed 8 or 10 precepts. And of course even more if it was a monk who observes his 227 precepts completely. But, we also have to be aware that the alms we offer is clean. For example, if you offer something that doesn't belong to you. If you are immoral as well and the monk doesn't observe properly all 227 precepts, then you won't receive merit. Only if you are morally clean and have good intentions, and so is the monk who observes his religious precepts perfectly, then this alms-giving will result in a full and perfect merit. Main Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit Merits from Alms Giving I will finish with what Thai people believe will happen to them if they offer certain kinds of things to the monks: * If you offer rice or any stable food, you will be happy and healthy all through your life * If you offer clothing, in your next life, you won't have a problem with clothing and will also have beautiful skin * If you offer candles, flashlight and incense sticks you will have beautiful and bright eyes. Also, in your next life you will not need glasses * If you offer a Buddha image, in your following life you will be as beautiful as that image * If you offer religious books or donate text books and learning materials for school children, you will be intelligent in your next life * If you offer soap, skin lotion or cleansing facilities, you will have nice and beautiful skin * If you donate money and materials for constructing buildings in the monastery, you will have a big and beautiful house in your next life * If you build bathrooms and toilets for the monastery and help to build public hospitals, you will have a healthy and happy life * If you offer toothpicks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, you will have beautiful and strong teeth * If you donate blood, kidney or other part of your body, you will have a fit body and vigorous health in your future lives. Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit |
| Making Merit |
| Levels of Making Merit First I want to refer to a survey carried out a number of years ago where people were asked to place ten items in the correct order of what they thought would give them the most merit: 1. Becoming a monk 2. Contributing enough money for the construction of a monastery 3. Having a son ordained as a monk 4. Making excursions to Buddhist shrines throughout Thailand 5. Contributing towards the repair of a monastery 6. Giving food daily to the monks and giving food on holy days 7. Becoming a novice 8. Attending a temple on all holy days and obeying the eight precepts on these days 9. Obeying the five precepts at all times Source: Monks and Magic by B.J. Terwiel The Alms, the Monk and the Donor The result of making merit depends on the qualifications of the three components. These are the receiver, the alms and the donor. The result of making merit would depend very much on how the alms-receiver is. If we offer alms to a monk, the purer and more observant the monk is, the more merit we will receive. If we give food as an alms to animals, in terms of merit, we will receive very little. The reasons is that an animal is in a lower position than human beings. The animals cannot observe religious precepts. Buddhists believe that observing precepts is moral training or a purification process. For the same reason, if we give alms to those people who do not have the 5 precepts in mind, for example mischievious people, we will receive very little merit, but more than offering to animals. We will gain more merit if the receiver observes the 5 precepts (refrain from killing, stealing, from sexual misconduct, from lying and from taking intoxicants). We would then gain even more merit if they observed 8 or 10 precepts. And of course even more if it was a monk who observes his 227 precepts completely. But, we also have to be aware that the alms we offer is clean. For example, if you offer something that doesn't belong to you. If you are immoral as well and the monk doesn't observe properly all 227 precepts, then you won't receive merit. Only if you are morally clean and have good intentions, and so is the monk who observes his religious precepts perfectly, then this alms-giving will result in a full and perfect merit. Main Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit Merits from Alms Giving I will finish with what Thai people believe will happen to them if they offer certain kinds of things to the monks: * If you offer rice or any stable food, you will be happy and healthy all through your life * If you offer clothing, in your next life, you won't have a problem with clothing and will also have beautiful skin * If you offer candles, flashlight and incense sticks you will have beautiful and bright eyes. Also, in your next life you will not need glasses * If you offer a Buddha image, in your following life you will be as beautiful as that image * If you offer religious books or donate text books and learning materials for school children, you will be intelligent in your next life * If you offer soap, skin lotion or cleansing facilities, you will have nice and beautiful skin * If you donate money and materials for constructing buildings in the monastery, you will have a big and beautiful house in your next life * If you build bathrooms and toilets for the monastery and help to build public hospitals, you will have a healthy and happy life * If you offer toothpicks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, you will have beautiful and strong teeth * If you donate blood, kidney or other part of your body, you will have a fit body and vigorous health in your future lives. Source: How to get Good Results from Making Merit |
What do Thai monks eat for breakfast?
sources from: http://www.thaibuddhist.com/monks_food.html
Yesterday, I took
you with me on the monk's morning alms round. Monks are not allowed to hoard food. Nor are they allowed to cook. So, in order to survive they have to go out in the morning to receive food from Buddhist followers. When they come back, they sort through the food. Some food they will eat straight away for breakfast. Other food they will save for their last meal of the day at 11 a.m. The food that is left over is not wasted. Some may be given to the nuns or children who help out around the temple. Other food is given to poor people who come to the temple at mid-day. Any left-over food is given to the temple dogs and cats.
Before Phra Daeng and Phra Nattawud could eat, they first had to offer some food to the Buddha image. They chanted in Pali for a while and then prostrated three times. As you can see from the picture, Phra Nattawud still hasn't learned all the words and is reading from his yellow book of chants. After they have made the offering, they then sit in front of the food that they have already sorted and chant a bit more.
Finally, they can start to eat. As predicted yesterday, Phra Nattawud tucks into the food that his parents had offered him earlier. Monks are not allowed to request particular types of food, however, his parents knew what he would like to eat.
What do Thai monks eat for breakfast?
Some monks only eat once a day. Others eat twice a day. However, all monks have to finish their last meal before mid-day. There are five categories of food that can be presented to monks only in the morning. These are: staples, desserts, preserved and dried food, fish and meat. The following five nutriments can be presented to and eaten by the monks at any time of day and night: honey, sugar and syrup, fat, ghee and butter, and cheese.
In this picture, you can see th
at people have given the monks just about any curry and soup that can be bought locally. It doesn't really matter how much or how little you give. It is the intention of giving that is important. However, there are ten kinds of meat that monks and novices are not allowed to eat. They are: human flesh, elephant, yellow tiger, tiger, leopard, bear, lion, snake, dog and horse.
There are quite a few rules regarding monks and food. For example, they are not allowed to put food in their mouth that hasn't been offered to them first. If the food was offered to them yesterday, they then cannot eat it today. If someone told a monk that he will come with certain foods to offer the following day, then the monk cannot eat it. There is also quite a long list of 30 rules regarding food which monks must obey. It is worth taking note of these because Buddhism is so much an important part of Thai culture.
A monk should train himself thus:-
1) I will receive binderbaht food attentively.
2) When receiving binderbaht food, I will look only into the bowl.
3) I will receive curries in the right proportion to the rice.
4) I will receive binderbaht food only until it reaches the rim of the bowl.
5) I will eat binderbaht food attentively.
6) When eating binderbaht food, I will look only in the bowl.
7) I will not dig up the rice making it uneven.
8) I will eat curries in the right proportion to the rice.
9) I will not eat rice only working from the top down.
10) I will not cover up curries - or curry mixed with rice - because of a desire to get a lot.
11) When I am not sick, I will not ask for curries or rice for the purpose of eating them myself.
12) I will not look at another's bowl with the idea of finding fault.
13) I will not make up a very large mouthful of food.
14) I will make food up into suitably round mouthfuls.
15) I will not open my mouth until the portion of food has been brought to it.
16) When eating, I will not put my fingers into my mouth.
17) When food is still in my mouth, I will not speak.
18) I will not throw lumps of food into my mouth.
19) I will not eat by biting off mouthfuls of rice.
20) I will not eat stuffing out my cheeks.
21) I will not eat and shake my hand about at the same time.
22) I will not eat scattering grains of rice about so that they fall back into the bowl or elsewhere.
23) I will not eat putting my tongue out.
24) I will not eat making a champing sound.
25) I will not eat (or drink) making a sucking sound.
26) I will not eat licking my hands.
27) I will not eat scraping the bowl.
28) I will not eat licking my lips.
29) I will not take hold of a vessel of water with my hand soiled with food.
30) I will not throw out bowl washing water which has grains of rice in it in a place where there are houses.
Source: "Instructions for newly-ordained Bhikkhus and Samaneras"
Yesterday, I took
you with me on the monk's morning alms round. Monks are not allowed to hoard food. Nor are they allowed to cook. So, in order to survive they have to go out in the morning to receive food from Buddhist followers. When they come back, they sort through the food. Some food they will eat straight away for breakfast. Other food they will save for their last meal of the day at 11 a.m. The food that is left over is not wasted. Some may be given to the nuns or children who help out around the temple. Other food is given to poor people who come to the temple at mid-day. Any left-over food is given to the temple dogs and cats.Before Phra Daeng and Phra Nattawud could eat, they first had to offer some food to the Buddha image. They chanted in Pali for a while and then prostrated three times. As you can see from the picture, Phra Nattawud still hasn't learned all the words and is reading from his yellow book of chants. After they have made the offering, they then sit in front of the food that they have already sorted and chant a bit more.
Finally, they can start to eat. As predicted yesterday, Phra Nattawud tucks into the food that his parents had offered him earlier. Monks are not allowed to request particular types of food, however, his parents knew what he would like to eat.
What do Thai monks eat for breakfast?
Some monks only eat once a day. Others eat twice a day. However, all monks have to finish their last meal before mid-day. There are five categories of food that can be presented to monks only in the morning. These are: staples, desserts, preserved and dried food, fish and meat. The following five nutriments can be presented to and eaten by the monks at any time of day and night: honey, sugar and syrup, fat, ghee and butter, and cheese.
In this picture, you can see th
at people have given the monks just about any curry and soup that can be bought locally. It doesn't really matter how much or how little you give. It is the intention of giving that is important. However, there are ten kinds of meat that monks and novices are not allowed to eat. They are: human flesh, elephant, yellow tiger, tiger, leopard, bear, lion, snake, dog and horse.There are quite a few rules regarding monks and food. For example, they are not allowed to put food in their mouth that hasn't been offered to them first. If the food was offered to them yesterday, they then cannot eat it today. If someone told a monk that he will come with certain foods to offer the following day, then the monk cannot eat it. There is also quite a long list of 30 rules regarding food which monks must obey. It is worth taking note of these because Buddhism is so much an important part of Thai culture.
A monk should train himself thus:-
1) I will receive binderbaht food attentively.
2) When receiving binderbaht food, I will look only into the bowl.
3) I will receive curries in the right proportion to the rice.
4) I will receive binderbaht food only until it reaches the rim of the bowl.
5) I will eat binderbaht food attentively.
6) When eating binderbaht food, I will look only in the bowl.
7) I will not dig up the rice making it uneven.
8) I will eat curries in the right proportion to the rice.
9) I will not eat rice only working from the top down.
10) I will not cover up curries - or curry mixed with rice - because of a desire to get a lot.
11) When I am not sick, I will not ask for curries or rice for the purpose of eating them myself.
12) I will not look at another's bowl with the idea of finding fault.
13) I will not make up a very large mouthful of food.
14) I will make food up into suitably round mouthfuls.
15) I will not open my mouth until the portion of food has been brought to it.
16) When eating, I will not put my fingers into my mouth.
17) When food is still in my mouth, I will not speak.
18) I will not throw lumps of food into my mouth.
19) I will not eat by biting off mouthfuls of rice.
20) I will not eat stuffing out my cheeks.
21) I will not eat and shake my hand about at the same time.
22) I will not eat scattering grains of rice about so that they fall back into the bowl or elsewhere.
23) I will not eat putting my tongue out.
24) I will not eat making a champing sound.
25) I will not eat (or drink) making a sucking sound.
26) I will not eat licking my hands.
27) I will not eat scraping the bowl.
28) I will not eat licking my lips.
29) I will not take hold of a vessel of water with my hand soiled with food.
30) I will not throw out bowl washing water which has grains of rice in it in a place where there are houses.
Source: "Instructions for newly-ordained Bhikkhus and Samaneras"
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