DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Any techniques to overcome 'wilful ignorance' ????

**nmnrIjGB** · 03-09-2010, 07:19 PM

"Face" is important to Thais and many other Asians. Often, appearance is more important than reality.

"Willful ignorance" can sometimes be attributed to Buddhism, and the value of accepting things as they are, rather than how we think they should be.

These two statements are completely opposed, and in my experience the concept of "face" is more important to most Thais than the Buddha's teachings.

ogb,

Since the concept of face doesn't really exist in the west (where I presume you are from), then it will lead to misunderstandings. How much have you read to try to understand Thai culture? Books like Thailand Fever and Culture Shock: Thailand may give you some insight on why Thais think and act the way they do.

If you want to speak to Thais who have overcome this "problem" then I suggest talking to a Buddhist monk.

03-09-2010, 07:19 PM	#15
nmnrIjGB Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 356 Senior Member	"Face" is important to Thais and many other Asians. Often, appearance is more important than reality. "Willful ignorance" can sometimes be attributed to Buddhism, and the value of accepting things as they are, rather than how we think they should be. These two statements are completely opposed, and in my experience the concept of "face" is more important to most Thais than the Buddha's teachings. ogb, Since the concept of face doesn't really exist in the west (where I presume you are from), then it will lead to misunderstandings. How much have you read to try to understand Thai culture? Books like Thailand Fever and Culture Shock: Thailand may give you some insight on why Thais think and act the way they do. If you want to speak to Thais who have overcome this "problem" then I suggest talking to a Buddhist monk.
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