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**cokLoolioli** · 10-05-2009, 10:32 AM

In addition so Stacker's comment it is similar to asking a Catholic why they use a rosary. Most will not know the answer. Many will say they have this or that religious belief/s, but sadly most do not really know what they believe exactly. I even seen a post on these forums with a young girl asking 'what do we [Buddhists] believe regarding the creation of mankind?'. So she is clearly claiming she is Buddhist, but has no idea what the answers to some of the most basic questions are. Not being critical of her if she still reads here, just pointing out that this type of struggle to 'fit in' exists in every part of the world. This is the result of following tradition and what you have been taught to do rather than forcing oneself to learn of what others do.

In sociology it is referred to as the trend of following the norms of society. Unfortunately it often has the effect of limiting [the followers] personal level of both knowledge and experience on the wider scale of the world itself. Exclusivist thoughts and ideas are present in most all religions too. So if a monk says this or that it must be taken as "gospel" (no pun intended).

I know a woman who paid some monks at her husbands funeral to tell her what to do to prepare him for his next life. The family was broke and had no income now. The monk charged her $1,000 USD then told her to put $2,000 in his coffin, along with as much gold as she could find (and many other items as well for various purposes), so the family took the last of their money put it into the coffin and had to borrow money from friends to pay the monk his dues. She explained she was short before borrowing the money from friends, but the monk explained her husband would be condemned if he was not paid.

So all in all, even if Thai people do not know the purpose they will still carry on with what it suggested, especially if it has anything to do with religious practices. The same way a 54 year old Catholic will still hold a rosary not knowing what it is for. It is just part of human nature to follow the group.

10-05-2009, 10:32 AM	#2
cokLoolioli Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 562 Senior Member	In addition so Stacker's comment it is similar to asking a Catholic why they use a rosary. Most will not know the answer. Many will say they have this or that religious belief/s, but sadly most do not really know what they believe exactly. I even seen a post on these forums with a young girl asking 'what do we [Buddhists] believe regarding the creation of mankind?'. So she is clearly claiming she is Buddhist, but has no idea what the answers to some of the most basic questions are. Not being critical of her if she still reads here, just pointing out that this type of struggle to 'fit in' exists in every part of the world. This is the result of following tradition and what you have been taught to do rather than forcing oneself to learn of what others do. In sociology it is referred to as the trend of following the norms of society. Unfortunately it often has the effect of limiting [the followers] personal level of both knowledge and experience on the wider scale of the world itself. Exclusivist thoughts and ideas are present in most all religions too. So if a monk says this or that it must be taken as "gospel" (no pun intended). I know a woman who paid some monks at her husbands funeral to tell her what to do to prepare him for his next life. The family was broke and had no income now. The monk charged her $1,000 USD then told her to put $2,000 in his coffin, along with as much gold as she could find (and many other items as well for various purposes), so the family took the last of their money put it into the coffin and had to borrow money from friends to pay the monk his dues. She explained she was short before borrowing the money from friends, but the monk explained her husband would be condemned if he was not paid. So all in all, even if Thai people do not know the purpose they will still carry on with what it suggested, especially if it has anything to do with religious practices. The same way a 54 year old Catholic will still hold a rosary not knowing what it is for. It is just part of human nature to follow the group.
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