ba dac wrote on 26^th Jan, 2014 at 11:46am:



Since I'm just a stupid westerner who doesn't know anything about Lao Buddhism, from what I've been told the only reason most Lao "give" to a Temple is so that they get some "reward" for their next life. It's all about THEIR karma. That's not "charity". Charity is the free giving of something you have with no expectations in return. That definitely isn't what the Buddhist "culture" in Lao is all about.

Prove to me that the morning alms giving doesn't have some ulterior motive related to the "giver" wanting something back in return?

The whole purpose of becoming a monk is to give up worldly possessions, meditate, and pray for enlightenment. I see most novices with cell phones and buying "crap" food. I know of many instances where the "charity" given to a temple has nothing to do selflessness and everything to do with selfishness. It's mostly about what can I get in return, this life or the next. And that, is not charity.

If I am wrong, please enlighten me as to the reasons Lao people give to a Temple and not to the poor villagers. Becoming a monk is a choice. Being born poor in a village with no electricity, toilets or running water is not a choice I believe that any of these people have made. All the "charity" given to the Temples would have a better ROI "return on investment" (if you don't know what it stands for) being used for education, health and investment in the villages for the poor.

Why? Because Temples are a sink hole. Money goes in and does nothing to help society as a whole, except making someone think their business is making money because of their "charity", or will heal a sick family member, or have a monk "bless" a new car or house, for good luck. Investing in other Lao communities will raise everybody's standard of living. And that, my boy, is what capitalism is all about.

Want to call me a commie. You should get a dictionary, economics text, or encyclopedia out and do a little homework. Then you might understand the difference.

The Buddhist monks preserve the culture and provide education for the people. Today, I was at the VN temple and the youth practiced Chinese dancing in preparation for the new year. I'm not going to let some ignorant Westerner pass judgment when they don't even understand the culture. Yes, people donate to the temple to accrue karma.But also the temple provides for the people and the temples are generally worthy of respect. I will challenge anyone to a muay thai match who says they don't like the Buddhist temples. I'm currently in Pakse and I will provide my phone number if you are interested in fighting. I won't stand for some punks insulting a 2000+ year old religion and I will gladly fight anyone who insults Buddhism. If anyone else wants to speak a word against Buddhism, at least have the balls to challenge me.  CDN Lao Lover do you even live in Laos? If you do, where do you want to meet up and fight?

Its ok there are plenty of  westerners who make us look bad. (see Cambodia) Its pretty much unavoidable.

I am just curious, how would you react if an Asian person went to Europe and disrespected Christianity? To me, religion means nothing as long as we respect other people. Dont fool yourself into thinking that all Buddhists are good people. There have
been monks who have committed crimes as soon as they got out of the temple, and dont forget about the temple in Thailand that stored theii aborted fetuses. Like I said, its up to us to do good. Religion helps keep the community together but only if we follow it. Lao people were not always Buddhist either. At one point they were animist