Thai people have always been clever in taking a good technology or practice from other countries and adapting it for their own purposes. Back at the the beginning of the 20th century, King Rama V toured various western countries wearing top hats and driving cars to display his civilised manners to the European powers of the time. He took home with him many good ideas too - trousers for the men of Thailand, railways and freedom for the slaves. His efforts paid off. Thailand was never colonised by a European country, and thus Thailand retained its colourful character and culture.
Since moving here ten years ago, I have noticed how Christian churches have led the way in a number of areas, including training their members on how to improve their family relationships, as well as in the area of creatively teaching children and youth. Often this "ground-breaking" goes without recognition, but sometimes the churches are given the ultimate of compliments - to be copied by other parts of society such as schools, government offices and temples. One example is the way Sunday School songs are sung in many schools around the country, but with the last few lines about God being the creator removed!
Last year I discovered this news item, which adds to my growing list of examples in this area:
Thai Buddhist monks promote activities to attract the faithful to temples
Bangkok - Encouraging the practice of Buddhism among the faithful, under the slogan "Going to temple every Sunday, will make you happy." It is the spirit that marked celebrations for the feast of Asalhabucha - the day of the full moon of the eighth month of the lunar calendar - held July 7th in Thailand.
In the land of the elephants, 94% of the over 62 million people are Buddhist but only a small part follows the precepts of faith. According to a recent survey conducted at the temple of Yannawa - in central Bangkok - just 57% make food offerings to monks, 8.2% listen to sermons and 3.2% practice meditation. 42.7% attend religious services once a month, 30% said it "depended on the occasion",11.2% once every three months, 8.8% every six months and 7.1% once a year.
The abandonment of religious practice concerns Buddhist leaders, who have launched a project to invite the faithful to attend the places of worship with greater diligence. " Phraphromvajirayan, a member of the Association of Monks, confirms that people "go to the temple only on special occasions." He explains the goal of "giving life to special activities in the temples" targeting "children and young people." Among these "encouraging the reading of the Dhamma (the teachings of Buddha, ed), living the monastic experience for one day and one night and promoting voluntary action for the good of the community."
(from www.asianews.it)
So if the Buddhist temples are trying to copy the Christian practice of worshipping on Sundays, I wonder what is the next thing they will copy? It's good to know that, whether the church in our area grows quickly or not, Belinda amd I will have a positive influence on the society here that's much wider than we can ever know.