What is real or unreal?

Living in Bangkok, I have found that the basic moral question to be asked is not what is good or bad? what is right or wrong? BUT What is real or unreal?

I was confirmed in this last night when I received a text message from a Thai friend whom I judged to be reasonably well off as he has a house and a car. He was asking for money to pay the monthly rent. I then automatically started questioning what our friendship was about. Living here, I knew immediately that was not the way to base any question on the situation.

It reminded me yet again that the basic question in living here is what is real or unreal? Don't make moral judgements on actions but pursue this basic question and see where it leads.

The reality is that, within a seemingly wealthy Thailand, life is tough for its poor, for its average citizens. The reality is that asking each other for money to help out is the way they live. Western standards do not apply and cannot be assumed. Human standards, however, do apply and we need to uphold what is good and natural in living together for the sake of mutual dignity and respect.

I sound like a priest.

Easter in Thailand ....

In a non-Christian country, Easter is just another day of the year. It just means nothing. Why shouldn't it? So it is that, as a Christian here, it seems like you have a special duty to celebrate Easter so as to show the flag, as they say.

So I was off to Good Friday services with a bunch from a Foundation for the poor in Bangkok run by the famous Fr Joe Maier, an American Redemptorist here longtime. In their van, I met their new volunteer - a young Australian male. He is here for six months to help look after the children. He is full of zeal and is just here to do some good in the world. He expresses that he has no experience of Church while he works in a Catholic school back home. I hear a conversation where he is asked to describe religion in Australia. He simply said that Australia is an atheistic country. I was shocked to hear such a blanket description. I would describe it as post-Chritian or secular but not atheistic. After all, there are many peoples that make up Australia and there are those that are part of Church - aren't there?

Still, I kept silent and I realised that, according to his own life experience, Australia is atheistic as he then said that all his friends were agnostics or atheists. So that is Australia for him. We both come from the same country but have such different experiences of it. For each of us, our experiences are valid and are just what they are. They are then reflected in how we describe our country. I can't deny his experience or his description.

Maybe celebrating Easter in a non-Christian country is not so divorced from celebrating it in Australia. It just is that in Australia, the place is on holidays and there is not the usual hustle and bustle of life.

Happy Buddhist New Year

Yes, April 13, 14 and 15 see Buddhist New Year. It is meant to be a lovely time of coming together and paying dutiful respect to your elders. Instead in Thailand it has become one almighty water warfare on the streets. So I exited and went to the Philippines for New Year.

I must say that I love the Philippines and Filipinos but my time was a 'halo halo' time - a mixed experience.

As I went around my small section of Manila in the centre of town, I saw mixed messages. I saw more and more people living on the streets. I could see evidence of the increasing poverty in the country. Then as I approached the Church, what I saw was the overpowering message of an institution exerting its power to stop the Government's Reproductive Health Bill. Where was the Church's message on poverty and suffering in its own country?

These mixed messages made me feel angry inside as I saw a lovely people suffering more and more under poverty and injustice and what was the Church's focus? - no condoms! It makes me angry as I hear no great Church outcry over the plight of the mass of poor in the Philippines. I also see the hypocrisy of the institutional Church as I see no great response to the reality of more and more children living on the streets.

I won't say much more as I want to allow room for reflection and just present my take on what is happening.

Mabuhay!

A day of Thai culture.

Yesterday was Sunday and I did two things that are typical Sunday activities. I went to mass and I went to see a movie. Both turned out to be Thai cultural events in my day.

Mass
I went to Ruam Rudee, the Redemptorist church, for mass. As it was the first Sunday of the month, they had their usual theme of Missioner of the Month for preaching. This time it was Fr Wanlope, the one in charge of the Redemptorists' minor seminary in Thailand. He presented as a likeable and sociable character. Then he talked on the Seminary.

They have 66 seminarians aged between 11 and 17. They go to the "best school in the country - Assumption College, Sriracha Campus". They can only take 14 applicants each year as there are only 14 places available at Assumption College available for the seminarians. This year, they had 95 applicants. So, he says, there is no shortage of vocations. The proof of this statement would be if there was not the offer of a free education at the best school in the country.

Then he described the weekly devotional programme for the seminarians. This features at least 30 minutes each evening within the following weekly routine.
Mondays - Divine Mercy
Tuesdyas - Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Wednesdays - Mother of Perpetual Help Novena
Thursdays - Rosary and confession where all the seminarians are to go to confession to Fr Wanlope, their Director, each week. (I think there is something in Canon Law against this.)
Fridays - Stations of the Cross.
In all of this, along with daily mass, Prayer of the Church and meditation, where is there room for the development of an individual prayer life or spirituality? It is like running a take-away 'institutional prayer life' service for boys.

Fr Wanlope seemed a lovely man but I would love to discuss the formation programme with him and the whole Thai philosophy of targeting young boys for formation when they should be at home with their families, being boys. I am willing to admit that I do not have all the answers and that I could be wrong but I would still love to discuss this with a Fr Wanlope.

The Movie
I went to see the last in the Thai film trilogy on the young Prince Naresuan. He was to become the great King Naresuan of Thai history. This character lived in the latter half of the 16th century at a time when the Siamese of the Kingdom of Ayuthaya were under the Burmese and struggling for their independence. Under Naresuan, the master tactician and warrior and leader, the Kingdom of Ayuthaya did gain its independence at a great cost and after many wars against seemingly mightier foes - the Burmese and their allies.

After yet another bloody and mighty battle at the end of the movie, independence seemed finally won for the Kingdom. At its end, Prince Naresuan had the closing line and it went like this - We now have our independence at great cost. Now we will have to fight to keep it.

One of Naresuan's successful strategies in managing campaigns against the enemy was to use the "small defeats big" strategy. Basically, he used well thought out tactics to outsmart a much larger enemy. I am sure there is a lesson for life in that.

What I observed in the movie was how from the Thai side they downed the Burmese making them look incompetent and foolish, and even stupid at times. An example was when a captured Brmese leader was tortured by putting red ants down his pants. When this happened the whole audience laughed. Do I need to say more?

We do tend to retell history from our own side. While Naresuan is truly one of the great Kings of the Thais and he did achieve so much, history can still be skewed to serve one's own purposes.

Well that was my day of Thai culture.