Wednesday, February 2, 2011
As promised, I return with this continous topic about living in the society that is full of double ( or more ) standard. It is not too bad if you get used to or no other way out but live with it, as long as you are not terribly suffered by its effect or outcome.
I experienced, have experienced and see no point of expecting none of such non-single standard in the future. I am sometimes beneficial from those double standard acts , to be honest. But more often I am on the opposite end. So, I decided I do not promote double (or more ) standard.
Let's look back and see some of what I experienced.
It was a nice holy day on one Saturday years ago. My good friend Kung and I went to make merits and gave alms to the monks at Wat Benjamaborpit. The temple is famous and better known as the Marble Temple of Thailand. We prepared all dried food in the previous evening, such as rice, canned fish, canned milk, in separated sets along with fresh oranges.
That early morning Kung drove her small, rather old Volkswagen to pick me up at my place. We were so enthusiastic to make merits that I thought we saw everything beautiful along the way. Normally, both of us were busy with work and each day for us was just a period to make for a living. We arrived at the parking space just outside the temple compound where the monks came out to receive alms from laymen. I noticed some earlier birds were giving their alms to the monks. The monks lined up like a row of passengers waiting to get on the bus, only the bus was us, merit makers. So we waited for the row of monks to finish with a group of a 3-member clan. Other groups of merit makers seemed done with their offerings. So, next turn should be us. The two salarymen. I wore a very nice sarong and white blouse. Yes, to perfect my merit making occasion. Not my uniform, a pair of jeans and a wrinkle T-shirt.
While Kung parked her car, I also saw that most merit makers transported with luxurious cars. Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, all in good condition and well care. My friend's bug became like a duck among a herd of swans. Just notice, no sad feeling. I did adore this bug. It was clean and very reliable. It served us very well and everywhere when we traveled together.
Then, came our turn. The row of monks came right to our spot. Kung and I started putting our offerings into the monks' alms one after another. I felt my heart swollen with happiness and my face was nearly torn by my big smiles. All of a sudden the line of the monks was dispersed like flies under insecticide spray. My hand was still hanging in the middle of the air, holding an orange readily to be dropped on the lid of a monk's alm. But the lid was not there. Neither was its owner. The line of the monks was no longer in front of us.
Well, the monks were quickly forming a new row just in front of a group of newly arriving meritmakers nearby. They came in a new, big and bright Mercedes and armed with loads of offerings. Not with packs of rice and simple canned food and oranges like ours. They carried expensive stuffs like cherries, big bloody red grapes, pears, among others. Besides those fruits, other offerings were some big well-covered bags of food that only those monks knew what they got later. But even a pea brain like me could guess it could not be cheap.
That was the first and the only time I went to give alms at that famous temple. I am still a devoted Buddhist. I am sure Kung's devotion to the religion also not wavered. We just leaned closer to the core of our Lord Buddha's taught. We continued our merit making but with consideration. We did not ask those monks that day what dispersed them so fast. We just put the rest of our offerings back and gave to some needy people we drove past somewhere later. :)
