House of Pleasure

And the winner is...Royal Cliff Garden Condominium.  Our lease is up at the end of November, so Tim will celebrate his birthday at our new place.  Mike and Tim will be our last guests at our current place, and Ted will help us break in the new place.  Sounds like good karma to me.  The move should be pretty easy, since we didn't come with much stuff.  We are excited to get to know another part of the city.

Royal Cliff Garden Condominiums

Other than planning for the move, life is getting back into a routine of sorts.  I enjoyed having Mika over for lunch and a swim last week.  We just had a simple salad and fruit out on the deck, and Mika brought a loaf of her delicious homemade bread - yum!  Now that the pool gets less sun during the day, the water is cooling off a bit.  It only takes a few seconds to get used to it, though, and the changing angle of the sun means the pool is more shaded during the day, which equals less risk of sunburn.  So we don't have to wait until after 4 p.m. to swim.  (I feel a bit guilty writing this for my Midwestern readers; but I do miss your wonderful change of seasons, and have been enjoying everyone's Facebook pictures of fall colors and visits to the cider mill.)

Tim and I had dinner at the Beefeater on Friday night, a recommendation from Mika.  It is a nice steakhouse smack dab in the middle of many "lady bars" and "massage" parlors.  Although I was a bit shocked by these establishments when we first arrived, I find that I don't even think twice about it now.

In the restaurant, we enjoyed some nice Australian beef, then went out to walk for a bit after dinner.  The walkways are crowded with "working women," but there is no sense of illicit activity.  Most of the women are just hanging out with their "co-workers,"  on their cellphones or putting on makeup right there on the street.  They smile politely and greet us, "Sawatdeekaa."  One doesn't get the same feeling of danger as one might in a shady part of town in America.  Perhaps because prostitution laws are not strictly enforced here, you don't detect a sense of fear or shame.  They don't hide in dark alleys and avoid eye contact.

When we had our cultural training, our instructor said that educated Thais see these women as lazy, unwilling to work or study to better themselves.  She also said that many of them come from Isaan, an area in northeast Thailand that has historically been one of the poorest regions.  A common perception is that a young woman's way out of poverty is to hook up with a wealthy farang who will provide financial assistance for her family "up country."

How does this reconcile with a country that is over 90% Buddhist?

What is Buddhist attitude towards prostitution? As Buddhists, we have to understand that Buddhism does not blame women who have to work as prostitutes for their living. But prostitution promotes unwholesome acts both on the parts of the men and prostitutes themselves. It is understandable from the prostitute's point of view that she was forced to do it out of poverty and need for survival, but what about the men buying service from her? What necessity do they have apart from the answer to their lustful desire? The Buddha did not look down upon prostitutes. On the contrary he provided opportunity for them to enter the rightful path in the same manner as other. Once he accepted an invitation from Ambapali, a courtesan, for lunch on the next day. After that the Licchavi princes came and offered him an invitation again. He declined as he already accepted an invitation form Ambapali. This courtesan was the same person who later offered him and the Sangha a mango grove for the monks' residence. Jivaka, the famous physician who attended personally to the Buddha and the Sangha was also born of a prostitute. He was never frowned upon for his birth.Being a prostitute is not an obstacle to enlightenment if she is willing and diligently practises dharma. In fact, the experience of a prostitute could help her towards enlightenment sooner than otherwise. Buddhism does not support prostitutes. On the contrary it points out that prostitution is an unwholesome act. Buddhists do not look down upon prostitutes. If they choose to practice dharma, they have an equal, if not better chance to become enlightened.                                                                                                                                     www.buddhanet.net  Hmmm, interesting... And the story of Buddha and the courtesan is quite similar to the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, isn't it? On a decidedly different note, here's a little tidbit for you sports fans:  Thailand has a basketball league!  I was quite surprised to see a basketball game on TV.  The most common sports on TV here are soccer, badminton, snooker and Muay Thai boxing.  I did stumble upon an NFL game once, too.  I know this is a concern for two certain fantasy football league fans who will be visiting in the thick of the NFL season.  Take heart; there are lots of sports bars with premium cable sports packages!