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R.I. President Elect Bhichai Rattakul inspires Rotarians to “Sow the Seeds of Love”
Prasert Chaimano installed as Governor of Rotary International District 3340
At the district assembly held in Chantaburi, Laem
Chabang resident and Past President of the Rotary Club of Laem Chabang,
Prasert Chaimano was installed as Governor of District 3340 R.I. for the
year 2002-03.
The district assembly is one of the most important
functions in a Rotary year, where seminars are held for the training of
presidents, secretaries and directors of all the avenues of service,
throughout the district, preparing them to take office in their respective
clubs as of July 1. The main event was of course the installation of the
new district governor of the district.
 President
Alvi Sinthuvanik (Jomtien-Pattaya) spoke of the benefits of supporting the
Rotary Foundation.
H.E. Bhichai Rattakul, President Elect of Rotary
International could not attend this year, but sent his blessings. But his
message was clear as Rotarians were reminded of his speech at the
International Assembly in Melbourne earlier this year saying, “You have
gathered at this International Assembly in order to prepare for one of the
most incredible experiences you will ever have - your term as a district
governor.
“At this point, I wish to echo what President Rick
King has told you - that this indeed is a great moment for Rotary
International. In this august assembly, is the cream of Rotary’s
leadership, not only for the coming year, but for many, many years to
come.
This
charming Rotary Ann presents PDG Premprecha Dibbayawan with a box full of
Chantaburi’s world famous sapphires as PDG Niwes Khunavisarut looks on.
“Here we will work side by side - we will create
objectives and goals for the coming year and we will share our Rotary
know-how to build the mechanism, which will help us reach them. Here we
will come into a larger fellowship, surmounting the barriers of race,
culture and religion, united by the bonds of humanity.
“Rotary accepts every person for who he or she is.
Rotary does not demand perfection, but Rotary does expect a person to live
up to his or her best. Rotary inspires us to dream of the world the way it
ought to be - a world of brotherhood, of service, of idealism, of peace,
of harmony. A world of love.
 Past
District Governor Mukh Vongchavalitkul installs Prasert Chaimano as
District Governor with the distinguished badge of his office.
“You, district governors-elect, are the Rotary
leaders of tomorrow. You have the responsibility of guiding the clubs and
Rotarians in your districts to the ends of their horizons.
“Our vision of a world fellowship on a
person-to-person basis remains clear and undimmed. And this keen vision is
most desperately needed today. Never before in recent memory has our world
faced as great a threat as the September terrorist attacks that brought
blood and tears as thousands and thousands of innocent people perished.
There is, therefore, urgency to our meeting, and to our calling as leaders
and as Rotarians.
“As Rotarians first, we know that it is the club and
its members - not the district governor, not the directors, not the
president of Rotary International - who do the work of Rotary. Our clubs
are the heart and soul of Rotary, so during your terms as district
governors, I will ask you to focus your attention on nurturing every club
in your district.
 Past
President Peera Potipipit (Udon Thani) and Past President Peter Malhotra (Jomtien-Pattaya)
chaired the session on Public Relations.
“To strengthen our
clubs, we will work from the ‘bottom up’, rather than from the ‘top
down.’
“Bottom up means that I won’t be giving you new
rules to follow, new procedures to learn or new quotas to meet, because
that’s a top down approach. Just as I ask you to work from the bottom
up, I will do the same.
“Bottom up means that the strength of your
district’s clubs is the true measure of the success of your term as
governor. Your greatest satisfaction will come when the clubs in your
district grow strong and reap bountiful harvests of service.
A
line up of District Governors past and present with their spouses.
“Bottom up means that for us, the leadership of
Rotary, it will be far more important to see than to be seen, far more
important to listen than to be heard, and far more important to love than
to be loved.
“My friends, as the leadership team it is up to us to
inspire our fellow Rotarians. It is up to us to bring Rotary into their
hearts. We have no way of changing the past, but we have endless ways of
changing the future. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice. The future is not an opportunity to be wasted, but rather a work
to be built!
 The
active and vibrant members of the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya enjoying
the seminar.
“Rotarians are indeed architects of the future if we
act on our commitment to service. But in drawing up the blueprints, let us
build on our already strong foundation.
“In Thailand we talk about a cow that forgets its
footprints. While we look forward to the future and the tasks that await
us, let us not make the same mistake. Let us remember and honour our
origins. Let us not forget the basics and the fundamental principles and
philosophy of Rotary.
 Members
of the Rotary Club of Pattaya attended in force.
“We have gathered here from every part of the world,
representing different races, countries, languages, religions, politics,
and cultures.
“We come knowing that the love you give is the
happiness you get. We come knowing that in this world, there is far more
hunger for love than there is for bread.
“My dear friends in Rotary, in the coming year, I
will be asking you to live and work by our theme: Sow the Seeds of Love.
“I ask you to Sow the Seeds of Love and plant the
essence of life.
“Survival is, of course, the essence of life. But
survival alone has no value, it is who you survive for that is important.
“So Sow the Seeds of Love in your club, in your
vocation, in your community and in your world.
Chantaburi
Rotarians and their families performed a spectacular show depicting the
legend of King Taksin the Great.
“The seeds of love are hardy. They will grow in any
climate, and in any soil. Some of the seeds we sow will begin to sprout
almost immediately, and like wildflowers, begin to seed themselves,
spreading love throughout the air. Other seeds may fall on hard and rocky
ground, and they will require more nurturing. But by cultivating them with
Rotarian commitment and action, I guarantee that we will reap a bountiful
harvest of humanitarian service.
“To Sow the Seeds of Love is to find opportunities to
serve every day, every moment of our lives. To Sow the Seeds of Love is to
think of others first, and ourselves in terms of what we can do for
others.
 Beautiful
performers dressed in period costumes performed an epic show.
“For Rotary is not really Rotary unless it is engaged
in high moral principle, and indeed we are. As Rotarians, we have such a
purpose today and always. To make kinder the face of the country, and
gentler the face of the world.
“We therefore have work, much work to do. As Dr.
Jonas Salk once said, ‘The greatest reward for doing is the opportunity
to do more.’
“My friends, let us all move forward from here with
love and hope and confidence and hold to our cause dearly and effectively,
for if we have the strength to live with uncertainty, there is hardly any
obstacle that cannot be overcome.
“If we stand together and work together for this
great cause - the ideal of service - then we must keep our eyes straight
ahead. Then we shall not only survive, but we shall be victorious, then we
shall not only win the peace, but also the future.
“Yes, my friends let us go forth then ... let us go
forth to Sow the Seeds of Love.”
The
veterans of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya.
But it wasn’t only serious business. Rotarians had
the opportunity to play a round of golf, or go on a tour of the beautiful
town and its surroundings. At the gala evening Rotarians and guests were
treated with a grand show using a cast of hundreds of Rotarians and their
families depicting the legend of King Taksin the Great. The 5 Rotary Clubs
in Chantaburi played hosts superbly to the core, making this get together
of hundreds of Rotarians from the largest Rotary District in Thailand,
covering all the Northeastern and Eastern regions of Thailand, one the
most memorable ever.
This is only an excerpt of H.E. Bhichai Rattakul’s
speech. For full text and other speeches go to: http://www.bhichairattakul.org/
Operation Smile & Rotary provide free reconstructive surgery
For 100 Children in Sisaket & Ubon Ratchathani
The Operation Smile Foundation in Thailand, in close
cooperation with Rotary organizations in Switzerland, Thailand, and
America, will provide free life-changing surgery to 100 children and
others with cleft lip, cleft palate, or other facial deformities at
Sisaket Hospital in Sisaket, and at Sapasittiprasong Hospital in Ubon
Ratchathani.
The medical teams are coordinated in Sisaket by Dr
Apichai Angspatt, Chulalongkorn Hospital, Bangkok, and in Ubon by Dr
Preeda Itthithammaboon, Head of the Surgery Department of Sapasittiprasong
Hospital. Overall coordination rests with Dr Preeda.
The medical teams include several volunteer surgeons
and other medical professionals from Bangkok. Dr Anusak Tungpaibool,
Director of Sisaket Hospital, and Dr Kawee Chaisiri, Director of
Sapasittiprasong Hospital, provide additional medical staff and hospital
facilities. Rotary and Operation Smile highly appreciate the support of
all the members of these medical teams and of the hospitals.
 Rotary
is very pleased to announce that Dr Preeda Itthithammaboon will start soon
in Ubon with surgery on Sunanta Khampa, a 28-year-old patient from
Khonkaen Province.
The present mission is the last of three free surgery
missions which Rotary & Operation Smile have organized since last
December as part of Rotary’s Isaan Project.
This project provides more than 320 patients from
Thailand’s Northeastern region with over 350 individual operations on
cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities.
The project started last December in Ubon with over 80
operations, followed last March and April by a series of around 160
operations, also in Ubon, and it will conclude this month or early next
month in Sisaket and Ubon.
This reconstructive surgery has a profound impact on
the future lives of the patients. After treatment, all patients will be
able to face the world with confidence and without shame, and cleft palate
patients will be able to speak, eat, and drink properly for the very first
time in their lives. Think about the importance of such great gifts!
Rotary is also very pleased to announce that Dr Preeda
Itthithammaboon will start soon in Ubon with surgery on Sunanta Khampa, a
28-year-old patient from Khonkaen Province. Large parts of her face and
upper body are covered by a major facial tumor which started to grow when
she was 8 yrs old. As a result, she has never been able to attend school,
and rarely comes out of the house. If left untreated, there is a high risk
that her tumor will develop into a malignant cancer. Her treatment
requires several sessions of complex surgery. For each session Miss
Sunanta will have to stay in the hospital for several weeks. She is
currently undergoing the last series of tests.
Her treatment, as well as that of hundreds of other
patients, inclusive some other complicated cases, are part of the
US$53,000 (2.3 million baht) Swiss-Thai “Isaan Project”, paid for by
the Rotary Club of Zuerich-Sihltal, the Rotary Club of Thalwil (both from
Switzerland), the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya (of Chonburi, Thai land),
and The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, which provided a
substantial grant. Additional financial support was provided by The Ge
Laurant Fund of Chonburi.
We are grateful to all of these sponsors, especially to
our generous Swiss friends!
Local Rotary Clubs in the area where free surgery is
provided, such as the Rotary Club of Sisaket and the Rotary Club of Ubon,
provide very important on-the-spot assistance.
To make donations, or to report cases requiring plastic
surgery on cleft lip, cleft palate, or other facial deformities, please
contact: Khun Yuparpak Jankhiew, 0-1921-6332, 0-2285-2037, fax
0-2285-2040, e-mail yuparpak @yahoo.com or write to: The Operation Smile
Foundation in Thailand, 501/110 Nanglynchee Road, Chongnonsee, Yannawa,
Bangkok 10120.
Pattaya battles to host Skål World Congress 2006
Receives ‘personal’ support from Skål International President Tony Clegg-Butt
by Agnes M. Abrau and
Michael David C. Tan
Never say die. Skål Club of Pattaya and East Thailand
(SPET) went full blast in its drive to host the Skål World Congress 2006
with the non-stop promotion of Pattaya in Thailand, even up to the last
hours of the recently concluded 31st Skๅl Asian Area Assembly in
Manila. Pattaya is offering a “sunny and tropical” alternative to the
“bitterly cold” London, the only other bidder to host the annual
event.
 Murray
‘Braveheart’ Hertz, president of Skål International Pattaya and East
Thailand waves the Pattaya banner encouraging everyone to campaign
together for the good of tourism to Pattaya.
As an international organization with over 25,000
members in 84 countries, Skål is one of the largest networking
opportunities in the world for everyone involved in the tourism, travel
and hospitality industries. Hosting the organization’s world congress,
according to SPET President Murray Hertz, “will be a very important
event for Pattaya.”
“If we are fortunate enough to win the bid (and we
are going to work very hard to do just that), Pattaya will come to the
attention of most of the important travel executives in the world. At
last, Pattaya will receive the recognition it truly deserves as one of the
top tourist destinations in Asia,” Hertz said earlier.
No less than Skål International President Anthony
Clegg-Butt personally favors Pattaya as the host for 2006. “Their chance
is very good,” he said. “It’s cold in November in London; expensive
in London. It’s warm in Pattaya; it’s lovely in Pattaya. Personally, I
prefer Pattaya (and) I believe Pattaya will win this.”
The
Pattaya Skal Team shows off the “Skal World Congress 2006 Pattaya,
Thailand” t-shirts to Tony Clegg-Butt (3rd right) president of Skål
International.
Joining in to give his total support was Brian Sinclair-Thompson (right)
president of Skål International Bangkok and general manager of Swiss Air
Lines Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia & Vietnam.
Clegg-Butt, however, said that he has “no vote” and
it’s the members who will do the selection.
Earlier this month in Pattaya, Skål International
Secretary General Jim Power told the local Skålleagues that Pattaya’s
warm weather is its biggest draw. “Anyone who has been to Europe knows
how bitterly cold it can be. It would be much better to spend that time of
year in sunny Pattaya,” he said. “Our research has (also) shown that a
warm weather destination can make a difference of up to 300 people
attending in a congress. That’s a plus on our side and that’s
something we have to think about. As an international organization in over
84 countries, we have to be fair to those 84 countries.”
 Andrew
Wood, SPET secretary and GM of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort makes a
presentation on Pattaya’s behalf, which won total approval and support
from the chair for our bid.
In a message, Juthamas Siriwan, the acting governor of
the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), offered the government’s
“full support” behind SPET, as she extended “cordial invitation to
Skål International to consider Thailand as a venue for the 67th Skål
World Congress.”
“Thailand is recognized as one of the most favored
destinations in the Asia Pacific. Our country is blessed with all the
ingredients which make for a destination of choice for travelers. Apart
from the convenient accessibility, the supporting facilities for large
international conventions are quite extensive and will meet the most
demanding of requirements. Delegates will (also) enjoy the scenic
attractions, our legendary hospitality, our renowned cuisine and amazing
crafts. We can rightfully claim that Thailand is among the most vibrant
and exciting countries to visit,” Siriwan said.
Annually, Thailand caters to over 10 million visitors,
with a third of these visiting Pattaya.
“There are over 30,000 hotel rooms in Pattaya - more
than Singapore - we have new infrastructures, we have clean waters, we
have four international shopping plazas, we are very family friendly, and
with the new expressway, it is just now an hour and 30 minutes from the
airport to Pattaya. By 2006, Thailand will have a new international
airport (which is currently under construction) that will bring
(travelers) 90 kilometers closer to Pattaya than the existing
international airport,” Andrew Wood, SPET secretary, said in a
presentation to the Skๅlleagues in Manila. “We are betting against
wet and cold London in November, which could cost travelers 200 pounds a
night. (Should we win) we promise you one of the best world congresses
ever.”
 The
‘Team’ wish to thank Butch C. Bonsol (2nd
right), GM of What’s On & Expat newspaper in Manila for her kind
attention and generous support ensuring our stay in Manila was a most
memorable one.
Bob McGill, vice president of Skål Cairns, said it
would be more economical and competitive to hold (the world congress) in
Pattaya. “It’s closer to home, so more people can join with the least
of expenses.”
The decision will be known in November, during the
Skål World Congress in Cairns, the regional tourist destination for the
far north of Queensland. Durban in South Africa will host the world
congress in 2004, while Zagreb/Dubrovnik in Croatia hosts 2005.
To drum up Pattaya’s chances of hosting the event,
which is expected to bring over 3,000 travel executives from around the
world, SPET President Murray Hertz was joined in Manila by SPET vice
president and publisher of Pattaya Mail Peter Malhotra; Andrew
Wood, Skål secretary and the general manager of the Royal Cliff Beach
Resort; Ingo Rauber, the executive assistant manager of the Dusit Resort;
and Michael Vogt, a 15 year veteran hotelier in Pattaya.
In a statement, SPET highlighted the significance of
the world congress. “This is an important milestone in the rebirth of
Pattaya as one of the premier resort cities in the world,” SPET said.
“We know that the London bid may be better funded than ours, but we are
not worried by financial clout. Where would you rather spend five days in
November? In sunny, friendly Thailand, or in cold, damp and gray England?
... This is war, and we will win.”
“Of Mice and Men”: Perhaps a message still valid
Story and photos by Peter Cummins
The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Art Theatre continues to
bring art, culture and just plain enjoyment to a broad cross-section of
people in the Kingdom, both Thais and non-Thais - not just residents of
Bangkok but also to many in other provinces and outlying areas. I, for
one, do not hesitate to come to Bangkok from Pattaya - or, wherever I
might be - to attend one of the Sheraton’s shows. I make a real night of
it, starting with an aperitif at the “Living Room”, enjoying one of
the city’s best buffets at the Orchid Cafe or Rossini’s and, after the
show, return to listen to jazz music, with a digestive - or three - back
at the “Lounge Room”.
Lennie
(R) remonstrates with George.
The repertoire of the entertainment is remarkable,
ranging from opera and classical to Shakespeare and Dickens. Winemakers’
dinners and wine-tasting sessions also feature largely in the Sheraton’s
programmes.
Certainly, though, the recent staging of the John
Steinbeck classic “Of Mice and Men” was one of the most memorable.
Staging would hardly be the appropriate term: there were really no props,
no visuals - just a few up-turned wooden crates, some subdued lighting and
raw talent.
 Lennie
(behind) believes George’s dreams.
I was an avid student of John Ernst Steinbeck’s work
which, I felt, captured the very essence of the United States over almost
three decades, from his “Of Mice and Men”, “Grapes of Wrath” and
“Cannery Row”, written between 1936 and 1945, in which he painted a
gloomy portrait of a people left behind, recovering from the Great
Depression and a descent into introspection after the shattering
experience of involvement in World War II.
“East of Eden” and the “Winter of Our
Discontent” followed in 1952 and 1961, respectively. His last book,
“Travels with Charley”, published in 1962, four years before he died,
was instrumental in his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature that same
year. It was also, perhaps, his own epitaph, as he travelled around the
continental United States with his dog Charley, seeing a different
America: a country of faith, hope and charity, to coin an age-old adage.
 “Why
did you kill that mouse, Lennie?” George asks.
The brilliant acting of Michael Glenn Murphy and Nigel
Miles-Thomas was absolutely enthralling as these two desperate, lonely
drifters acted out their fantasies. The play should have come to Pattaya
where, in a different era and in a different world, nevertheless, the city
can count many drifters - and dreamers with empty pockets.
“Of Mice and Men” is the compelling story of two
outsiders looking for a place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search
of work in a depressed economic environment, George (Michael Glenn-Murphy)
and his simpleton friend Lennie have only each other and a vague dream of
some land of their own to farm and prosper and where George promises
Lennie, the “mouse-killer” that he can have his own chicken farm.
The duo eventually find some work in Salinas Valley,
but it is a doomed venture as Lennie sinks, drowned in his own failings,
bringing George down with him.
 Sheraton
Grande staff award Lennie (L) and George, in the typical Thai fashion.
“Of Mice and Men” can still carry its universal
theme today: friendship and a shared vision in post-Depression America in
which Steinbeck was a voice for the legions of lonely and disposed, is not
far from the legions of the lost right here in some of Pattaya’s sois.
The play was promoted by the London-based The
Production Line Company, “Which,” according to its philosophy, “was
formed to make a wide variety of top-quality entertainment available
world-wide at affordable prices ... and to increase the public’s access
to the arts.”
Through the Sheraton Grande Art Theatre, it is
certainly succeeding. Let’s have some of the shows here in Pattaya.
Boun Bang Fai
by Kathryn Brimacombe
A fizzling sound erupts behind me. As I turn around,
the cheering cries of the people are almost as deafening as the explosion
blows the homemade rocket into the clouds amidst billows of white smoke.
It’s Boun Bang Fai, or The Rocket Festival, here in
Vang Vieng in northern Laos. It’s an annual festival held nationwide
after the Laos New Year in April and has been around for as long as people
can remember. The purpose of Boun Bang Fai is to beg for rain for the
upcoming rice-planting season. One man tells me the rockets are fired to
make holes in the sky to allow the rain to fall.
 It’s
a most festive occasion, with plenty of Beer Lao and Lao-lao.
It’s also an occasion to party! All around me
hundreds of people are dancing and singing, clapping their hands and
laughing as the Beer Lao (their national beer), and potent homemade rice
whiskey called Lao-lao flows freely.
Across the river a large bamboo scaffold has been
erected next to a tree. I hear the telltale fizzling sound again but the
rocket being fired from the top of the scaffolding explodes seconds after
it is ignited by two young men. Holding my breath, I hope no one has been
injured but when the cheers arise I trust they are okay.
Traditionally, the rockets were made of bamboo, but
today they’re made from plastic or metal tubes in which an explosive
powder has been compressed. The Laotians don’t seem to be too concerned
about how dangerous this tradition is, as there’s another explosion and
the rocket shoots sidewise and skims across the river, narrowly missing a
boat full of people, and sinks into the water!
 A
loud sizzle followed by an explosion as the homemade rocket head upwards
to poke a hole in the sky so that it will rain.
This festival is also a fertility rite and I notice
most of the men carrying the rockets are dressed as women and are wearing
make-up. Oftentimes, huge wooden penises are carried, as well as wooden or
live turtles, a symbol of the female sex. This rite of honouring the male
and female is a symbol of rebirth and growth in the upcoming rainy season.
Earlier in the day a procession of rockets, villagers,
and celebrators wove their way through the streets of Vang Vieng
announcing the start of the festival before making their way down to the
riverside to let the celebrations begin in earnest. Now, several hours
later as I take my leave, the Laotians are still partying hard, rockets
are being fired every few minutes, and the air, full of smoke and music
and laughter, is joyful.
Business lunch members enlightened on precepts of Buddhism
by Sue
Police Colonel Vasit Dejkunchorn, the vice chairman of
the Advisory Board of Matichon Newspapers Group, a long time practitioner
of Buddhism and a respectable teacher of meditation in Thailand, was the
guest speaker at the May German business lunch at the Royal Cliff.
Vasit admitted that although being born a Buddhist, his
attraction to Buddhism and meditation came much later in his life. He
recalled his younger days when he had to recite Buddhist prayers in
Sanskrit, an ancient language not widely understood, which meant the
chanting was actually meaningless to him. The five precepts or
Commandments was just mandatory reading.
 Police
Colonel Vasit Dejkunchorn (left), the vice chairman of the Advisory Board
of Matichon Newspapers Group, a long time practitioner of Buddhism and a
respectable teacher of meditation in Thailand, was the guest speaker at
the May German business lunch at the Royal Cliff.
In Buddhism, sila, or precepts are for training one’s
self. The five basic precepts are undertaken in order to obtain one’s
own salvation. These include abstaining from killing living things,
abstaining from taking what is not given, celibacy, misconduct such as
telling lies, using harsh language and abstinence from liqueur and drugs.
To help his mother with her excellent cooking, Vasit
had to kill frogs, fish and chickens. “I must have violated every
precept except the third one that deals with sexual misconduct. I was too
young for that,” he said.
Even as a university student at Chulalongkorn, when he
came across some books written by Buddhadas Bhikkhu, a well-known Buddhist
philosopher that appealed to him because of the plain penetrating Thai
language he used, they were soon forgotten as then Buddhism was not
required for his academic endeavor.
Once again, out of necessity his interest in Buddhism
revived when he studied for a Masters degree in public administration in
the United States and often had to answer questions about Buddhism. Then,
when he returned to Thailand in 1954 and joined the police department, he
found it open to many forms of vice, and he said he shattered nearly all
the five basic precepts.
Vasit’s serious meditation came to him by chance
after he was amused and bemused by his colleague police officers spending
their off duty time meditating on the train during the time he served the
Royal Family as the Royal Court Permanent Police Officer and accompanied
HM the King and Queen on journeys around Thailand.
Killing time by meditating, curiosity got the better of
him when he followed Buddhadas’ instruction in ignoring everything else
but being aware only of one’s breath - and to his surprise found the
practice soothing. Vasit’s five minute experience of seven spectra
indicated that he had reached the calmness of mind.
Since then he has been meditating everywhere and at
every chance; early in the morning, before retiring to bed, in the car,
and in the office.
His increasing responsibilities at work led him to turn
to serious meditation for inner peace and to understand pain and to live
with pain without torment. Pain, like everything else, is a sufferance,
impermanent and non-existent. It took him two years of regular practice to
understand that pain was unbearable because one tries to will it to
disappear. The minute one starts willing, the pain loses its potency.
Without reaction, all action is neutralized.
Applying the principle to other forms of sufferance,
Vasit came to understand the Four Noble Truths, found by Buddha over 2,500
years ago; that life is nothing but dukkha, roughly translated as
sufferance or something that never gives you complete satisfaction. What
gives rise to dukkha is your own craving: craving to be or not to be,
craving to have to not to have, and sensual craving.
Buddha says the only way of extinguishing dukkha is via
nibbana or nirvana, the Absolute Reality, where all form of desire or
craving cease once and for all. To attain nirvana, one must constantly and
continuously follow the Eight-fold Path. This can be compared to a
one-way, eight-lane superhighway.
It is one-way because once you have reached the
destination, nirvana, there is no return. Its eight lanes must be traveled
simultaneously. The Eight-fold Path consists of right understanding, right
thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness and right action.
In short, to attain nirvana one must steadfastly
maintain the five precepts (sila) and relentlessly meditate (samadhi).
This will lead to panna, the understanding of the Four Nobel Truths, thus
opening the path to nirvana.
In closing, Vasit reminded the audience again that he
was just a mere student trying (for 30 years) to apply a formula given by
teacher Buddha. He told the audience that if they wanted to reach nirvana;
they could only do this on their own. “No one can help deliver you to
nirvana,” he said. “Buddha and his disciples can only point the
direction, but you must walk the path yourself. The eight-fold Path is a
do-it-yourself kit without which you will remain stuck in dukkha.”
The German business lunch members left the session not
only mindful of their waistlines, but also mindful of peace around them.
Up, up and away
by Lesley Warner
There are not many things that would get me out of bed
enthusiastically at 4 a.m., but a hot air balloon ride is definitely one
of them.
It started at the beginning of the week when I was
asked to cover the “Golden Fifty” Charity Balloon Challenge. 2002 is
the Golden Jubilee year of HM Queen Elizabeth II and marks the 50th
anniversary of Her Majesty’s Accession. The friendly hot air balloon
flying mini-competition will take place this weekend, June 1 and 2.
 David
Tuck (center) readies for the “Golden Fifty” Charity Balloon
Challenge, a friendly hot air balloon flying mini-competition this
weekend, June 1 and 2, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen
Elizabeth II.
Ever since I watched the Jules Verne movie ‘The Land
Time Forgot’ when I was a child (a long time ago) I have had the
ambition to ride in a hot air balloon. I didn’t really expect to get the
chance to fulfill this ambition, but when I contacted David Tuck to find
out the best time to cover the Charity Balloon Challenge, he offered me a
ride in the balloon on the May 24, if I could meet him 15 km west of Ban
Bung on a school playing field at 6.15 a.m.
The night before the flight when I confirmed with David
he told me to bring a hat to protect my head from the burner, remember
that there wasn’t much room in the basket and wear trainers because he
was never sure what the ground would be like where he landed. He also
suggested that I interview him on the ground because of the noise from the
burners. By the time he had finished some of my rosy glow had diminished.
I imagined sweating buckets in a cramped space needing ear mufflers.
 Nearly
ready for take off.
David also warned me that the weather at this time of
year, at best, gave us only a 50% chance of getting into the air. But I
was up at 4 a.m. and out of the house by 4.45 a.m. I suddenly realized I
couldn’t see a thing, in my rush, I had forgotten my to put in my
contact lenses! Fortunately I had some spares with me.
I arrived at the field by 6.15 a.m. to behold the
magnificent sight of the massive balloon half inflated. At last I allowed
myself to feel excited.
David said, “We still might not be able to fly, owing
to the large build up of cumulus clouds - they can hide some pretty
horrible weather behind them.”
I watched in anticipation as the burner sent huge
bursts of flame into the balloon, fascinated as the flimsy material swayed
backwards and forwards, seeming to taunt the flame. Then suddenly David
said, “OK, lets go.”
I climbed into the very small basket and we were off. I
was not disappointed - the surreal feeling of floating through the air
with just the occasional burst of the burner to break the quiet was
fantastic.
I did manage to ask David some questions, and he told
me that he became interested in ballooning in 1990. He learnt to fly about
2 years ago in the UK and when he came to Thailand he brought the balloon
with him. He is the only foreign balloonist in Thailand. To enable him to
fly in Thailand he had to get permission to set up a temporary airfield
from the Department of Aviation. 30 minutes before he flies he has to
inform the nearest air traffic control base on his air band radio, in this
case U-Tapao Airport.
When we left, David removed one of the 3 gas tanks and
explained that in the UK you could carry 400 kilos with 2 tanks, but in
Thailand only 200 kilos because of the temperature. He uses ordinary
cooking gas, as propane is too difficult to get here. One tank last
approximately 30 minutes.
 The
scenery was breathtakingly beautiful!
I was interested to know how much control David had
over the balloon. He said up and down was easy using the ripcord to open a
flap in the top of the balloon to descend and the two gas burners for
ascending. Direction was more difficult to control, but he used the G.P.S.
that supplies all the information he needs.
After we had been up in the air about 20 minutes David
said the weather was changing and we should go down. He told me to brace
myself for landing. This sounded a little unnerving, but I did as he said,
but it was not necessary as we landed upright in a sugar cane field and
finished up in a field of young corn. Immediately, the local community,
all with willing hands to help, surrounded us. Unfortunately the
controlling matriarch was not impressed with the balloon or us and wanted
compensation for her flattened crops. But everyone was very nice; it was a
great experience. I think the only thing left for me to beat this
experience is to jump out of a plane, with a parachute of course.
Go along to the charity event - it really is a
magnificent sight and there might even be the chance to see an airship. If
the balloons can’t fly in the evening they light the burners. As you can
imagine in the dark this is an awe-inspiring sight so don’t forget your
camera.
The Expat Club - a support group for all nationalities
The Expat Club, founded by Peter Mills and Preben
Hansen, meets every Sunday at 11:00 for a brunch at the Astoria Hotel.
Every Sunday, 80 or more people attend these meetings and the number is
still growing by the week.
The success of this club, particularly as a support
group for the members, is mainly due to members freely sharing their
experiences and expertise with other members, meaning that anybody can
take the microphone and tell a story or ask any question and many of the
members are eager to help out with the right answers.
 Preben
Hansen of Denmark (standing left) and Peter Mills of England (standing
right) seem to enjoy the strong turn-out of the members.
The focus is on expats helping expats - of all
nationalities. Many times the club invites interesting guest speakers,
with topics of special concern for expats.
Peter Mills, who leads the program with charm and
skill, says that there is still much more to this club. As well as a
normal exchange of up to date information on visas, health insurance, work
permits, home purchase and income opportunities, the club has a couple of
new projects taking shape:
First, the members’ safety net project, to help in
the case of any emergencies, be they legal problems or medical situations
or any others of a wide range.
Second, the best of Pattaya project, which is linked to
a discount card. Forms can be filled in at any Sunday meeting.
Each week the members receive a newsletter on all new
initiatives, and are welcomed to actively get involved and make
suggestions for the club.
Another good thing about this club is that everybody
can bring their family and if they don’t want to listen or join, they
can go swimming at the hotel pool - free of charge - and all afternoon
long if they want to.
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