Foreign Buddhists

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irh41
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Foreign Buddhists

Post by irh41 »

Hi,

I'm an ordained Buddhist, travelling to Cambodia I hope in the next few months.
I know Thailand can be a bit "tetchy" about foreigners bringing in Buddhist items,
especially if bags etc searched at Airports. Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

Does anyone know the situation in Vietnam? Are they tolerant in these matters?

Thanks,

Ian
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Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pm Hi,

I'm an ordained Buddhist, travelling to Cambodia I hope in the next few months.
I know Thailand can be a bit "tetchy" about foreigners bringing in Buddhist items,
especially if bags etc searched at Airports. Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

Does anyone know the situation in Vietnam? Are they tolerant in these matters?

Thanks,

Ian
what kind of buddhist items would you be bringing?
:tophat: Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks :x
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KickingWithRedLabel
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by KickingWithRedLabel »

irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pm Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

There is a white guy wrapped in the monk garb that I see often hanging out in the coffee shops of AEON mall.
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that genius
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by that genius »

irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pmAlso, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!
My neighbours think my bathrobe is sexy.
Anchor Moy
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by Anchor Moy »

I can't imagine anyone searching your bags for Buddhist items in Cambodia and I think you can wear what you like as long as you don't ask people for money.

Foreigners dressed in Buddhist robes who beg, sell relics, and tell fortunes is a no no. You may not get arrested, but other foreigners will insult you and call you a scammer. They will point at you, post your photo on fb, and discuss you on the forums. Fake monks asking tourists for money are a bit of a thing in Cambodia.

If you are not a scammer then you should be fine. Everyone's very tolerant in Cambodia.
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chkwoot
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by chkwoot »

Just yesterday I saw a tall, heavy-set, bald westerner, dressed in full saffron garb. He was walking up and down the riverside. Never seemed to talk to anyone. I believe there is a new law here in Cambodia regarding "fake" monks. You can Google it.

The Vietnamese gov't is much less accommodating when it comes to religious people. I wouldn't recommend publicly advertising your monkness there.
Image

If you do get to VN, go to the temple in Dalat. The head monk speaks excellent English, and gave me a list of books to get that were banned in Nam. Tell him that his reincarnated mother says "hi".
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by Gardiguy »

KickingWithRedLabel wrote:
irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pm Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

There is a white guy wrapped in the monk garb that I see often hanging out in the coffee shops of AEON mall.
I to see him all the time walking up Sothearos in the late morning stopping at all the businesses.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626 using Tapatalk

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bolueeleh
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by bolueeleh »

first of all why is a monk in a shopping mall, secondly how does a monk pay for coffee? especially when he is alr ordained? why the fuck does he even have money?
Money is not the problem, the problem is no money
kiwiincambodia
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by kiwiincambodia »

Gardiguy wrote:
KickingWithRedLabel wrote:
irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pm Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

There is a white guy wrapped in the monk garb that I see often hanging out in the coffee shops of AEON mall.
I to see him all the time walking up Sothearos in the late morning stopping at all the businesses.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626 using Tapatalk
Is that the older gentleman with glasses?

If not, there is another one I often see riding his electric bicycle along Sotheros. I see him most mornings after dropping my kids at school so maybe around 7:30am.

There was also another barang monk who used to stay at wat langka. I would see him walking around bkk1 every day. I haven’t seen him for a year or so now so maybe he’s moved on. I don’t live in the area anymore so maybe I just miss him when he is out on his walks though.
Gardiguy
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Re: Foreign Buddhists

Post by Gardiguy »

kiwiincambodia wrote:
Gardiguy wrote:
KickingWithRedLabel wrote:
irh41 wrote: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:48 pm Also, walking around in robes as a
foreigner of a different tradition can be problematic!

There is a white guy wrapped in the monk garb that I see often hanging out in the coffee shops of AEON mall.
I to see him all the time walking up Sothearos in the late morning stopping at all the businesses.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626 using Tapatalk
Is that the older gentleman with glasses?

If not, there is another one I often see riding his electric bicycle along Sotheros. I see him most mornings after dropping my kids at school so maybe around 7:30am.

There was also another barang monk who used to stay at wat langka. I would see him walking around bkk1 every day. I haven’t seen him for a year or so now so maybe he’s moved on. I don’t live in the area anymore so maybe I just miss him when he is out on his walks though.
No glasses, a really big dude though, as in tall. I would see him around 11am on my way home from work, never saw him when I went around 7:30am so must be a different guy.
Edit : This was a month or 2 ago.
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