EDITOR'S NOTE: #MakingMerit #FakingMerit
Date: 06 Nov 2015 Source: Bangkok Post-GURU
Symbol:
Attribute: รายงาน/บทความ
Category: อินเทอร์เน็ต/เว็บไซต์, ก.การต่างประเทศ_บทบรรณาธิการ
Napamon Roongwitoo
As 2016 approaches, the mandatory stories on my Facebook feed concern next year's lucky and unlucky zodiac signs, and what to wear to enhance your fortune. Isn't that convenient? Wear a particular colour and you'll be problem-free all year!
In Thailand, if things start to go wrong, however, you're advised to tam boon or make merit. It's an automatic response, sort of like how people in Germany say "gesundheit" when someone sneezes. Your car broke down? Tam boon . Your boss hates you? Tam boon . Going bankrupt? Tam boon -ing time.This begs the question - what exactly is merit making?
For some, it means dropping coins into the donation box at the cashier, although their real reason for doing so could be they don't want to carry all those coins. It could also mean going to the temple, preferably a famous one (Instagramming optional). Some believe they can make merit by clicking "Like" on those heavily filtered temple selfies. "Liking" someone who made merit equals making merit, no?
Thais love making merit. But what we love more than making merit itself is expecting others to do so. And the pressure to make merit 24/7 can be exhausting.Scenario 1: Your colleague is hosting a kathin ceremony and asks you to chip in. You say no. You're an evil, heartless person. Even if you're flat broke, you must donate.Scenario 2: Your father's friend's relative asks you to do some work for her, for free. You say you're busy. She says you should think of it as a way of making merit. You still refuse. Sinner.Scenario 3: You're going on a work trip to Japan. Your distant friend asks you to bring back green tea-flavoured Kit Kats. You do, and ask her to pay you back. She's aghast that you just passed up the chance to make merit by offering her free snacks.
A friend of mine was in a taxi with an older driver, who told her that she was his last passenger before he gave it all up and returned to his home town, as he was severely ill and could not longer afford big-city life. Three months after heavily tipping the terminally ill driver, fate brought them back together, and she endured another ride listening to the same story, silently kicking herself having fallen for it.
I hope it didn't discourage you from making merit. It did? Well, you can always resort to "Liking" merit-making selfies. G