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Phra Nicholas enlightens Pattaya City Expats Club
Members of the PCEC pose with
Phra Nicholas (center) from Wat Dhammakaya.
At a recent meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club the
guest speaker was Phra Nicholas from Wat Dhammakaya. It was somewhat of a
surprise to realise that it had been over two years since Phra Nicholas last
spoke to the club.
After a brief statement of how he came to be interested and involved in
Buddhism some 20 years ago whilst at university, Phra Nicholas explained why
he came to Thailand and followed the Buddhist practices here. He explained
that Buddhism is not practiced in the same way in different places but here
in Thailand it is part of people’s lives. He then focused for his talk on
knowledge and habits. “A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.”
Knowledge in the wrong hands can also be dangerous.
Phra Nicholas worked through the theme of habits, showing the influence of
many groups on an individual’s development and habit formation. But in the
end we have to take responsibility for our own habits and behaviour in body
speech and mind - these are not a matter of divine intervention or destiny.
He propounded that if people exhibit good thinking, speech and action then
there will be continuous happiness and prosperity. If the reverse took place
and bad thinking, speech and action then continuous unhappiness would lead
to destitution.
Phra Nicholas then propounded that life and self can be seen as influenced
by environment, society and 4 forms of bias, 4 defilements of action and
economy and 6 roads to ruin. By not killing, stealing, lying or indulging in
sexual misconduct our actions should be for the good. Good habits for the
economy will evolve if the person does not succumb to the six roads to ruin.
These embrace rules on no alcohol or related activities, no nightlife, no
sport junkies, no gambling, no bad friends and above all no laziness. All
good ideas but very difficult to fulfil.
Phra Nicholas concluded his first session by taking the members through a
short meditation activity whereby we were asked to focus our minds on the
sun or a bright object and take it deep into our middles. Holding it there
and bringing it back if it wandered. Not an easy task at first but Phra
Nicholas suggested that it was a practice that could help everyone and not
just those of a Buddhist persuasion to obtain some peace whenever they
practice it.
Whilst Phra Nicholas had his daily meal the reports were given about all the
mid-week activities of the club and an update of forthcoming events.
Phra Nicholas then took questions on a wide-ranging number of topics, all
fully answered with thought and consideration. A truly remarkable person and
one we are very fortunate to have as a friend of the club.
This is merely one example of the interesting speakers on a wide-ranging
spectrum of topics that the PCEC offers to its members over the weeks. For
more information go to www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com and find out about all
the mid-week activities as well or attend any meeting on any Sunday at Henry
J. Bean’s on North Pattaya Beach Road. Meeting start at 10.30 a.m., buffet
breakfast available from 9.30 - 11 a.m.
Dive Site donates to
YWCA Bangkok Pattaya
The staff (left) of the Dive Shop
in Pattaya donate money and diving equipment to Pattaya’s YWCA, represented by
Nitaya Patimasongkroh, president, and Elfi Seitz (right).
Nitaya Patimasongkroh, president of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya
Center, recently went down to the Dive Site in Jomtien along with Elfi Seitz to
receive a generous donation of 33,440 baht from the staff of the shop.
Paul Guthrie, the shop manager, explained that when he took over the shop they
had some surplus stock, which instead of just destroying, they endeavoured to
put to good use, so they sold the items off at a hugely reduced cost and
informed the customers that the money raised from the sale of these goods would
be donated to a local charity.
The Dive Site opened about 2 months ago and is the third branch, the others
being in Bangkok. The shops specialize in underwater equipment.
On their opening night many people were in attendance from the diving community
and all the money raised from the beverages sold would again go to charity.
Khun Nitaya received the cheque and said that the money would go towards the
foster care project and would help towards schooling and essential meals for the
children.
As an added bonus the Dive Site also donated numerous diving masks to the
children so that perhaps in the future they will take to the clear waters in and
around Pattaya.
Merit making ceremony
for new car rental company
Amorn and Amornrat Malhotra
(right) during the merit making ceremony at Thailand Rent A Car.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Five monks from Wat Sawangarom attended the merit making ceremony organized on
April 30 for Thoss Thailand Rent A Car.
Amorn Malhotra, managing director of Thoss Thailand One Stop Service and
Amornrat Malhotra led the ceremony with relatives and friends, and presented
gifts to the monks. The guests received holy water for prosperity.
Thoss Rent A Car came into service on April 5 and provides vehicles for sale in
addition to daily, weekly and monthly rentals.
Thoss Rent A Car is located at 3/139 Moo 6, Pattaya 3rd Road, Naklua. Tel 0 3837
0700-1, fax 0 3837 0702. It is open every day including public holidays.
Keeping busy with
the Charity Club of Pattaya
The Charity Club of Pattaya has been keeping busy,
distributing clothing and necessities in Krasang, Northeast Thailand and tending
to their wheelchair project.
The Charity Club of Pattaya’s recent clothing appeal, which was supported by the
Pattaya Expats Club, the Pattaya City Expats Club, the Mercure Hotel and the
Queen Victoria Inn, was gratefully received by the residents of Krasang in
Isaan.
 Local
monks help with the distribution of nearly 300 blankets.
Malcolm and Christina Boden from the Charity Club spent a few weeks collecting
the clothing for Peter Rottmann, the Charity Club’s representative in Krasang,
for him to take back to Krasang when he came to Pattaya for the wheelchair
presentation.
The vast amount of clothing was then laid out in Peter Rottmann’s garden home
for the needy to come and help themselves.
While the Charity Club of Pattaya was in Krasang distributing the wheelchairs
and tricycles, the club was able to place a large order for blankets that the
rice farmer’s wives make to supplement their wages.
The Isaan people were more than delighted to receive the blankets and thanked
the Charity Club, friends and supporters.
The task of the distribution of nearly 300 blankets was under taken by the
Rotary Club Krasang-Buriram and the local monks on behalf of the club.
Anyone wishing to know more about the Charity Club of Pattaya can contact them
at one of following or meet with them every Sunday at the Queen Victoria Inn Soi
6: charity [email protected] or www.charityclubofpattaya. bravehost.com
The next charity event will be a double celebration in July: the Charity Club of
Pattaya’s 2nd birthday and the Queen Victoria’s 5th birthday to be held in July
at the Queen Victoria Inn Soi 6. So watch out for further details nearer the
time.
The vast amount of clothing was
laid out in Peter Rottmann’s garden home for the needy to come and help
themselves.
Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix coming to Pattaya
Enlightened Planet is delighted to announce that it begins in
the business of music concert promotion by bringing one of the world’s most
respected musicians and his band to our shores.
Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix will perform the Silverlake Vineyard in Pattaya on
May 13, 2006.
 Billy
Cobham’s Culture Mix will perform the Silverlake Vineyard in Pattaya on May 13,
2006.
Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class
master of his instrument. Billy Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30
years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate
percussionist. The legendary Billy Cobham, with his dazzling ambidextrous skills
as a drummer, has applied the same insistent fervor to his long list of
monumental achievements. He’s an accomplished composer and record producer.
Born in Panama in 1944, he first played in public at 8 years old. He has
featured with Horace Silver, George Duke, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Randy and
Mike Brecker, along with many other jazz greats. He featured on the important
Miles Davis recordings ‘Bitches Brew’, ‘Live Evil’ and ‘Jack Johnson’ and was a
founder-member of the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin. As a
band leader since 1973, he has always been a driving force in jazz fusion.
Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix continues a long tradition of musical innovation,
combining jazz fusion with a realistic taste of the Afro-Caribbean experience.
This is a dynamic and refreshingly original combo, each of whose members come
from a different country - and the standard of musicianship and imaginative
improvisation is at the highest level. The tremendous compatibility which exists
among the players demonstrates that it is not where you come from that counts,
but how you feel the music.
On tour with master drummer Billy Cobham are the French guitarist Jean-Marie
Ecay, Finnish pianist Jukkis Uotila, German bassist Stefan Rademacher, Brazilian
percussionist Marco Lobo, and, from Trinidad, steel drummer Junior Gill.
Billy Cobham started his illustrious career playing with legendary acts like
Miles Davis and has worked with a wide variety of artists, from Sonny Rollins to
James Brown. After leaving the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1973, Cobham released the
solo record Spectrum, which went on to sell more than one million copies and
bowled critics over.
Billy Cobham is without question one of the greatest drummers on the planet and
needs no introduction or validation. He is one of the true masters and pioneers
of jazz fusion. His group Culture Mix continues that legacy without compromise
or disappointment.
Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix will perform the Silverlake Vineyard in Pattaya on
May 13, 2006; tickets are available at Silverlake offices in Bangkok and
Pattaya, at select retail outlets in Pattaya, and at the gate. Please see
www.silverlakethai.com for more details.
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