Some neighbourly love

I don’t know much about the politics involved with picking the next Buddhist leader for Thailand. No one is going to ask me, but here’s where my vote would go: to whichever candidate pledges to make their wat better neighbours.

I’m mostly concerned about noise pollution. There are wats all over Thailand. All of them have fallen in love with microphones and powerful amps needed to power them. Preaching and chanting is fine for the monks at a wat, but should it be loudly broadcast throughout the surrounding community? No. Yet, that’s what happens.

In some Thai towns, the chanting and loud sounds start before 5am. How presumptuous ... to pump such sound into thousands of neighbouring houses. If I was a primitive/reactionary thinker, I would counter by blasting my favourite music at the wat. There are two reasons I don’t do that. First, I’m not a vindictive and immature person, and second, protectors of Buddhism might show up at my door, very angry and threatening.

Hopefully, the next top Thai Buddhist will enact rules for wats to be better neighbours, but I won’t hold my breath.