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This column is for self-study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill-building practice and vocabulary explanations. July 12, 2005 Not your ordinary temple visit INTRODUCTION

TEACHERS Although it is bit long for many students, this is not a particularly difficult story, and since Phra Payom is so well known I thought it would be interesting for your students to read. The Wat Suan Kaew Foundation does remarkable work and it is worth knowing about. The problem with longer stories is that inexperienced students tend to get lost. That is why I first try to help them see how the story is organised. That makes it seem like a series of short stories instead of one confusing long story. I have done that in this lesson and I suggest your students read my overview of the story, referring to the actual story as they read. I would also have them consider the questions I have raised as they read and to discuss them with them when they finish. STUDENTS If you haven’t heard of Phra Pisarn Thammjawathee, it’s probably because he is normally known by a different, much more familiar name. Quickly look through the story to see what that name is. This story is perhaps a bit longer than stories you normally read. It is helpful, therefore, to take a quick look through the story to see how it is organised. Look at the story as you read the following: The story begins with two paragraphs of observations on Thai culture and community life. Then the writer begins her visit to the Wat Suan Kaew Foundation begins. First, she tells us where it is and then she gives us a short overview of what you will find there. Next, we meet Don, our guide for this visit. He, too, gives us a short overview for people who are interested in visiting the temple area and learning about Thai culture. After this, we take a quick visit to what is known as the “poor people’s supermarket” to see what is for sale. Next we learn how many people live at the temple and what kind of support they receive. We also find out about the temple’s environmental and agricultural projects. Next we find out what the writer considers to be the cornerstone of Phra Payom’s work with the community. The story ends with a concluding paragraph. Basically, the story is quite easy. The only really difficult parts come at the start before the actual visit begins. As you read, consider whether this is a place you would like to visit some day. If you answer is “yes”, why would you want to visit? The temple depends on donations, so also consider if there is something you might want to donate. observation comment based on something you have seen community all the people who live in a particular area foundation an organisation that is established to provide money for a particular purpose overview a general description or an outline of something cornerstone the most important part of something that the rest depends on concluding to bring something to an end donate to give money, food, clothes, etc. to somebody/something, especially a charity

OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST Temple ties that bind Visitors are drawn to an abbot and his Suan Kaew Foundation that engender the spirit of communal harmony and lend value to the life of underprivileged youths, orphans and the elderly YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT Photo by NAKUL PORNPIRIYAKULCHAI Visitors are drawn to an abbot and his Suan Kaew Foundation that engender the spirit of communal harmony and lend value to the life of underprivileged youths, orphans and the elderly.— NAKUL PORNPIRIYAKULCHAI The Thai culture is a delicately interlaced fabric held together by community life. Living in fast-paced Bangkok, it is often difficult to experience this type of lifestyle. From a young age I was taught by my father that Thai culture was shaped and modelled by Buddhist teachings, so the temple is the perfect place to witness a community where people learn to live and function as a unit. Urbanisation has caused people to become more self-centred. Having lived in Bangkok all my life, I was looking to find a sanctuary where I could not just find a community where people worked together for the betterment of each other, but also a place that offered refuge to people from all walks of life. I took the opportunity to visit Wat Suan Kaew Foundation, which is located in a temple of the same name, in the outskirts of Bangkok in Nonthaburi province’s Bang Yai district. The bustling 100-rai temple compound consists of hundreds of families working on 14 projects initiated by Phra Pisarn Thammawathee — better known as Phra Payom Kalayano, the abbot of Wat Suan Kaew — for the poor since 1978. Once inside, you will find that there are numerous activities for people to both enjoy and learn from. All year round, the foundation has volunteers, local as well as foreigners, working in a number of charitable activities, such as looking after the elderly, a nursery for children and a rehabilitation centre. Our guide, Don, who has been with the foundation for over a decade, told us that accommodation is also available for visitors wishing to spend the night at the temple. “Our projects are spread over 100 rai, so it is impossible to see everything in one day. If people are interested in learning about Thai culture, they have to participate in our daily activities, which could mean waking up early in the morning and starting off by watering the vegetable and fruit plantations,” he said. The temple has a so-called “poor people’s supermarket”, where everything from used computers, electronic appliances to clothing items — at the throwaway price of one baht each — are available in copious quantities. All items on sale were donated to the temple by their former owners either as a show of charity, or they just wanted to get rid of them. Worn out furniture and defective items are repaired and re-sold. Electronic goods sell well, explained Don, with colour TV sets going for as little as 1,400 baht. Personal computers repaired by students from vocational schools and complete with monitor and keyboard cost just over 2,500 baht, while radios, rice cookers, lamps, hair dryers and fans can cost between 300-500 baht. It also has a shop where you can repair electrical appliances for a small fee. Artificial flower decorations made by orphans that the temple has adopted over years are also on sale there. While it’s mostly the poor who frequent the supermarket, I did see some middle-class shoppers hunting for bargains. One item that stood out among the plethora of items on sale there was an ancient teak furniture. Bric-a-brac items can also be purchased at a clearing depot where the foundation dumps used furniture and household appliances. An old bookstore and a carpenter shop are in its proximity. All in all, some 800 families live and work in and around the foundation and are paid daily wages. What impressed me most was the foundation’s environment and agriculture project. Aside from offering visitors a chance to buy chemical-free produce from its vegetable and fruit gardens, Don explained that the project helped educate the Wat Suan Kaew community about conserving rare species of plants. This particular project has been conceived to eventually evolve into a plant research centre. The cornerstone of Phra Payom’s contribution to the community, made up of poor students from the countryside, the elderly, orphans and mentally and physically handicapped people, perhaps is the self-employment initiative for needy youths. Since 1991, Phra Payom has had offered underprivileged youths from upcountry a chance to earn money for their education. During vacation they are allowed to run their own stalls selling items made from raw materials sourced from other projects run by the temple. According to Phra Payom, the projects help provide poor people with jobs and enable them to purchase goods at lowest possible prices. So Wat Suan Kaew is not just a place where you can appreciate Thai culture in its purest form, but also better understand the expression “live and let live”. interlaced weave things together by twisting them over and under each other unit a group of people who work or live together, especially for a particular purpose refuge shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc. rehabilitation to help somebody to have a normal, useful life again after they have been very ill/sick throwaway produced cheaply and intended to be thrown away after use copious in large amounts artificial made or produced to copy something natural; not real plethora an amount that is greater than is needed or can be used underprivileged having less money and fewer opportunities than most people in society • This lesson is adapted from the Bangkok Post’s You Can Read website. For more inspiring lesson ideas, log on to www.bangkokpost.com/youcanread. Read our other learner centre columns here. Return to our home page. | © The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2005 | Last modified: July 11, 2005