Making merit

As I finally appear to be on the mend following my accident, which could just as easily have left me dead or crippled, she who must be obeyed decides I must give thanks by “making merit.” This can take many forms, and I am advised that a trip to a give stuff to monks will be required at some point in the future, but today we are going to help buy a coffin for those who can’t afford them. Seems like a noble act to me, so off we go.

The Sawang Boriboon Rescue service is a voluntary rescue service that whizzes around Pattaya helping out the official rescue services. They monitor the emergency frequencies and then roll up with their pickup trucks and transport the injured to hospital, or the morgue. Although you may not wish to be slung in the back of a pickup truck and bounced all the way to a hospital, sometimes it may be better than waiting for something more comfortable to turn up.

They had not been involved in my accident, but their base is in the grounds of a temple where you can go to make merit by making donations to a selection of good causes. She who must be obeyed decided we would donate some money to the people who provide coffins to unfortunates who die with no money and therefore cannot afford a coffin. So we queue at a counter with other people making similar offerings, hand over the standard 250 baht offering and are given a yellow receipt and a detailed list of instructions:

Then to a stall where, for 45 baht, you get a bag of joss sticks, a bottle of oil, and a couple of candles; all the necessary paraphernalia for making merit. Then upstairs to the temple area.

So I followed the instructions and in the absence of living parents or a known sinner, I mumbled some good wishes for she who must be obeyed. We then burned the yellow piece of paper which turned out to be the receipt, lit the candles, placed the remaining joss sticks and poured oil into the lamps.

The final step was to make a wish and then rattle a container full of sticks until one stick fell out. You note the number on the stick and then collect the fortune associated with that number. My stick was number 20.

I was pleased to note that there was no child forthcoming as yet, and glad I had donated a full bottle of oil.

A fun thing to do, and beneath all the dubious ritual, a small amount of cash ends up going towards a good cause. Best of all, it made she who must be obeyed happy and she announced that I had been a good boy and would be rewarded by being allowed to buy her coffee. So I did.

Comments 🔗

2009-01-11 | Billy the Brush says

Excellent.

Good luck with legal case by the way. Though it appears to be defensible, you should be aware that the facts do not always decide who wins such things in SE Asia. This may be the bad omen; anyway, better that than the pension fund going for Chapter XI.

2009-01-12 | Spike says

I was rather focusing on the “patient recovering”, and making sure I “watch your step” so as not to invoke a “patient relapsed” next time I go.

2009-01-12 | Billy says

Mmm, probably wise, but just remember to refill the oil …. it was mentioned twice …