Ordination in Laos?

[Wind]

Laos is consider a Buddhist country but have not heard much about them. Is there a forest tradition in Laos? It seems like a nice place for one to ordain. Are there any famous monk from there?

[jcsuperstar]

why would it seem like a nice place to ordain?

i believe they are officially communist not Buddhist. also there are more Laotian people in Thailand than Laos. Subsistence agriculture still accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80 percent of employment, the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index puts them at 133 out of 179 , i believe they were the most bombed country in history,

also here's a wiki on Lao Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Laos

[Wind]

why would it seem like a nice place to ordain?

For me, it doesn't matter if the country is under-develop and poor, or whether it had been through many wars in the past. What I like about it is because of it's natural beauty and the kind Laotian people. I know the government is communist but the people are majority Buddhist. And what I want to learn more about is Buddhist practice in Laos and if they have any great teacher there with a forest tradition.

[jcsuperstar]

why would it seem like a nice place to ordain?

For me, it doesn't matter if the country is under-develop and poor, .

thought it would, since you'd be living off of these people

[alan]

Do you see know why I don't trust monastics?
Hey Wind--good idea to buy an atlas. Then read a newspaper.

[Goofaholix]

It's probably no more undeveloped than Myanmar and lots of people ordain there.

To answer your question I've never heard of any famous Ajahns in Laos. As the people are the same ethnic group as NE Thailand and there is more unspoilt forest in Laos you'd think the forest tradition would have cross pollenated. I guess the communists may have suppressed Buddhism to some degree, or maybe all the unexploded bombs and landmines have made living in the forests too risky.

[BlackBird]

It's probably no more undeveloped than Myanmar and lots of people ordain there.

Yeah, good point.

The other consideration Wind, is why you want to ordain. If you want to ordain to put all your effort into awakening, then you may want to consider an environment which will be able to support you in that. From my (scant) understanding of Laos, the monastic environment there is likely to be largely cultural, rather than meditative. If you really want to pursue this path to Nibbana then in my opinion it's best to find a qualified teacher, this might be hard to come by in a country such as Laos, especially given that English isn't widely spoken.

I'm not saying it's impossible on either account, just that you might be making life tough for yourself.

What I like about it is because of it's natural beauty and the kind Laotian people.

Have you been to Laos before? If so, how long were you there for?

metta
Jack

[adosa]

Hi Wind,

I rode my bicycle through Laos a year ago and yes, the people were great and the scenery beautiful. You may not care whether or not Laos is underdeveloped or not. That's actually much of its appeal. However, I would think living there long term might present some difficulties for a number of reasons.

One, I'm not so sure how the communist government feels about foreigners ordaining, if that is even an option.

Two, the health care there is one of the lowest in the world. If you were say bitten by one of the many semi-wild dogs roaming around, you have to get to Thailand immediately for adequate care as rabies is an issue. And that's only one scenario. I know I had to race a number of dogs on the Thai side of the boarder during my travels so.....

Third, the government can be fickle in terms of entry visas so what's to say they might out of the blue say "Sabadee, we're shutting 'er down"?

All in all a great country to visit and I'd like to return soon myself. I would think the logistics of ordaining there would be very problematic but take what I say with a grain of salt.

adosa

Evidently there is a Wat near Vientiane that teaches meditation to foreigners.

http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/la ... os-vietnam

[Wind]

Thanks guys for sharing your insight on this query of mine. I'm not ordaining anytime soon but I thought I ask just to learn more about other places besides the usual Thailand and Sri Lanka. I agree with Jack in that finding the right teacher is most important.