Anyone able to help translate?

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spidy
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Anyone able to help translate?

Post by spidy »

I’ve been playing a small part in helping build a non-profit website around the organisation and tracking of alms givings. It’s basically a simple calendar to let lay people know when other lay people are offering alms to monks at a monastery along with email and sms reminders for confirmation. This service is not aimed at monks but more the people assigned to help with administration of this type of thing and lay people.

The focus is on Theravada as this is a common practice of laypeople in Theravada countries.

If anyone here can help with translating some English text into a language they think would be of service to their community, please get in touch with me. Particularly keen on Thai, Burmese and Sinhalese as these are the communities we believe to have similar traditions but all others are welcome!
chownah
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Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by chownah »

Sounds like a way to collect personal data....the reason why the data is being collected is not clear to me.....I don't see why anyone would be interested in knowing when other people are giving alms but it would be a way to target advertising to those people in an attempt to sell items to be given as alms.

Maybe there is a good reason to do what the OP proposed but I don't see what it is.
chownah
spidy
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Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by spidy »

Oh that’s a fair concern. You don’t need to put your real details in if you’re uncomfortable. No personal details will be shown publicly. Just need to mark a particular slot in the calendar as taken. Only an email is required so if you’re uncomfortable placing your phone number you will only get an email reminder. If you fail to confirm, the monastery is given a chance to contact you to confirm. All else failing the spot on your calendar disappears and someone else can book it now.

The aim is not to share your details with anyone. It’s merely to help organise a calendar along with confirmation so that lay people can see when they can bring alms without conflicting with someone else. A lot of monastery admins keep a physical calendar for this very purpose.

Bit saddened at the fact that the first comment here is this is a money grab to advertise stuff to laypeople trying to do meritorious deeds though. Which was also the point of the whole project created by a few of us at our own expense.
JC938
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Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by JC938 »

Hi, I'm Thai and I can (do my best to) help you translate.

Thanks.
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Dhammanando
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Location: Mae Wang Huai Rin, Li District, Lamphun

Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by Dhammanando »

spidy wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:55 am The aim is not to share your details with anyone. It’s merely to help organise a calendar along with confirmation so that lay people can see when they can bring alms without conflicting with someone else.
I can see that this might be of some use in Sri Lanka, where people need to put their names on waiting lists if they want to offer dāna in certain very popular monasteries, and where fights sometimes break out if dāyakas show up to offer food on somebody else's day.

On the other hand, I doubt there'd be much call for it in the Buddhist countries of SE Asia. Thai laypeople, for example, are normally delighted when they see that others have showed up to offer alms too, for it means that when the monks have finished eating there'll be a bigger feast for everyone. Poor rural folk in particular are especially pleased when they see affluent families from the cities show up, for it means that when the food Is shared they'll get to eat all sorts of dainties they wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
chownah
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Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by chownah »

spidy wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:55 am
Bit saddened at the fact that the first comment here is this is a money grab to advertise stuff to laypeople trying to do meritorious deeds though. Which was also the point of the whole project created by a few of us at our own expense.
I didn't say that. I conjectured about my uncertainty about what you are wanting to do. Do you think that after reading your original post I should be ble to know if you are honorable or not?....do you think that scam artists can not post here?

I live in thailand and like dhammanando says people are glad to have others offer alms along with them for the reason he has given but additionally also sometimes sympathetic joy is shared by all who offer alms on the same day.....in thailand my experience is that making merit is a meritorious undertaking and not something to be jealously guarded.....

chownah
spidy
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 5:20 pm

Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by spidy »

JC938 wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:13 am Hi, I'm Thai and I can (do my best to) help you translate.

Thanks.
Thank you! I have PM’d you with details and a link to the site.
spidy
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 5:20 pm

Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by spidy »

Dhammanando wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 12:26 pm
I doubt there'd be much call for it in the Buddhist countries of SE Asia. Thai laypeople, for example, are normally delighted when they see that others have showed up to offer alms too, for it means that when the monks have finished eating there'll be a bigger feast for everyone.
I see. Thank you for your feedback. It’s interesting to hear how it is in some parts of SE Asia.

Still appreciate any kind help to translate.

:anjali:
chownah
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Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by chownah »

If many monastaries keep a physical calendar for this purpose then why is it better to do it automatically with an email?.....there are many asian people who would rather not incur the expense of email use and many who do not understand how to use email.....there are even people in asia (my neighbor for instance) who doesn't even know how to use a phone for anything other than phone calls.....it seems that this system disadvantages some people and privelage others.

I'm not a ludite nor a troglodite....if there was any clear advantage with no disadvantage then it would be great....I don't see any advantage since monastaries already have a way to do this where people go to the temple and sign up for a date and time.....going to the temple to sign up is not seen as bothersome in my experience since what I have seen is that temples are conventiently located in the communities that they serve and people are not burdened in going there.....using the internet makes signing up into a faceless transaction (not really helpful in building community but is helpful in avoiding personal community interaction).

Do we need more automatic interactions via internet in buddhist interactions?
chownah
P.S. even though it seems that the author is not interested in data scraping it does not mean that data scraping will not occur....if not now perhaps in the future.....just the use of an email account is enough to identify the user and the phone number just adds to the web of personal data....do we want buddhist temples to sponsor this?
chownah
spidy
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 5:20 pm

Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by spidy »

I'm not a ludite nor a troglodite
Nope, but you certainly have a lot of opinions without knowing the entire picture and a knack for being negative from the start of this whole thing for reasons beyond me.

This post was to seek help for translations not to discuss the merits of something you seem to be interested in stopping for reasons unknown.

We have an interested user base already and even if one temple is helped by this, we feel that’s good enough. With this level of negativity, I will ensure to keep you chownah happy and ensure not one person sees this service shared publicly on this forum.

So thanks again for your input albeit its full on negativity.
chownah
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Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:19 pm

Re: Anyone able to help translate?

Post by chownah »

spidy wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:11 am
I'm not a ludite nor a troglodite
Nope, but you certainly have a lot of opinions without knowing the entire picture and a knack for being negative from the start of this whole thing for reasons beyond me.

This post was to seek help for translations not to discuss the merits of something you seem to be interested in stopping for reasons unknown.

We have an interested user base already and even if one temple is helped by this, we feel that’s good enough. With this level of negativity, I will ensure to keep you chownah happy and ensure not one person sees this service shared publicly on this forum.

So thanks again for your input albeit its full on negativity.
You say your posting is not meant to discuss the merits of your project.....I am posting exactly to discuss the merits of your project.....in replying to me you have not explained how your project will provide something better than the methods already in place which fully provide what it seems that your project will provide....in your reply to me you have not disputed the possible negative aspects I have suggested. You say that you are not here to discuss the merits.....I think it is because the advantage your system has is very thin on merits since there already is an effective way which already provides the service you are promoting and it does so with a simple piece of paper and a writing utensil....there is a concept called "appropriate technology" and clearly if a piece of paper and a writing utensil can efficiently perform a task then that is more appropriate than using mobile phones and associated electronic networks to do the same tasks.....additionally the use of a paper calendar creates face to face interactions between buddhist which creates and supports a sense of community....the use of a paper calendar enables those without the resources or the knowledge for internet communications....the use of a paper calendar tends to enable people who go to the temple more often and are more involved in temple activities while the internet tends to enable people more distant from the temple who are less involved in temple activities.

If there should be a gov't which wants to discriminate against buddhists this temple sign-up will be a good way for them to collect a ton of data on those who support temples.....this begs the question: where will all the data generated be held (both short term and long term)?
chownah
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