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Brian Taylor has been a Poet and Philosopher in Cornwall, England and the Far East.
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Tag Archives: Thailand
NEW RECRUITS REPORT TO THE GUARDROOM
On Tuesday after a silenceof three months,suddenly,where the junglethrows evening shadows over the bougainvilleas,all the cicadas shouted out at once;stretching and releasing their tymbalslike the shimmering and vibratingof a thousand silver cymbals. No notices were posted on the trees.No announcements … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged trees, silence, Jungle, Thailand, cicadas, silver cymbals, recruits, diaries, single, silent drum
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PIMSAI IN CAELO
“I worry about Siam.I worry about Muang Thai.Siam was ours,Muang Thai we shared.” “I worry, too.I shut my eyesto open the eyes of othersto what my people brought;a certain agnosticism of thought,a carefully defined democracy,new cars, logging and pollution.” “We … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged agnosticism, belief, caterpillar, Democracy, frog, Mount Meru, pollution, problems, Siam, suffering, temple, Thailand, well, worry
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YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN
Acharn Suphot is the Temple Warden.Previously he was Headmasterof the Temple School for thirty five years.“In the past, for as longas anyone can remember,children studied the Code of Good Conduct.Thirty years ago, the Governmentappointed a Christianas Minister of Education.Soon after … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged Buddhist virtues, children, Code, good conduct, good person, Headmaster, Minister of Education, school, stable society, Temple Warden, Thai virtues, Thailand
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DOING THE SPIRIT OF THE GREAT SNAKE
Before a would-be monk is ordained,he is called Nāga (Great Snake).Jain Narong (He Who Has Long Campaigned)has come of ageand, for his grandmother’s sake,sits in the afternoon before his ordinationand waits for a drama to unfold.He faces a table with … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged baby, Brahmas, Chao Ti, detachment, devas, drums, Great Snake, Indian, magic, midwife, monk, Naga, Nature Spirits, ordination, parents, peace, spirit, spirit doctor, Thailand, trance, trumpets
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DUSIT ZOO
Part of the Royal Dusit Garden Palace,where Chulalongkorn built himselfa great golden teak palacewith the cutting edge technology of 1900,was a private botanical garden,full of rare plants and lakes. In 1938 the Revolutionary Governmentmetamorphosed itinto Municipal Zoological Gardenswith animals and … Continue reading
ECONOMIC CRISIS
BE SMILE DENTIST advertises down onSoi Anuman Rajadhon.Next door Anglo East Surety Brokerinsures diamonds and gemstones.Having struggled with the world’s economic crisis,faced with a shortage of government bailout schemes,Anglo East has decided on a fundamental solutionand invited ninety-nine monks to … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged bailout schemes, Bamboo Leaves, broker, Buddha, chanting, demons, dentist, dhamma, diamonds, Economic Crisis, exorcised, government, merit, monks, new robes, offerings, precepts, sangha, temples, Thailand
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ID CARD
The coloured poster on the bus shelter is specific;the Cremation of the Great Teacherwill be held at the Temple of the Celestial Jewel.Donations are invited for coffins, funeralsand scattering the ashes in the river. In the middle of Chulalongkorn Hospital,is … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged ashes, Bamboo Leaves, Bangkok, body, Celestial Jewel, coffins, cremation, death certificate, funerals, Great Teacher, Hospital, ID Card, medical study, organs, passport, red cross, temple, Thailand
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UNDERTAKER
Saeng (Light) is forty two.“When I was twenty five, I died.”Four men in white with red capsled him away along a gravel road.On either side were sālās,evidence of his good deeds.At the end of the road were monksand he gave … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged alms, Bamboo Leaves, body, coffin, good deeds, karma, monks, relatives, resolution, Thailand, Triple Gem, twenty-five, undertaker
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IMMIGRATION THAI STYLE
The Tree of Life is flowering;clusters of yellow showeringgolden petalsin seasonal abundanceon bare roads. One hundred and twenty-one Burmese,including fourteen children,travelled east looking for workin a locked air-tight container;twelve square metresof standing,enduringjolting pot-holed tracksand double- backs. When the ventilator failed,they started … Continue reading
Posted in Bamboo Leaves
Tagged Bamboo Leaves, Burma, Burmese, death count, faded petals, freedom, golden petals, immigration, locked in a container, prison, Ranong, Thailand, tree of Life
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BODY SNATCHERS
Under a bridge,white vanblue overalls,accidentblack spot. The spirits of those who die violentlyspiral around in turbulence,causing more accidents. The Buddhist Association, funded by public donations,collects the piecesand pacifies the spiritswith chanting and cremations. It is an unconnected factthat, even if … Continue reading
BLONDIN Poems 