Thailand

Study Abroad Essay Scholarship Application

            Thailand has a version of a Cinderella story. In the Thai folk tale “Phikul Thong” a beautiful young girl is abused by her stepmother and stepsister. Phikul is not only rich with outward beauty but rich with inward beauty as well. She is very kind and compassionate. One day Phikul is collecting water for the household when an angel disguised as an old woman approaches her. Phikul offers the women a drink of water and fetches more for her so that she can wash her hands and face.

            Phikul is rewarded for her kindness by the angel in disguise. The angel gives Phikul a gift; whenever she speaks with compassion golden flowers fall from her mouth. Upon her arrival, Phikul fills her home with golden flowers as she tells her family about the old women. Her evil stepmother starts collecting the flowers and then forcers her to speak until she loses her voice. The stepmother sells all of the valuable golden flowers at the market and then sends Phikul’s stepsister to the stream so that she can meet the angel too.

            When the angel appears to the stepsister she is disguised as a beautiful woman in very fine cloths. The stepsister is jealous of the rich woman and refuses to give her any water. The angel puts a curse on the stepsister; every time she speaks with anger, worms fall from her mouth.

            The stepsister fills the house with worms when she returns home and tells her mother about what happened to her. The stepmother thinks that Phikul must have lied about the old woman and set her stepdaughter up for a wicked trick. She beats Phikul and banishes her from the house.

            Sad and lonely, Phikul wanders off into the woods. It’s not long before a young prince finds her and asks her why she is so sad. When Phikul is done telling him her story the forest around them is filled with golden flowers. This pleases the Prince very much and he takes her as his queen. He brings her to his castle and they live happily ever after.

            This folktale shows the Thai’s strong value in compassion and kindness. Thailand has a very large Buddhist population, about 95% of its people. Compassion is one of the Buddha’s most emphasized teachings. In Thailand it is considered very inappropriate to raise your voice and express anger or frustration. We see these values here, expressed in a folktale.

            I have been studying Buddhism for several years and I am excited to go to Thailand and see how it is applied to daily life. Thailand, especially Bangkok, has grown explosively in the past few years. Have the practicing Buddhists been able to hold on to their philosophy through the boom of commerce? How has economic growth affected the Buddhist value of non-materialism? These are questions I look forward to using as perspective on Thai culture.

            There are still small towns were monasteries are quit and peaceful. I am planning to volunteer in the upkeep of a monastery, as part of my study abroad program. I am very curious to see the teachings of Buddha firsthand. A home stay with a Thai family is also part of my chosen program. During the home stay I will be able to enter the microcosm of Thai culture. Then I will be able to compare the small towns to the epicenter of Bangkok, family life to public life, and compare the implementation of Buddhism throughout different stages of economic development.

            For my Liberal Arts Capstone Project I am focusing on how mindfulness, which is a concept that comes directly from Buddhism, can be used to achieve sustainable lifestyles. Like Phikul, Thailand is rich in outward and inward beauty. The physical landscape is as impressive as the cultural landscape. I am curious to see if the Buddhist perspective has impacted environmental efforts. Is the Buddhist idea that we are all connected manifested in the Thai view of the environment? Does the cultural landscape inspire the Thai to protect there physical landscape?

            By no means do I intend to go to Bangkok as a scientist. My goal is not to judge the culture or the people. I do have some background information going into this experience and I have some personnel questions that I hope to answer through my study abroad. My goal is to further deepen my understanding of Buddhism, especially in the area of living kindly and compassionately in a world driven by material gain.

 In my personnel life I try to be like Phikul. I feel that speaking and acting with compassion is a reciprocal act. In my study abroad in Thailand I am searching for insights on how to embody compassion in a society propelled by economic growth. What I learn in Thailand I will carry with me to wherever life brings me next.