Drawing Dhamma lessons from the beauty queens

Nantiya Tangwisutijit, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok

As Buddhists throughout the region were celebrating Visakha Bucha Day to mark the birth, enlightenment and death of Lord Buddha, bikini-clad Miss Universe contestants posing for publicity photos with Bangkok's famous Temple of Dawn in the background were making headlines. Almost immediately concerns were raised about the threat the degradation of such images poses to Thai cultural heritage, and how disrespectful the organizers have been to Buddhism.

So when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said mai pen rai, he was right on the mark. While Thaksin's motives were probably influenced by the need to do some damage control to protect both the commercial interests involved and Thailand's image abroad, the truth is, he was right -- it really does not matter.

But what the bikini controversy does illustrate is the declining understanding of Buddhism in this country. We are far more obsessed with the appearance of being Buddhist, than actually practicing what the Buddha taught. And there are indeed many Dhamma lessons to be explored when pondering the presence of Miss Universe in Bangkok, regardless of whether temples appear in any of the pictures. Take the three characteristics of existence -- suffering, impermanence and non-self.

Suffering is the result of clinging and attachment to things, people and ideas. Conversely, happiness can be found in shedding such tendencies.

The concept of Miss Universe is clearly based on outward conceptions of beauty, the products one might consume to achieve it, and the vicarious experience of seeing a winner selected.

Much of the idea of the beauty that is on display in such pageants is rooted in youth, and the use of cosmetics and medical procedures to mask some of the physical effects of ageing as if the process were something negative. But like the pageant itself, or the controversy surrounding the temple photos, everything is impermanent. Everything changes moment by moment, year by year.

The whole purpose of the contest is to crown a winner among winners, but the Buddha's teachings on non-self encourage us to be selfless. One should be devoid of ego, which must be difficult within the highly competitive atmosphere of the pageant. Non-self also teaches us how we have no real control over our bodies. We can't order them to stay young, or order our minds to always be happy.

One could certainly also make the case that some of these contestants would use the title of Miss Universe to do good in the world, for abandoned children, or for the underprivileged or Thailand as a whole. Where does this fit in with Buddhism?

Waiting for an answer?

Well, you'll have to look elsewhere. The debate in Thailand is focused on the juxtaposition of bikinis and wats.

What is sad is that the substance-less nature of this uproar reflects the Thai Buddhist characteristic of going through the motions, while avoiding the deeper meanings behind them.

This should come as no surprise in a country where many of the temples appear to be losing their grip as well. Emphasis is often placed more on merit-making in the form of material or financial gifts to temples, obtaining lottery numbers, having fortunes told by monks or socializing at temple fares.

Even the Sangha itself is having trouble holding its members to its 227 rules. The increasing pressures of consumerism and individuality are making it increasingly difficult for the ordained to adhere to practices that are now 2,548 years old.

The irony of all this is that while many Buddhists here could not tell you what the three characteristics of existence are, or identify the four noble truths, the number who can in the West is growing. Many have seen the high side of materialism, and have found truth in what the Buddha has taught.