It’s the third day of the increasing hostilities. May everyone be at peace. 
If anybody has relevant news or bon mots to share about this on-going tragedy, feel free at it.
4 Likes
A range of people interviewed here:
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Youk Chhang - Political Analyst and Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. He’s also a survivor of the Khmer Rouge killing fields.
Jim Laurie, Author and Journalist, focusing on Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Political Scientist, Author and Associate Professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University – Japan.
6 Likes
I must admit, I’m somewhat disconcerted by the rather nationalistic Facebook posts I see from my Thai friends (and wife…). I also have a Thai student whose family are near the border. She said her father didn’t want to be evacuated as there would be noone to look after his cats…
5 Likes
Sounds like a man after my own heart. 
These events, grim as they are, can also help us recognise the light in certain people, for which there’s reason to be grateful [of their outlook and conduct].
Thanks for sharing that video, Mike.
It’s unfortunate but understandable. When I think of my own country going to war or as under attack, all sorts of weird patriotic thoughts and emotions come up. I think it’s a primal human tribal instinct: When the tribe is in danger, we respond instinctually. The basis of this is grasping things as me, mine, I, my self.
The fundamental nature of tribal/group identity is also reflected in the suttas where the standard passage on the remembrance of past lives mentions it
They recollect many kinds of past lives, that is, one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. They remember: ‘There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.’ And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details.
-DN 2
4 Likes
History going further back than the IJC matter.
1 Like
Thank you for trying to understanding the ‘natural’ emotional reactions among Thai people.
There is a big difference between patriotism and nationalism. However, the dividing line is so fine that humans with defilements can hardly keep their emotions on the wholesome side of the line all the time.
3 Likes
Her info is quite comprehensive though naturally I don’t agree with everything she said.
One thing she said that really hits the spot is the unskilful things France and Britain did to the Southeast Asian peninsula as well as other parts of the world, especially drawing stupid lines dividing people and nations. I don’t know what reasons they had, but the result is obvious for all to see.
Regarding Thailand and Cambodia, the Preah Vihear verdict in 1962 was considered unjust and ridiculous to Thai people and it’s something that many can’t get over with. Many of course say that Cambodia can enjoy going to the ancient temple by climbing the cliff!
Now back to the present day…
Shortly before the current clash erupted, many Thais became deeply upset with then-Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra following the release of a recorded phone call between her and Cambodian Prime Minister’s father Hun Sen. Her family has long maintained close ties with Hun Sen, and the leaked exchange—particularly her remark, “Please tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you, Uncle”—has been widely interpreted as an act of betrayal. In the eyes of many, it suggests treason. As a result of this leak, Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from her role as prime minister.
I don’t know who started this clash; I wasn’t there. But one fact is certain: Cambodia has attacked several civilian sites, including hospitals.
Thai people are very concerned about the talk this afternoon between Thai and Cambodian prime ministers because we don’t trust this government. We believe that they want to serve their own interests rather than the country’s.
3 Likes
Dr. Zachary Abuza, a Professor at the National War College in Washington, DC, posited the cause of this clash:
2 Likes
My comment was an observation about the mind of human beings in general, not directed specifically toward Thai people or any group of human beings in particular. The intention behind it was to spur reflection on our own defilements, especially where it concerns the groups we identify with. Please forgive me if I wasn’t clear enough about that or came across as offensive.
2 Likes
I’m not offended at all.
I understand you, and I’m grateful that dhamma practitioners can see human reactions as they are — results of our defilements.
I myself have to put great effort to exercise logics and ethics to refrain from being stupidly nationalistic.
3 Likes
Some good news 
2 Likes
I’m in the United States now working but my wife is in Northern Thailand and reports that there are still military clashes going on at the border despite there being efforts at a cease-fire and negotiations.
At the end of the day, this warfare is just so irrational and unnecessarily, unwise and violent. Young men and women are having their legs blown off by land. Mines at the border, and Cambodia has dropped ordnance on villages and hospitals killing civilians.
As humans we really haven’t evolved much beyond the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. We have disputes over territory and end up killing innocent civilians as a result. I’m hoping that wiser and more Buddhist influenced minds will prevail and put an end to this chronic dispute and stop the needless killing of men, women and children
2 Likes
Aren’t both Thailand and Cambodia overwhelmingly Buddhist? Both Theravadan? What happened to non-aggression and metta.
Is this a failure of Buddhism as a state religion?
Latest situation: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3078193/army-condemns-cambodia-for-repeatedly-breaking-ceasefire-agreement
Regarding the issue of Buddhism as a state religion, I’d like everyone to be cautious when condemning other people for being ‘not Buddhist’, i.e. not good or ethical or etc.
Throughout the history of the world, many people and many nations have claimed to be ‘religious’ but they still misbehave. Many cite ‘fighting for their religion’.
Please don’t drag Buddhism into this conflict, or any other conflicts among human with great defilements.
5 Likes
We behave under the assumption that right ideas will fix the entire world completely instantly for everyone everywhere.
Unfortunately, the troubles of human is not an absence of good ideas, but simply failing to execute them.
4 Likes
In 1767 the Burmese destroyed the Thai capital of Ayutthaya, which included destroying temples and Buddha statues. Siege of Ayutthaya (1766–1767) - Wikipedia. Thais and Burmese had many wars against each other. Burmese–Siamese wars - Wikipedia
Press Release on the Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation
I watched an informative video on why they are fighting. It views the conflict through the lens of history and geopolitics and gives plausible arguments for its causes. Basically, it boils down to colonial powers drawing arbitrary lines on maps in the past and the troubles this always seems to cause, historical disputes over sacred sites and borders, and machinations of the current political dynasties in Thailand and Cambodia. When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.
2 Likes
And because we are in the stupidest timeline:
Following the ceasefire, the claim about Cambodian monks nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize gained popularity after Jesse Watters, a Fox News host, featured it on his show. Watters said, “70,000 monks just broke their vows of silence to nominate Trump for the Nobel.”
4 Likes