Visitez Luang Prabang, et le reste du Laos

Rules to respect during the morning alms

Benolaos — 2012-06-19T01:06:10Z

The morning collection of the bonzes (in Lao : Tak bat) is an animated tradition for the population of Luang Prabang. It has become an important tourist attraction because of its beauty. However, when tourists don't know the customs, their clumsiness can disrupt this ceremony. We would like to draw your attention to this religious observation which has a great meaning to the inhabitants of Luang Prabang.

How to respect the Tak Bat

Observe in silence and only make offerings if, for you, they correspond to a religious step that you can take with dignity.
Buy your rice in the market, preferably early in the morning rather than with the stallholders on the path of the bonzes.
Remove your shoes to give your offerings; women must stay on their knees and ideally wear a scarf over her shoulders.
If you're not making an offering, stay at a distance, in a respectful manner. Don't hamper the procession of bonzes and the donations of the faithful.
Make sure you are decently dressed, with your shoulders, body and legs well covered, especially if you are giving any offerings.
Don't take photos of the bonzes from too near; the flashes are most disturbing both for the bonzes and the faithful.
Avoid any physical contact with the bonzes.
Never position yourself so that you are in a higher position than the bonzes (on a wall or on steps, for example) its very disrespectful : the bonzes must always be on the highest points.
Large buses are strictly forbidden in the protected area of the World Heritage, and create serious problems. Don't follow the procession by bus. You again risk being higher than the bonzes, which in Laos is a lack of respect.

Participate in the ceremony for the bonzes quest, by protecting its dignity and its beauty. The population and the authorities of Luang Prabang thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Normally, make sure you're dressed in town, but especially in the temples, making sure that you do not show your knees or shoulders, and especially anything in between.

To bow (even slightly) in front of the bonzes is recommended, and appreciated. It's a mark of respect followed by all Laotians, a tradition to which you must conform.

Women must absolutely not touch the bonzes. Men may, even though physical contact is unseemly.

Principles of Buddhism

Benolaos — 2012-06-19T00:56:09Z

Buddhism started in India around 500 years before our era, more or less at the same time as Pythagore.

This philosophy of life was first revealed by the words of a man of noble origin (the son of a King or a Rajah) who devoted his life to finding the remedy for all men's hardships and tribulations, found it, and gave it to them. So, it was a man and not a prophet who started this religion with no God, nor spirits and with no casts or classes. A very influential and philosophic way of thinking in the Middle-East and Asia; a belief for which, for once, no wars or crusades ever took place.

This doctrine was transmitted for a long time only by word of mouth before being written down, several centuries after Buddha's death, in the texts of the Canons, divided into three “domains” (discipline, speech, dogmatic)

The Middle Voice

This is the first of Buddha's revelations, so called, because it teaches us not to go to extremes, one being the quest for happiness (dependency on sensual pleasure, which is qualified by the Master as "vulgar"). The other is placed under the sign of humiliation (that which is "painful, undignified and has no gain").

Buddha experimented with both states, the first in his lavish youth, the other, during the long austere wanderings, before his Awakening. Neither one, nor the other, answered his quest for suspension of pain.

The 4 truths

The main reason behind the word of Buddha is the worldliness of Duhkha (imperfectly translated as ‘pain', and which signifies sufferance, grief or even misery), this is shown in the 4 Noble Truths :

"the noble truth that is suffering"
"the noble truth that is the arising of suffering"
"the noble truth that is the end of suffering"
"the noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering"

The 5 aggregates (or composites) of the Bond

Their sum, making up the whole, are the origins of Duhkha, notion which implies hardship and disquietude :

The Matter aggregate, which corresponds to the 5 sensorial organs that are : the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body;

The Feeling aggregate, which includes all the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings that man feels with his physical and mental contacts with the outside world;

The Perception aggregate, which represents perceptions capable of recognizing physical and mental objects ;

The Mental Format aggregate, which comprises all voluntary acts, whether good or bad, better known under the name of Karma. There exists 52 mental activities ;

The Conscience aggregate, which represents the act of taking notice of an object ;

Karma

The notion of Karma was already present in the sacred writings of Hinduism in India. Buddha gave it an actual form and appearance. It is the sum of all beliefs and actions, (being as beliefs are actions) both good and bad.

Our lives are only one part of an uninterrupted chain from the beginning of time. Our physical and psychological bodies are only a combination of aggregates, which hide, in their apparent unity, a multitude of life cells, which live and die continuously. In the same way, the entity of this moment, is not the same as the one that it will be in an hour's time ... the body dissolves little by little until death.

What becomes of mental energies, which are in themselves not permanent ? They will try and take another form, find another combination of aggregates. This is nothing to do with the idea of reincarnation that we normally have, but more a tremendous energy that continues to manifest itself and which moves the world.

A Buddhist needs to make his karma beneficial by good acts for his actual and future life, being as he is never sure whether he will ever "finish" with this chain of movement.

Nirvana

This is the state of being free from suffering, as told in the 3rd of the 4 truths pronounced by Buddha. When the thirst for life (source of desire and pain) has been quenched, then there is Nirvana. It is difficult to exactly describe the state of Nirvana. Buddha himself, often used negative expressions like : "non-being", "non-composed", "ceasing", "quenching of thirst, desire, hate, illusion"...

Contrary to most religions that impose a Life after Death, Nirvana can be reached in one simple life. He who reaches Nirvana is free and happy. He lives for the moment without any anguish, he has no more selfish needs, and can enjoy the pleasures of life serenely without being bothered by his "ego", an ego that doesn't exist any more. He keeps nothing for himself and is nothing but compassion, tenderness and bounty for others ... He has reached the Ultimate Truth. He who has reached Nirvana is a saint, an Arhant, and at his death will reach the Parinirvana, or final awakening.

The Noble Eightfold Path

It leads all disciples to the end of suffering, for those who endeavour to follow its directives. The 8 branches of this path must of course, be undertaken simultaneously. They can be followed in everyday life, you don't need to give up everything to pursue them :

Viewing reality as it is ;
Correct way of thinking ;
Speaking in a truthful and non harmful way ;
Acting in a non harmful way ;
Non harmful livelihood ;
Correct effort ;
Awareness ;
Correct meditation or concentration.

Lao silk

Benolaos — 2012-06-18T23:16:26Z

Lao silk is a wild silk, and is defined by its exclusively hand-made method of manufacture.

Because of this, it has a more unrefined look, which is more natural, not as smooth as its Indian, European and Chinese counterparts, which makes it noble, natural, and most of it is 100% bio.

Pure craftsmanship, with no machines

Nearly all the silk manufacturing countries (Japan, China, Thailand, etc.) have chosen to industrialize their craft, especially because the cost for the workers they need, is more and more expensive. Laos stays one of the countries where natural silk is ordinary and affordable.

In Laos, sericulture (silk farming) is organised in production units where the reeling, colouring and spinning is all done by hand, often by women. Weaving is rarely done with semi-automatic looms : most of the time, the man or the woman manually weaves about 1 metre per day, when making simple designs, and only a few centimetres for the more complicated designs.

In Laos, each person has his own technique

In this country, each family develops their own technique and sometimes their own decorative patterns, although most of them are reproductions of traditional designs and ikats (weaving that uses a resist dyeing process, similar to tie-dye on either the warp or the weft, before the threads are woven to create the pattern) specific to the artist's ethnical group.

In this way, each region and even each family produces an individual silk, according to their particular method of reeling and forming, so obtaining mat or lustrous silks, which are more or less thick and more or less soft. The region of Sam Neua, on the Vietnamese border is recognised for its thick and extremely solid silk whereas, further South, in the region of Xieng Kouang, the silk is finer, lighter and softer.

Numerous stages

First of all, the silk worms must be fed 4 times a day, with fresh leaves from the white mulberry. These larvae must eat, without stopping, for 1 month. At the end of that time, the worms are put onto spines "hedgehogs" between which, for a few days, they can weave to produce their protective cocoon.

When the worms are ready to pierce the cocoon, they are scalded in hot water, then the silk is extracted by alkaline baths. The threads are then boiled in pure water so as to obtain the required softness. The more times this operation is repeated, the softer the silk; the spinner needs to have an excellent knowledge of the raw material he or she is using.

No less than 5000 cocoons are needed to make 1 kilo of raw silk, using a process that can last 8 days.

Then come the different stages of spinning (see the video), dyeing (see details), then weaving. All these stages are done manually. To make a long, traditional stole, it would sometimes take more than a month's work.

Different qualities of silk

Several qualities of thread are obtained : a thread with an uneven texture will be extracted, when the whole cocoon is used (mai sao lueai), a thread with a rougher texture, by using the outside of the cocoon (pueak mai) a smooth, fine thread, by using only the interior of the cocoon, this is royal silk (mai nyot).

At this stage, the spinner's knowledge and dexterity are very important to form the final thread (the one that will make the difference to the weaving) of 1, 2, 3 or 4 folds, the 1st fold giving the finest, softest, more resistant and more lustrous silk. According to the pressure of the fingers during spinning, according to the technique of joining the threads, the silk will be more or less smooth.

A craftsmanship for the locals

The first Lao silk market is local. Laotians have kept their traditions, and use pieces of silk (shawls, scarves, skirts, stoles, etc.) for traditional Buddhist or Shaman ceremonies, or simply for marriages, official meetings, etc.

Sericulture is often taken up by families so as to increase their income which is relatively low in Laos. It needs a lot of maintenance, especially feeding the hungry larvae 4 times a day with fresh Mulberry leaves. A kilo of silk (which, as you can see, is a lot of work) is worth about 25 dollars in Laos, which enables the making of pieces of cloth affordable for the Laotians.

Article extracted from the site Sanlao.org, The Craftsmen of Laos

Rules to observe in Laos

Benolaos — 2012-05-21T07:14:46Z

Everybody wants their country, their ways and customs, their laws and inhabitants, to be respected; Laotians too, have the right to expect tourists to have the correct attitude and behaviour towards their country.

Unfortunately, this is far from being the case.

[Extract from the booklet edited by the Lao National Tourism Authority 2004]

The rules to be respected are certainly strict, but easy to follow as they are almost identical to those in our own countries :

You say hello by joining your hands. Sometimes, between men, there are handshakes. There is no kissing whatsoever.
Women must never touch nor brush against a bonze. It is tolerated for men, but only if its unavoidable.
Feet are a very inferior part of the body, and not just because they are on the ground, and the head is the most noble. Because of this, its very badly looked upon, to shut a door with your foot, or put your feet on the table. To kick your foot (and even more so, the sole) in somebody's direction is considered very rude.
Shoes are always taken off before entering anywhere.
Because the people of Laos are always very clean, it is strongly advised to follow a faultless corporal hygiene, otherwise, you risk being very much less welcome than normal.
Try and make sure that your head is always lower than those of the bonzes and elderly people. It's a mark of respect that is very much appreciated.
Dress yourself correctly, which means that you must always wear a bottom AND a top at all times, (except possibly at the waterfalls; although, Laotians bathe themselves almost completely dressed; see the Tatsé waterfalls).
Due to their modesty, it is very impolite to kiss in public ; holding hands is tolerated, but even so, it is preferable not to do so in public.
It is embarrassing for Laotians, who are very softly spoken, to come across people who speak loudly. It is also very badly looked upon to get excited and worked up, for whatever reason. A person who loses their calm also loses face : they are considered childish, being as they are incapable of controlling themselves.

Ask permission, before taking photos. Laotians normally laugh a lot and are often honoured and proud to pose for photos.
When you bring anything to a village, make sure you give it to the village chief and not distribute the presents yourself.
Don't buy any ancient representations of Buddha or any other Buddhist relics. It is completely forbidden and is liable to a heavy fine.
Of course, you mustn't let yourself be tempted by any drugs whatsoever (this is very heavily punished), don't throw paper on the ground and always stay polite.

For more information, please refer to the Internet web-site of ecotourism in Laos

For rules of how to deal with Buddhism and the monk's requests for alms in the morning, please refer to the required article.