The Reverend Joseph H. Maier, C.Ss.R., is a Redemptorist priest from the United States. He came to Thailand in 1967 as a missionary, serving in nothern Isan and then among the Hmong in Laos. In 1972, he established the Human Development Foundation in Bangkok's Klong Toey slum, where he has lived and worked for more than 30 years. Threatened and shot at, the unwavering priest has over the years become a no-nonsense, street-smart friend to the poor, from whom he draws constant inspiration. Royalties from the sales of this book will be donated to the Human Development Foundation charity.
That is why I shut my mouth and didn't complain much when I was paying for this book at the counter. This book helps me to reflect upon my own fortunate life. Those children are forced to sell drugs by their parent, while I'm complaining that my parents are forcing me to study. The children have no decent school uniform to wear and yet I'm complaining that I don't have enough clothes to wear. When things are easy, I often take it for granted. Only true stories like this one can wake me up. It shakes me and said, “Hey, look…those people are starving to death and yet you’re nothing but complain”.
This book has many similarities with Little Angels written by Phra Peter Pannapadipo. The real-life stories of the novice monks in Little Angels reflect the lives of many youths in rural Thailand who are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, broken homes, illiteracy and drug abuse. When all else fails, Buddhism becomes their last resort: providing them with physical shelter and spiritual refuge. It heals their childhood traumas and gives them a moral framework for living and a better outlook on life. Each individual story, heartrending as it may be, subtly shows what Phra Peter sees and hopes to show to others: the ‘human face’ of Thai Buddhism.
Here, we have a priest writing about poverty in the capital of Thailand – Bangkok.
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That is why I shut my mouth and didn't complain much when I was paying for this book at the counter. This book helps me to reflect upon my own fortunate life. Those children are forced to sell drugs by their parent, while I'm complaining that my parents are forcing me to study. The children have no decent school uniform to wear and yet I'm complaining that I don't have enough clothes to wear. When things are easy, I often take it for granted. Only true stories like this one can wake me up. It shakes me and said, “Hey, look…those people are starving to death and yet you’re nothing but complain”.
This book has many similarities with Little Angels written by Phra Peter Pannapadipo. The real-life stories of the novice monks in Little Angels reflect the lives of many youths in rural Thailand who are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, broken homes, illiteracy and drug abuse. When all else fails, Buddhism becomes their last resort: providing them with physical shelter and spiritual refuge. It heals their childhood traumas and gives them a moral framework for living and a better outlook on life. Each individual story, heartrending as it may be, subtly shows what Phra Peter sees and hopes to show to others: the ‘human face’ of Thai Buddhism.
Here, we have a priest writing about poverty in the capital of Thailand – Bangkok.
http://reading-now.blogspot.com/2007/03/welcome-to-bangkok-slaughterhouse.html#l...… (altro)