This week I have been getting back into the rhythm and flow of work, well I say "back into", its a new work place, but it feels like "back into" as there are many of the old challenges jobs and plans which are now coming to fruition.
Along with the new start has come a new colleague Mr Todd he is a chilled English and Chinese teacher, I like him he explains a lot about Thai culture but in a way I have never been privileged to before. Mr Todd not only explains his views, perspectives and concerns but also the reasons why he feel things are the way they are.
Some of the points that have come up are
1) Thai attitudes to work - due to having a culture where it, for a long time, has been possible to support your family the whole year by working hard for the 3 months it takes to plant grow and harvest rice. Puts it into context when you think of it that way
3) Why Thais seem to be fixated on mastering English grammar rather than practicing listening and speaking skills
4) Thai attitudes towards Buddhism both as a religion and philosophy
One really intriguing question was asked...
What is the difference between concentration and meditation ?
I had to stop and think - I then looked them up in a dicitionary ...
concentration สมาธิ
con·cen·tra·tion
[kon-suh
n-trey-shuhn]
noun
1.
the act of concentrating; the state of being concentrated.
3.
something concentrated: a concentration of stars.
4.
Military .
a.
the assembling of military or naval forces in a particular area in preparation for further operations.
b.
a specified intensity and duration of artillery fire placed on a small area.
5.
n]
the focusing of a student's academic program on advanced study in a specific subject or field.
med·i·ta·tion
[med-i-tey-shuhn]
noun
2.
continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation.
4.
devout religious contemplation or spiritual introspection.
Origin:
1175–1225; < Latin meditātiōn- (stem of meditātiō ) a thinking over (see meditate, -ion); replacing Middle English meditacioun < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
So this was considered and discussed - I 'm not going to give away what my conclusions were but I think it is safe to say meditation depends on concentration where as concentration does not rely on meditation.
1175–1225; < Latin meditātiōn- (stem of meditātiō ) a thinking over (see meditate, -ion); replacing Middle English meditacioun < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
So this was considered and discussed - I 'm not going to give away what my conclusions were but I think it is safe to say meditation depends on concentration where as concentration does not rely on meditation.
