Dharma Delivery For Fun!

[Baton Rouge]

Twenty-eight is extremely young for a prominent monk. Note that he refers to Phra Phayom, the monk who has been credited as Thailand's 'TV Monk' since at least the late 80s.

The Nation 16/11

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/16/national/national_30019105.php

Monk spreads the word far and wide

In demand for his "Dharma on Delivery" service, Phra Maha Sompong Talaputto reveals the key to his success - Lord Buddha's teachings don't have to stay modest and stationary to get known and disseminated.

Phra Sompong, 28, goes anywhere he's invited to preach - from kindergartens to prisons. His sermons are popular and always draw laughter while being profound and heartfelt, because he integrates Buddhist teachings with trendy terms he reinvents from popular songs and TV commercials.

The resident monk of Soi Thong Temple in Bangkok's Bang Sue district said he had been inspired by renowned preachers like Phra Phayom Kalayano and impressed by the comic interplay of Phra Khru Palad Rachan Ariyo and Phra Maha Natthawat Jitrangsee, known as the Laurel and Hardy monks.

In a TV interview airing today, Sompong said he had been a good speaker since he was young and made his first public speech when he was the head of a class of novices at Soi Thong Temple. He read out public relations statements to temple patrons during festivals.

He joined the temple's debate team and became its captain. He won several debating prizes during his university days.

To catch the audience's attention, he relaxes them by making them laugh with his jokes reinvented from popular songs, before moving to basic teachings on subjects close to them, like love among family members or friends.

Breaking the ice was important because most people tended to think that sermons were boring and monks were fault-finders or critics rather than friends. The Buddhist tenets, however profound, would then be preached to them.

He had to prepare hard for prison sessions because of the many sensitive topics and phrases he needed to avoid so as not to blame or criticise the inmates for what they had done.

Teaching Buddhism to kindergarten kids was not as easy as most people think - the tots had short attention spans. The use of fables, cartoons or animated movies proved effective in making them listen and believe in good things taught to them in the process.

Sompong has several Dharma CD series on the market and dreams of seeing them on CD racks along with albums of star singers and selling equally well.

[GWR]

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[Photos: Bangkok Post- Phramaha Sompong Talaphutto's popular album, `Dharma Delivery'.]

DHARMA DELIVERY

Phramaha Sompong Talaphutto is capturing audiences by making dharma fun and easy to understand

Story by PICHAYA SVASTI

The audience numbering in the hundreds smiled, laughed out loud, were in a thoughtful mood and sometimes had tears in their eyes. No, they were not watching a soap opera. They were listening to a sermon by a Buddhist monk. And this happens every day at five or six schools and workplaces.

Clad in a yellow robe, Reverend Phramaha Sompong Talaphutto brings laughter and tears to many people while preaching in a cheerful yet informative style. He makes dharma fun and easy to understand by citing daily life, new trends, teenage heart-throbs, popular songs, ring tones and even soccer stars as examples.

"The giving of dharma conquers all. I wish to conquer so I preach," the monk said, "My sermons are simple and easy to understand for people from all walks of life, religions and even of different races."

The 29-year-old monk, along with his 10-monk dharma troops, "deliver" Buddhist teachings to over 200 venues nationwide every month _ by invitation. His 10-plus preaching albums under the title Dharma Delivery sell like hot cakes. The topics of these albums vary from the virtues of parenting to how to live a happy life, how to work with joy, as well as dharma for the young, families, lovers and the elderly.

This is not a common phenomenon in Thailand where temple visits and sermons are thought to be old-fashioned and are usually reserved for devout Buddhists and the elderly only.

Phramaha Sompong Talaphutto's popular albums, `Dharma Delivery'.

Born in 1978 to a farming family in the Northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, the young Sompong grew up in Chaiyaphum. At 13, he was ordained as a Buddhist novice at a temple in Khon San district, Chaiyaphum, purely by chance.

The young boy was on his way to tour a cave near a temple, but got lost. When he was supposed to turn right, he turned left and unknowingly queued up for a mass ordination ceremony.

After 15 days, he decided to remain in Buddhist robes for another year to please his mother. The novice later moved to a temple in Khon Kaen to study Pali and dharma until he passed the primary dharma exam, or nak dharma tri. But instead of returning to the secular world after failing the next dharma exam, parian dharma song prayok, he was determined to stay on till he cleared the exam. As a boy who had always been top of the class in primary school, he could not give up that easily.

"That [failing the exam] was the greatest disappointment in my life," Phramaha Sompong recalled, "But, it's just like that. It is tathata [objectivity]."

A few years later, he moved to Wat Soi Thong in Bangkok where he now lives. At 19, he earned an advanced degree in dharma, or parian dharma jed prayok. The monk later earned a bachelor's degree in Buddhist studies from Maha Chulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya University and a master's degree in social work from Thammasat University.

Though his entry into the ecclesiastical world was an accident, his life as a preacher was not. In his first year as a novice, he took a song thaew to a nearby temple to preach about the Five Precepts. His jokes against smoking brought laughter to all except a few monks who were smoking like chimneys.

According to Phramaha Sompong, his sermons always begin with fun things so people open their minds, and he always ends with a topic that touches the heart.

He honed his preaching skills through self-learning until he joined a Buddhist camp at Wat Sriboonruang in Bang Kapi, where he learned preaching techniques from other monks.

"I like to study, talk and make people happy. I have tried to make it fun for those forced to listen to sermons. As Thais love to have fun, my sermons are relaxing, yet informative and touching," the monk noted.

This year is his ninth year as a preacher. To combine his words of wisdom and fun with balance, the monk never stops learning from things around him ranging from advertisements to the Internet, music videos and even sports.

After waking up at 5am, he reads 10 newspapers, checks teen magazines and lists of popular ring tones, and asks temple boys about hit lists for the young. His favourite reads are psychological books.

"I study all this so that I can teach. I want to know the way lust comes and goes and can be prevented," Phramaha Sompong said.

Whatever the combination, all his sermons are always based on the Tripitaka, the pillar of Buddhism, and Buddha Dharma, a dharma book written by highly-revered monk Phra Dhammapitaka (P.A. Payutto).

His targets have expanded from children to grown-ups. Though gags vary by age, main topics are always the Five Precepts, mindfulness, happiness of life, studies and work, the Four Brahmavihara (Divine States of Mind or Divine Abodes): Metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudida (sympathetic joy) and upekkha (equanimity), and His Majesty's contribution to the Kingdom.

For adults, each sermon usually begins with stories about His Majesty the King's sense of humour, linked to dharma. For youngsters, the goodness of parents, self-love, romantic love in the learning age, drugs and patriotism are popular topics.

Despite his rising popularity, Phramaha Sompong refrains from a one man show and shares work with his team.

"We work as an army of dharma. We want people to listen to dharma, not just a few monks," he noted.

His secret tip is to feel happy preaching and make every sermon enjoyable, crystal clear and convincing from the very first word.

The monk even compared sermons to music.

"Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's sermons were like classical music. Phra Wor Wachiramethi's are like Thai pop songs. Mine are like luk thung or hip hop songs. All support each other if people have positive attitudes towards dharma," he said.

His icons include reverend Phra Payom Kalayano for his preaching, reverends Phra Wor Wachiramethi and Phra Dhammapitaka for their academic work, and talk show guru Jatupol Chompunich.

Hoping his fame to be a springboard for widespread sermon listening, the monk is laying a good foundation for his team before fulfilling his dream to preach abroad.

Above all, his ultimate goal is to live his ageing life in peace at the Suan Mokkh (Garden of Liberation) forest monastery in Surat Thani and preach in its Spiritual Theatre.

Of all Buddhist teachings, the Lord Buddha's final warning against a reckless life has made the most impression on the monk. This keeps him mindful and eager to do his best without giving up.

"Don't give up if you fail to reach the top of a mountain. There are a lot more mountains for you to climb. The word 'failure' is not in my dictionary. People don't fail. They just give up."

As his schedule is full until January, the monk earns enough to equip his team with high technology for preaching and contribute to the less fortunate.

The monk regularly donates money to Wat Prabat Namphu in Lop Buri, a shelter for Aids patients, and gives 10,000 baht a month to the debt-ridden Ban Khru Noi in Rat Burana district, a home for orphans and needy children.

To raise funds for Ban Khru Noi, Phramaha Sompong and Kom Suwanpimol, creator of the "Coach for Goal" development concept, will join forces in a talk show "Life-Changing Dharma! The Inspiration Show" at the Chulalongkorn University Auditorium.

With all proceeds going to assist Nuannoi Timkul, or Khru Noi, who is an inspiration for people to do good, the talk show is aimed at happy, successful lives.

"I'll talk about happiness that is easily gained. Common questions are 'What is life?', 'For what were we born?' and 'How can we live, study or work happily?'," the monk said.

The 'Life-Changing Dharma! The Inspiration Show' talk show will be held on October 28 at the Chulalongkorn University Auditorium, from 2 to 5pm. Tickets are priced at 900 baht and can be booked through the Life-Changing Dharma Call Centre on 02-939-8051/2; Stock Exchange of Thailand (Maruay Library) on 02-229-2000 ext 3183; or at www.coachforgoal.com/, or www.dhammadelivery.com/.