All language subtitles for BBC.The.Travel.Show.2014.Thailand.720p.HDTV_Eng

Like so many people today,

I sometimes feel lost in this
globalised, frenetic world.

HIGH-ENERGY MUSIC

TRAFFIC BLARES

I'm caught in a stampede
of consumerism, social media,

so many different stimuli
from all directions.

It's like a traffic jam in my mind.

And the solution for many people
to this mental clutter and confusion

seeking release and enlightenment,
in one country in particular -

which has always sold itself
as a spiritual refuge.
And that country is...

Thailand.

MONKS CHANT

Thailand has changed hugely in
recent times

but its belief system,
Buddhism, has been around for over,
2,500 years -

since the journey to enlightenment
of its guru Gautama Siddhartha.

Most Thai people
regard themselves as Buddhist

and follow one of the three main
forms of this doctrine
called Theravada Buddhism.

If I have to put a simple word,
what is Buddhism?

Buddhism is the teaching
which cleans your mind.

Buddhism, strictly speaking, is not
a religion. No god is worshipped.

It has a reputation
for being less dogmatic and easier

to adapt into a modern lifestyle,
hence its appeal to Westerners.

Mind you, getting intoxicated,
lying or gossiping

and stealing are all no-nos
for the observant Buddhist.

The aim is to control
our earthly desires, both material

and sensory, as craving them
leads to suffering.

Ultimately, through spiritual
development we lose

our attachment to the idea of a self
and live in the here and now.

Simple, huh?

Now, I've visited
Thailand on many an occasion

and have never really witnessed
the spiritual side of the people.

If anything, I've seen a country
on a mission of economic growth,

engrossed in consumerism
and instant gratification.

MELODIC CHIMING

So now, I'm on a journey to test
whether it still deserves
to be seen

as the place to go
for spiritual insight.

How is that?

CHANTING

There are 30,000 temples in Thailand

and this one in Bangkok is
marking the first anniversary

of the death of its spiritual leader
of 24 years, the Supreme Patriarch.

The people, they come from every
corner of the country.

They come here use this flower
of eternity...

Playing host today is Phra Anil,
he's going to be my guide on this
journey.

'Donating lotus buds and food,
lighting candles and incense sticks

'is for the lay people a form of
what Buddhists call merit-making...'

The pink ones go where?
On the pink? Right here.

'..doing good stuff that may get you
higher up the karmic chain.'

Your one is better. That's right.

I'm not sure about that.

This is what I...

what we can guess is the power
of faith, the power of religion.

This is the power of faith,
people come from everywhere... Yes.

..just to volunteer to do this. Yes.

'And my first question? Am I in
the right country to find peace?'

I think you are in the right country
and the right place,

because, basically, when we go
around, we are trying to find

somewhere with good atmosphere and
especially the spiritual atmosphere.

And as Thailand is a Buddhist
country, where you can see

the religiosity in everywhere,
every corner, of the city.

My mentor's suggestion is to avoid
the temptation

to search for a quick fix,
instant karma, as it's known,

and to go and visit a monastery
in the countryside,

but, hang on, I've only got a few
days here and Thailand does do

a good line in luxury spiritual
retreats -

where they promise you, you can get
a taste of spirituality, austerity.
Very tempting.

And they don't get much more
luxurious or exclusive than this -

the Chiva-Som International
Health Resort

with 200 different treatments
and service like crystal massage,

reprogramming therapy, shirodhara
and sound therapy.

Let your mind connect to all
this vibration.

PING!

It's not about listening to
the sound, like you listen to music.

It's more allowing
a different vibration penetrate,

first in your mind, allowing
your brain, changing a pattern first,

and then let those vibrations
just spreading down to your system.

Now let the vibration penetrate.

That is genuinely fantastic,
really is,

the vibrations that are going
through you,

whether it's on your chest
or whether it's on your head,

the effect of it
being 360 degrees around your head

and, at one point,
I really was back in the womb.

Those were deep, deep vibrations.

Fact is, upmarket spas for mind
and body pampering are a real fad

across the world,
especially in five-star hotels,

and the buzzword here
is mindfulness.

I think a lot of people who come
here, interestingly,

they're really high achievers
in many aspects of their life,

but they may have something that
they've ignored for a bit too long.

And regaining that balance
and getting themselves sorted,

in a sense, where there's a balance

of emotional, physical,
mental health.

My guru back in Bangkok
is not so sure.

This is a new development
and a new trend,

it's called religious tourism,
I guess,

but catering for the people who
are still longing for the comfort,

who are still longing for the
consumerism, but at the same time

they feel so bad and then that is
a new choice we are having.

Of course, I think
that's better than nothing.

Ultimately, you're left feeling that
this is, at most, a healing process

in a very comfortable
and expensive environment.

Good for health and well-being
on a surface level maybe,

but not really spiritual.

There's still something missing
I have to find.

But there is a problem.

Thailand is a country in which
85% of the population say

they are Theravada Buddhists...

..and yet you sense that amongst
younger people, especially

in the big city, organised Buddhism
is losing its grip.

The kids of my generation, have a lot
of access to the world,

like internet, cellphones,
so there's lots of things out there

so it's hard for Buddhism to stay
relevant in this new age.

ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

Pete is very much a globalised Thai.

He's a cameraman
and loves his gadgets.

Every Thai male is expected
to enter monkhood

and be ordained as a rite of passage
after school.

Many like Pete, though,
only did it to please their parents.

I think my generation is a bit
more sceptical about Buddhism

because the world is much
more open now.

We have the whole world
in our cellphone,

we can look up anything we want.

So the younger generation,

if they're not believing exactly
what their parents are teaching them,

they have a chance to look up on
their cellphone.

And the fact is,

many people in Pete's generation
see Thailand as a place to find

a very different kind of release
to the one Buddhism offers.

POUNDING DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

Koh Samui - exotic island, where
hedonism and commerce rule.

This would have been
a Half Moon Party

if there hadn't been
a recent ban imposed on them.

Nonetheless,
at slickly-run events like this,

there's still plenty of fun
to be had.

They can relax,
they want to be free, you know?

They work hard for a whole year,
that's what they tell me.

They want to relax,
they want to enjoy.

Would it be fair to accuse
these revellers

of not respecting or exploring
Thai spirituality enough?

Personally, I don't think so,

but neither do I think that this is
quite what I'm in search of.

I need to immerse myself

with Thailand's traditional
upholders of spirituality - monks.

Mind you, the monkhood aren't doing
themselves any favours at the
moment.

If you believe the stories
about bogus monks, corrupt monks,

and monks behaving badly.

The country has even created a monk
police force to prevent the

bad apples from tarnishing
the image of Thai Buddhism.

CHANTING

As well as being open to abuse,

Buddhism in Thailand stands accused
of not keeping up with the times.

This temple is located
outside Bangkok,

and is the only
one in Thailand for women.

It's not recognised by the
Buddhist hierarchy,

and neither is this lady...

In the Thai tradition, it is
the monks - the male monks -

who go out for alms.

And it's women, always,
make offering.

..the first and only such nun
and abbess in the country.

Could this be one reason why
Buddhism is losing its grip

on younger Thais?

In our country, what I see
Buddhism is going through

is, we are so materialistic.

Our goal, even though we are
Buddhist,

we do not seem to share
the spiritual goal.

And once,
when you do not have direction,

this being Buddhist is going to
be corrupted -

no, it's not going to be corrupted,
it IS corrupting.

It is corrupting,
and hurting Buddhism itself,

and hurting also Thai society.

THEY CHANT

Modern Thailand is changing,

and Buddhism is clearly facing
a battle to keep itself relevant.

But I'm still in search
of the essence of Buddhism -

the reason why people around the
world, like me, are so drawn to it.

And to find this, you have to go
deep into rural Thailand.

OK, so this is it. Enough tiptoeing
around with Buddhism lite -

we are now two hours, roughly,
outside Bangkok, heading east

heading towards the forest
and a monastery.

This is judgment day for the city
kid, here. And here we go.

MONKS CHANT

And in the monastery,
all novices and lay people like me

are expected to follow
certain rules.

OWL HOOTS
ALARM CLOCK RINGS

Wake up at 3am for two hours'
meditation

followed by monastery
duties like cleaning.

Two more long sessions
of meditation are expected

during the rest of the day.

No eating after noon. That basically
means one meal a day at breakfast.

No mobile phones or Wi-Fi,
music or TV,

and reading material that is not
related to Buddhist study

is discouraged.

No sleeping on a soft bed.

And you must dress respectfully.

Why am I doing this, again?

What did my spiritual guide tell me?

Our lifestyle drives us mad...

TRAFFIC BLARES

..because we need money to live,

and money is only earned
through our hard working.

HORNS HONK

If you can have spare time,
some places that you can hide

and then rest yourself,
just like - what do we call this? -

charging the battery.

The grounds of the Wat Boonyawad
monastery are vast - some 160 acres.

We're off to the right,
here, which is the men's area.

Matthew has lived
here for the past 19 years.

In a Buddhist culture like this,
Thais, by nature, are very generous.

OK, so, um...

Matthew has now gone,
and I'm here in this room.

Now, let's practise being
a Buddhist.

It's now the allotted
time for meditation

and one trick is to focus on your
breathing.

Apparently Buddha himself sat
cross-legged meditating

for 49 days nonstop - so I should
be able to manage five minutes.

And now I'm getting hungry.

If I've got this right, in Buddhism,

craving or the desire for instant
gratification

is the root of all suffering.

Well, I tell you what...

I'm suffering now.

And sleeping on a hard floor isn't
much better.

OK, it's 5am,
it's still pretty dark,

and I'm on the porch
outside my room.

I've been awake since 3am,

when there was a -
I think recorded - chanting

from the central area
of the monastery,

which I guess is supposed to be
a wake-up call.

I think I was supposed to be
meditating for the last two hours,

but I feel a bit like a zombie,
so I haven't done that very well.

But I've had a cold shower
and I'm ready for the new day.

The first duty of the new day

is collecting alms - food -
from the local community.

Every morning there's a number
of routes from this monastery,

and the monks divide into small
groups and go out to each route.

As I'm soon to find out,

this is not the only
source of sustenance for the monks.

There you go.

This is a feast.

It's only once a day,
but it's a good feast.

After breakfast,
a chance to talk to the abbot,

who's been here since 1990.

We were lucky to be to be
accepted in this monastery.

Many others turned us down, saying
a TV crew would be too worldly

and therefore disruptive,
presumably.

SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

INTERPRETER: 'People coming from
non-Asian countries

'have grown up in a different
culture environment,

'but when it come to the practice
of developing one's mind,

'the potential is there for anybody
to do it.

'If people can train dogs to be
obedient,

'people have the same ability
to train themselves.'

Next on the agenda is
one of my daily duties.

Where's everyone else gone?

You might have
noticed that the, er...

the task of sweeping up is given,
really,

to the most enlightened person
here in the monastery.

That's why I'm doing it.

And after that's complete,

a chance to meet some of the foreign
monks as they finish their jobs.

Some, it transpires, have had rather
colourful previous lives.

I am from a hippy
from the Woodstock generation.

Just about when I was 20 years old,

we were trying to look to find
some meaning in life.

Something like when I saw people
driving the car to work

and having kids and raising family,
and build expensive houses,

and buy all the plastic stuff -

But when you become a monk, you are
also not happy at the beginning.

Why? Because you have to do all
the things you don't like.

Like? All these chores, working and
getting up in the morning -

you don't have money,
you cannot go when you like.

You have such a lot of rules -
it's worse than prison. Really?!

Yes, yes, yes. Definitely.

And then there's
the enigma that is Michael.

I used to be a photographer.
You used to be a photographer? Yeah.

And I travelled through the
world, enjoyed myself, so...

What kind of pictures? Er, fashion.
Fashion? Yeah. Oh, really?

Yeah. I was a...

Fashion magazines, catalogues,
this kind of thing.

And successful? Er, yes. Yes, quite.

Successful enough.

Matthew later told me
that Michael was also

the model Claudia Schiffer's
manager for three years.

He was then a monk for a short
period in 2001,

and returned to the faith a year
and a half ago.

And this time
he says it's for good.

Mostly my family thinks, yeah,
I should have a family,

I should make lots of money, and what
people normally think in the West.

No, no possessions any more.
No health insurance, nothing at all.

Nothing in the bank?
Nothing in the bank.

No safety net.

On the one hand, it's quite simple -
you train yourself daily,

seven, eight, nine hours,
in meditation,

and when you're able to still
your mind, it becomes very peaceful.

And this experience is actually
much better

than all the money that you have. Mm.

You know, when you can buy
yourself an expensive meal

for $200-300 or euros or
whatever, you know?

It's gone in half an hour or so.

When you have a peaceful mind, it
stays with you for a long, long time.

That's what we're all after,
aren't we?

Michael hasn't completely
forsaken his old life -

he's still curious about the English
Premiership football scores -

Arsenal, especially.

And then reveals the abbot
is a secret Liverpool fan.

THEY CHANT

Monks have to observe 227 strict
precepts or rules,

so really my efforts were
rather pathetic.

But, in truth, as I left,

I realised I did gain something
out of the experience.

In that short period, I appreciated
the routine, the simplicity,

and the absence of empty choices
you frequently have to make

in the outside world.

The point, though, is most of us
live in that world.

So, I've reached the end
of my voyage of discovery

here in Thailand,

and I've got to say, I do feel a
little more enlightened.

I left every monastery
I visited with

a lot of respect for the monks.

But they've got
a tough challenge ahead -

especially in the big cities.

I get the impression
that this country

is becoming increasingly polarised,

between rampant materialism
on the one side

and moral purity on the other.

And the answer,
as Buddha himself put it,

lies not at the extremes, not black
and white, but somewhere in between.

The middle way.

And, for the time being, as Buddhism
also says,

I think I'm going to try and
embrace the moment

and live for now.