Sep 21, 2025. – Day 2 in Thailand, Visiting Refugee Camps on the Border
Hello. Today, Sunim visited refugee camps in the border region of Chiang Mai, Thailand, to observe the conditions of Myanmar refugee children and discuss support measures.
At 5 AM, Sunim left the accommodation and headed to the refugee camps. Joining this trip was Ms. Shin Su-jeong, a Jungto Society member residing in Chiang Mai. After departing, they stopped at a restaurant about an hour and a half later for breakfast porridge, then drove along winding mountain roads leading to the border, crossing passes over 1,500 meters above sea level.
Four hours after departure, they met Miss. Opor, an activist from INEB (International Network of Engaged Buddhists), at a rest stop.
“The place we’re going to has almost no outside access. Thank you so much for coming all this way.”
After driving another hour with Miss. Opor, they arrived at the Krungjaw Learning Center in the first refugee camp at 10 AM.
After greeting the gathered residents, Sunim met with village leaders to hear about the refugees’ situation. According to the village leaders, about 600 Shan ethnic residents fled to Thailand in 2002 due to persecution by the Myanmar government forces. At that time, government forces killed civilians, plundered livestock and property, and destroyed homes. The residents crossed the border and stayed at a Thai temple for a year before settling in their current location. They have been living in temporary shelters while sending their children to Thai schools for education.
They also reported that approximately 2,500 Myanmar novice monks have taken refuge in the Chiang Mai area. Most were teenagers under 18 who shaved their heads and donned robes to cross the border, fleeing forced conscription by Myanmar government forces. When government forces went door to door compiling lists of teenagers for conscription, parents turned their children into novice monks and sent them to Thailand for safety.
After listening to the explanation, Sunim shared the purpose of his visit with the village leaders.
“Let me explain the purpose of my visit here. Our JTS is helping Myanmar earthquake victims and war refugees. In Bangladesh, we’re helping Rohingya refugees, and in the Mae Sot area, we’re also helping refugees.
Inside Myanmar, we’re helping earthquake victims and refugees in the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Among the refugees in the Mandalay area, there are many from Shan State. Of course, it’s not just Shan people; there are many other ethnic minorities as well. In Mandalay, temples are protecting children. Boys are made into novice monks, and girls are made into nuns for protection. In the Sagaing region, because the military continues bombing, refugee camps have formed around temples. This is because they don’t bomb near temples.
The Sagaing region is difficult to help because the military blocks the entry of supplies. Even during the recent earthquake, there were many difficulties transporting supplies from Yangon to Mandalay. In the Sittwe area, the military completely blocked access. So once, we even transported rice by boat through the sea.
How Can We Protect Girls in Refugee Camps?
Last June, INEB activist Moo visited Korea and mentioned that many refugees have crossed into the Chiang Mai border area due to conflict and need protection. He explained that while boys can be protected in temples by becoming novice monks, there is currently no way to protect girls. He said facilities are needed to protect girls. So Sunim visited to see the situation firsthand and determine whether it would be better to create a nunnery for protection or what other methods might be appropriate for caring for their lives. While Myanmar has many nuns, Sunim was unsure about Thailand’s system for female practitioners and hoped for suggestions. He wondered whether nuns could be accepted within Thai temples or if it would be better to create orphanage-type facilities.
Another proposal was that since rebel forces have taken control of the Myanmar region in Shan State, there is no risk of attack from government forces. If there are no human rights issues, establishing facilities on the Myanmar side could be another option. This would involve creating children’s protection facilities at temples on the Myanmar side.
Since JTS is an organization that primarily supports children, it mainly provides support for child protection and education. Sunim came to check the current situation and confirm whether there really are children who need such protection. Since having large numbers of novice monks also creates educational challenges, he wanted to observe the situation and see what kind of support is needed. The most important issue is how to protect the girls.”
Sunim showed particular concern for the protection of girls. While boys could become novice monks and receive protection at temples, girls did not have this option.
After the conversation, snacks were distributed to the children at the refugee camp.
To accommodate the Theravada monks’ precepts, the group moved to a nearby restaurant for lunch before noon. After the meal, further discussions continued with village leaders. It was concluded that establishing facilities on the Myanmar side would be dangerous due to ongoing conflicts, so plans were made to find ways to protect the children within Thailand.
At 1:30 PM, Sunim visited Wat Fa temple located within the second refugee camp.
In conversation with the head monk, it was learned that 60 novice monks currently live there, and while more children want to come, they cannot be accommodated due to insufficient operating funds.
After the conversation, Sunim toured the dormitory where female students currently live. Twenty-one girls were living in a cramped space, with two or three sharing each bed. Sunim asked the local coordinator:
“If we provide the materials, can the residents build the dormitory themselves?”
“Yes, the villagers can work together to build it. However, we would need one professional construction technician.”
Additionally, solar panels were urgently needed due to the local electricity shortage. Currently, villagers and students were sharing limited power.
The group also toured the site behind the dormitory where an additional girls’ dormitory could be built.
After touring the site, they went to the temple next to the girls’ dormitory. Based on today’s survey, they held a meeting to discuss plans for expanding the girls’ dormitory and ways to accommodate more novice monks.
After the meeting, Sunim presented English translations of his books to INEB activists and village leaders and took commemorative photos.
At 3:30 PM, after exchanging farewells, the group departed for Chiang Mai Airport.
After a 4.5-hour drive, they arrived at Chiang Mai Airport at 8 PM. They had dinner at the airport and completed check-in procedures. The flight was scheduled to depart at 10:25 PM but was delayed by an hour.
Finally departing Chiang Mai at 11:30 PM, they arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after 1 AM.
Tomorrow morning, Sunim will visit the JTS training center site near Bangkok Airport, and in the evening, he will give a Dharma Q&A for Korean residents in Bangkok before returning to Korea.
Since there was no Dharma talk today, I’ll conclude by sharing a dialogue between Sunim and a questioner from the Dharma Q&A held in London on the 8th.
I’m Afraid of Disappearing from the World. Is Death Really the End?
“I’m not afraid of death at all. If someone were to kill me, there would be pain, so that would be somewhat frightening. But I never think about ‘What will happen in the next life after I die?'”
“But when you die, you won’t exist in this world anymore, right?”
“So what if I don’t exist? What makes you so important? What difference is there between a person and a cricket or squirrel in the forest that makes you think of yourself as so significant? People die when shot with guns or arrows, die from taking poison, die from burning, die from falling from airplanes. What difference is there between you and a frog? What makes you think you’re such a special being? Do frogs or tadpoles think about ‘Do I have a self?’ They don’t. So why do you think you have a self?
You keep worrying because you think you’re a special being. You’re not special at all. If you fall into the Thames River right now, see if you die or not. If you fall from an airplane or get hit by a car, see if you die or not. You’re not such a significant being.
That said, you don’t need to die on purpose either. While you’ll die when your time comes, you’re not valuable enough to die intentionally. People think they have value, which conversely makes them think they have no value to live. Thinking ‘I have no value to live,’ they commit suicide thinking ‘I should die!’ They think ‘I have no value,’ ‘I don’t need to live,’ but do tadpoles live because they need to? No. They just live.
Because people like you keep worrying about ‘What happens after death?’, others make up comforting words like ‘You go to a good place after death.’ Whether these words are true or false isn’t important. It’s certainly sad to part with loved ones. But isn’t it less sad when they leave for somewhere good, like getting promoted or married? Similarly, saying someone goes to a good place after death provides comfort to both the dying and those left behind. So there’s no need to debate whether it’s true or not. If you claim it’s real, it easily becomes a cult; if you say it’s a lie, there’s no comfort. Just think of it like old folklore.
Even if there’s an afterlife, who would know? Has anyone actually been to the afterlife? Stories about after death can never be exposed as lies because no one knows. That’s why people say all kinds of things. They say ‘Wouldn’t it be like this after death?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it be like that?’ out of curiosity and fear. That’s why we need religions that comfort us by saying we go to good places or are reborn. Look at how many contradictions and side effects have occurred throughout history because people believed such words were real. Yet how many people here can say they don’t need such things? Everyone’s afraid of death. So what does it matter whether going to a good place after death is true or not? Does fear of death arise when you’re alive or after you’re dead?”
“When I’m alive.”
“Then you’re alive right now, aren’t you? What a contradiction! It would be fine if fear of death arose after death, but fear of death arises while you’re alive. So when you die, that fear doesn’t arise. Therefore, there’s no need to worry about death at all. When someone is thinking ‘What happens when I die?’, are they dead or alive? They’re alive. Just like when someone lying down thinks ‘I should get up!’ – they’re not up, they’re lying down. So fear of death is no big deal. Just don’t think about what happens after death.
That’s why I don’t think about what happens after death. What if there’s a past life, what if there’s heaven, what if there isn’t? If heaven exists, they say you go there if you do good deeds. Is God someone who lets you into heaven if you look good to him and kicks you out if you don’t? Isn’t God supposed to save even bad people? Would such a being punish someone who went to a temple after attending church? These are all logical contradictions. People who do many good deeds will go to heaven first if it exists, so there’s no need to worry. If heaven doesn’t exist, you don’t need to go, so there’s no need to worry.
However, if you believe heaven exists, you should do things that will get you there. If you’re afraid of going to hell, it means you’ve done many bad things. If you’ve done many good things, what is there to worry about? Saying ‘Please let me go to heaven’ means you haven’t done things worthy of heaven, doesn’t it? If a student prays ‘Buddha, please let me get into Seoul National University,’ it means their ability is lacking. Why would a capable student pray to Buddha? They pray because they lack ability. So you don’t need to worry. What does it matter if the self exists or doesn’t exist?
For example, a car is made up of about 20,000 parts. The weight of 20,000 car parts in a basket without assembly is the same as 20,000 parts assembled into a complete car. The number of parts is also the same. But the unassembled car doesn’t move, emit light, or make sounds. However, the assembled car produces these third properties. It moves, emits light, and makes sounds. Though the weight and components are identical, third properties emerge depending on how they’re combined. If you analyze the car, are these third properties inside it? No. They appear when assembled and disappear when disassembled. What we think of as ‘self’ is like thinking light, movement, and sound are the car’s original properties.
Another example: hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen atoms have no properties of water, and oxygen atoms have no properties of water either. But when one oxygen atom combines with two hydrogen atoms, they exhibit the properties of water. When decomposed, water’s properties disappear; when combined, water’s properties appear. Water’s properties don’t come from somewhere. When connections are made, the connected whole manifests third properties as one. This is the law of dependent origination that Buddha awakened to. Therefore, when water molecules are decomposed, there are no water properties inside them. The same applies to life. When materials are assembled according to the blueprint called genes, life phenomena appear, but when materials are decomposed, life phenomena disappear. Life doesn’t come from somewhere or isn’t created by someone.
In ancient times, the vague fears humans had about the world became religions, philosophies, and legends that have been passed down to this day. Throughout history, sages have deeply explored existence, asking ‘Why do these qualities arise?’ Those who primarily study material properties become scientists, while those who study mental properties become practitioners.”
“According to the law of dependent origination, does that mean I become molecules when I die?”
“According to the law of dependent origination, ultimately there is no ‘self.’ When a car is disassembled, it becomes parts; when assembled, it becomes a car. When it’s assembled, we simply call it a car. A person’s psychological self is formed within the first three years after birth. Since children are primarily protected by their mothers, the self is formed through the mother. However, if protected by a grandmother, the self forms through the grandmother. While everything that is formed can change, what is formed in the first three years rarely changes. That’s why the first three years are most crucial when raising a child. During the period when the self is forming, children need to be cared for with love in a comfortable environment for psychological stability. However, most people don’t receive such care, which creates psychological anxiety. And because this rarely changes, there have been sayings since ancient times like ‘Habits formed at three last until eighty’ or calling it ‘innate nature.’ That’s why there’s also the saying, ‘When one’s innate nature changes, death is near.’
However, the self is something that is formed. According to an experiment conducted at UCLA Medical School, when they measured the brain size of children who were loved versus those who were abused until age three, the brains of abused children were nearly half the size. So for the sake of children, we must care for them with love until they are three years old. While men and women can each assert their own rights from their respective positions, when it comes to children and adults, adults should not assert their rights. The protection of children must take priority.”
“Thank you. I understand now.”
