Lao Voices

When we hear the term “smoking,” most of us only think of cigarettes. As mentioned by Dallas that he feels that the novice monks violated rule #5 of the percepts that reads, “Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.” As Dallas feels that smoking can be addictive and alter the mind that lead to carelessness. My feeling about this is different, and I asked my dad about (novice) monks smoking and he agreed with me that it’s not in any of the percepts to prohibit (novice) monks from smoking as they have been smoking way back and this is nothing new.

Smoking in another sense is the smoking of marijuana, and yes, this indeed violates the percept number five as marijuana’s mental effects show that the drug can impair or reduce short-term memory, alter sense of time, and reduce ability to do things, which require concentration, swift reactions, and coordination, such as driving a car or operating machinery, which would lead to carelessness.

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health and can cause cancer when you get older, as smoking ban campaign is spreading all over the world, many public places are now smoke free zone. How strict the rules are depending on the society, as we have seen many signs of ‘no smoking’ in places such as businesses, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, public transportations, etc.

Japan is a country that has over half of the men smoke but they have a unique position regarding tobacco, they have interest in seeing cleaner streets, which means that you cannot smoke while walking on the sidewalk. This might not be the only reason, but as a consideration for others that might be nearby as the debris of your cigarette can be harmful to others, a constant reminder for smokers to abide by certain manners for the comfort of others.

This is not to say that everyone sees that smoking is bad, and there is one area in the world that is a heaven for smokers, one might call it smokers’ paradise, even a Buddhist living in this area wouldn’t see that smoking is a bad thing. One of the countries is Egypt, as most household would have a hookah (shishe), as common as having coffee or tea. A hookah is a single or multi-stemmed water pipe device for smoking and it was originated in Egypt, and has gained popularity especially in the Arab world. A hookah (shishe) operates by water-filtration and indirect heat; it can be used for smoking many substances, such as herbal fruits and tobacco.

In the Arab world, social smoking is done with a single or double hose. When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is free, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece does not point at the person receiving it. Another tradition is that the receiver taps or slaps the giver on the back of the hand while taking it as a sign of respect or friendship. I would imagine that it would be rude and disrespectful if you were to refuse to take the puff if offered.

I think if you are a parent, then it’s a good idea to have answers for your child concerning smoking, and if you were a smoker yourself, then it would be more of a challenge to convince your child not to smoke. As for me personally, I don’t have any problem with smokers, as I believe that people have the freedom to do as they choose, I’m not here to be the judge or jury of what they should or should not do.