living
MY JOURNEY AS A ROTARY PEACE FELLOW IN THE
Angels
CITY OF
By Ximena Murillo, MIB
Every year, the Rotary Foundation
selects fifty professionals from all
around the world to participate in an
intensive program on peacebuilding
and conflict resolution on the cam-
pus of one of the world’s most pres-
tigious universities, Chulalongkorn
University (Bangkok, Thailand).
I was fortunate enough to be selected to partici-
pate in 2018 Class 24, following a highly com-
22 iF Magazine | September 2018
petitive process. While my resolve
and commitment to a rigorous
process for learning more about
conflict resolution and peace-
building was considerable, equally
important was the opportunity to
be immersed in a charming cul-
ture with the friendliest people
in the world. It is not surprising
that Thailand is called the “Land
of a Thousand of Smiles.” It was
also fascinating to learn about the
history, politics and policies that
made Thailand a social and eco-
nomic development success story,
resulting in a sustained and strong
growth as well as an impressive
poverty reduction over recent
decades. Thailand has made un-
precedented progress in social and
economic contexts. According
to the Observatory of Economic
Complexity, today Thailand is the
20th largest export economy in
the world and it is the 8th largest
economy of Asia and the second-
largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Thailand is an exceptionally
beautiful country as are all the
four of its regions. Bangkok is
the capital which means “City
of Angels” in Thai (Krung Thep).
Bangkok is considered one of the
most exciting and highly visited
metropolitan cities in the world.
With a population of more than
10 million people, this city of-
fers not only impressive touristic
attractions such as museums, pal-
aces, parks, popular nightclubs,
modern shops and restaurants, but
also splendid Buddhist temples
(wats in Thai). There are a more
than 40,000 wats in Thailand and
more than 400 in Bangkok alone.
The Buddhist temples in Thailand
are amazing but also represent a
reminder of the essence of Bud-
dhism, which focuses on deeply
shared respect for religious belief
and traditions, including an abun-
dance of images of the Buddha,
not limited to worship nor for the
seeking of favors. Bowing to the
statue is an expression of gratitude
for the teachings of Buddha. Bud-
dhism goes beyond religion. It is
more a philosophy or a ‘way of
life’. All temples in Thailand are
beautiful and rich in history but
there are three that really stood
out for me.
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