Vuthithorn ‘Woody’ Milintachinda, earlier this month, speaking on ‘Humanitarianism and Buddhism’ at the United Nations office in Bangkok.
Vuthithorn “Woody” Milintachinda, the TV host and producer, once described himself on his Facebook profile as “a person of 365 different personalities”, a pronouncement justified by his eclectic background — son of a diplomat, former New Yorker, talented TV-show host and successful executive of a media production company.
His trademark is not only his dazzling smile, sharp wit and tendency to laugh up a storm. Vuthithorn is also known for his penchant to surprise, to defy genre. He’s highly entertaining and casual yet garners respect for his journalistic interviewing method. He never beats around the bush but asks his interviewees the tough questions that audiences want answers too. He’s critical, with acerbic tongue, while at the same time managing to remain respectful.
But his most surprising recent turn came last year, when he briefly entered the monkhood, an experience that gave the serenity of religion to the fast-talking, energetic TV host.
Vuthithorn early this month made an appearance at an unlikely place, giving a talk at the United Nations office in Bangkok on “Humanitarianism And Buddhism”. The event was organised by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which holds itself responsible for updating the media about the crisis concerning refugees and enforced displacement, now at its highest rate since World War II. The talk highlighted the complementary link between Buddhism and humanitarianism.
Anther panellist was Praya “Pu” Suandokmai Lundberg, a TV actress who’s been helping refugees for the past couple years. Yet another was the respected monk V. Vajiramedhi, who became an ardent follower of V. Vajiramedhi after becoming ordained as a monk last August at Rai Cherng Tawan, a Vipassana centre in Chiang Rai, where the monk stayed. Vuthithorn even followed him for a brief pilgrimage in India. His six-week monkhood surprised his friends.
Vuthithorn has been known for his addiction to social media, but, being a monk, he needed to be away from it all, receiving alms in the morning and walking for pilgrimage. Vuthithorn describes the monkhood and Buddhism as “reincarnation” — a life-changing, eye-opening experience.
“Being a monk helped me find a person I never knew before. That person turns out to be myself,” he told the audience. “I learned that my previous self-identity had been constructed from what society wanted me to be.” After the monkhood, he returned home and watched videos of the shows he’d done previous. “I asked myself who I am. I found that I use drama and conflicts to boost ratings and the popularity of my shows. I did that because I always believed people want drama and want to consume conflict.”
But now he’s changed his mind.
“The planet was not created for people to fight one another. But history has been written to make us believe we need to fight. After all, there are no nations or races but people who need other people and humans who are capable of loving other people. I think all we need is faith that humanity has the capacity to love,” Vuthithorn said in giving his solution to the refugee crisis.
Vuthithorn finds the teachings of Lord Buddha, especially metta (kindness) and karuna (compassion), missing from society today.
“We feel removed from the world’s crises, but the truth is, Lord Buddha himself never taught us to be quiet in the face of violence or to refuse to help those who need us. With the core of cultivating four states of mind [metta, or kindness; karuna, or compassion; mudita, or sympathetic joy; and upekkha, or equanimity], he enlightened us that sympathy and compassion are the only way toward salvation, now and in the future.”
In all, he found Buddhism amazing. “Buddhism is so cool. For me, Buddhism is not only about religion but about the art of living.” And the art of living is about being compassionate and kind. “I’ve learned that we were born to help others.”
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.