Donating Dhrama

A mp3 player with dramna files

December 20, 2016 01:00 By PARINYAPORN PAJEE THE NATION

A group of generous volunteers is distributing mp3 sets with audio files of prayers and mantras to the sick and underprivileged

Dhrama texts have long been known to soothe the minds and spirits of the sick, whether they are bedridden, in palliative care or terminally ill and nearing death. For those who are in severe pain, physically reading the texts is often not an option. Caregivers can help out but all too often do not have the time. Now, though, help is here through the advent of dharma audio books.

The initiative, known has Wittayu Boon (literally merit radio) consists of a pocket mp3 radio player containing dozens of dharma audio book files. These are now being distributed to hospitals for use by patients, mostly on palliative care or ICU wards, on a loan basis at no charge.

The sets can be switched on by the nurse or the patient’s family and left on the bed so that patients can listen it without wearing headphones.

“We wondered at first if it would be too noisy and disturb other patients, but a nurse told us that it isn’t disruptive even in ICU, where most patients are on some kind of medical support system that’s louder than the radio,” says Natnicha Satitjindawong, who started the project using her own funds.

Natnicha came up with the idea when her friend gave her a handy mp3 radio player from China and explained that it had a micro sd card slot that could be used to download audio books. She started by downloading dharma books and giving them to friends who had sick or bedridden relatives as well as to Ramathibodi hospital. The feedback was excellent with nurses reporting that many patients seemed livelier and more relaxed after listening to the tapes. Some who had been bedridden for years were seen unconsciously clasping their hands in a wai while listening to the chants and prayers.

The audio files contains on micro SD cards with 8GB and 16GB capacity with a variety of content varying from mantras, storytelling by famous monks and Buddhist audio books such as “Khoo Mue Manut” (“Handbook for Mankind” – the best-known book of the late monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu).

The 8GB capacity files contain about 20 books and the radio player can run continually for hours before requiring charging, either through a USB port off a PC or notebook computer or a mobile phone charger.

Born into a wealthy family whose businesses include the language school franchises Ilingua and ECC, Natnicha has occasionally been involved with charity projects, most of them related to Buddhism. They included the publishing of books gathering teachings from well-known monks that she presented to friends as a New Year gift and holding meditation workshops.

“At first the audio book project was just a one-off but the feedback was such that I talked it over with Phra Phaisal Visalo, who encouraged me to continue with the Wittayu Boon,” she says.

Natnicha turned to Facebook to try and raise funds for Wittayu Boon. She searched and found good quality radio players and micro SD cards at bargain prices and along with her friends started to choose the audio books files, asking for permission from the owners and then copying them to the SD cards one by one.

The radio players, a battery, a charging wire and a manual were then put in a package and distributed to hospitals who put in requests through the Buddhist group networks.

Natnicha continued funding the project herself for a few months. Today, though, the Wittayu Boon project is receiving donations and Natnicha is calculating the number of radios that can be given out based on the funding arriving in the account every month.

Donations, she explains, comes from different sources and usually from people who have had the chance to listen to the files.

“Then they want the radio to give to their loved ones like their elderly parents and friends who are sick. But as the sets are not for sale, I ask them to donate Bt500 or more per radio so that I have enough money in the fund to buy more radios for underprivileged patients upcountry,” she says.

One of the beneficiaries is Pinya Jirathanacid who had lost faith in Buddhism following an unfortunate experience in which her mother donated all the money her family had to a respected monk 30 years ago. Pinya was suffering from the sequelae of an accident when she was introduced to the Wittayu Boon. A successful insurance sales representative, she later donated to the fund and handed out the radios to her family and clients who were in pain.

So far she has donated more than 120 radios to her friends and her clients and convinces them to listen to it just once.

“I don’t force them to listen to it, I just ask them to promise to take it back if they don’t like it. I give them about seven days to try and then will call them to ask if they want to return it or not. None of them has so far,” she says.

She clearly remembers the case of one man who had been bedridden for three years. A week after listening to the tapes daily, his condition improved to the point where he could get up.

“We don’t know how it affects different patients. The reactions tend to be very individual,” says Natnicha.

“Perhaps it is something like sound therapy, a voice that helps people have more focus and mindfulness.

“The Wittayu Boon may not work for those who lead busy lives but is ideal for those who are in sick, terminally ill or elderly,” she says.

LISTEN AND LEARN: For more information about the project or to make a donation, visit Facebook.com/radioboon.