Every now and then I had a chat with monks in SEA and never before have I come across religious persons so easy to get along with. They are curious, friendly and never made the slightest attempt to push their beliefs on me.
Being a monk is not a life-long commitment, many young men leave the temples when they have finished their education. Others join at a later age but are not required to stay till the end of their days either. I think that is a major contributing factor to them being so well connected to worldly matters. Can you imagine discussing Liverpool FC’s performance with a priest or rabbi? I can’t but to be fair, I haven’t talked to those guys as much as I’ve talked to monks.
I know that Buddhist monks are not the strictest religious community in the world. Yet reading about three of them being busted for doing methamphetamine came as a surprise: Bangkok Post: Police arrest drug traffickers, monk addicts
Image © Bangkok Post