It’s a Monks life.
Sometimes I wonder if I have an abnormal fascination with
monks. You could also read that as an
“unhealthy” fascination: for some reason
I love taking photos of their washing. Yes, believe it or not, monks do need to do their own washing and you see saffron
robes hanging over a line or balustrade to dry.
And every time I see that, I just have to take a photo!
When I was a little kid, it was the same with nuns. Back in those days they wore black habits and
wimples that covered all of them except their face and hands. Maybe because I
wasn’t Catholic, they seemed like these strange, mysterious, unapproachable
beings who certainly weren’t like the rest of us. I’m sure they never needed to go to the
toilet or phone Telstra to sort out the convents phone bill.
So here I am in Laos and seeing monks and novices on a daily
basis, and I even talk to them as well…. And don’t feel uncomfortable about it.
After just over 2 weeks in the country, this is the way it
seems to me and I acknowledge that I may have it wrong.
Luang Prabang has a million temples (called Wats). I believe that virtually each block is
referred to as a village (Ban in Lao).
And each village has it’s own temple with monks and novices who live
within the temple grounds.
It feels special to me to be living in Ban Visoun. Named for Wat Visoun which is just around the
corner and is the oldest temple in town.
The boat races are coming up in September and this is a very big
thing. Village teams come from huge
distances to participate. I see “our” Ban Visoun boys out in the rain in
their iridescent orange t-shirts, making their paddles and heading off to the
river to train. I’m going to be there on
the banks of the Nam Khan River come September 12th cheering them
on.
Even the temple cats and dogs turn up for prayers and wander amongst
the Buddha’s or attend to their toilet.
But I digress, back to monks and novices. I’ve been doing a bit of reading. We, from “Christian” countries like Australia
can’t compare our holy orders with monasteries in countries like Lao and
Thailand. I used to say that there must
be something right about a country where instead of sending their young men off
to military service, it is more expected that boys and men will spend some time
in the monastery.
Lao is a very poor country and possibly the main reason why
a boy might enter a monastery is due to that poverty. Many
parents cannot afford to educate their children. If you go into a monastery, you will be
educated for free. For families in the
countryside it may not be possible to grow enough food to feed your whole
family so sending a boy to a monastery ensures they will have enough food and a
good education. Many boys travel far
from home at a young age to go into the monastery and may rarely have the money
for the fare to go home to see their family.
I have met a young many who would happily have stayed in the monastery
as he loved learning, but had to leave as his family needed him to help at home
and earn money to support the family. Family
is the most important thing. I also read
Phra Peter Pannapadipo’s book “Little
Angels”. He tells the stories of boys who have been orphaned who had no family
who could support them becoming monks.
And children who had experienced terrible abuse entering
monasteries. The point to be made here
is that it appears that boys don’t necessarily become a novice because they
have a religious calling. For many it is
a more practical decision.
Novices at Wat
Visoun.
You might live in the biggest
house in the street,
but you’ve still got to do the garden.
Men and boys can go into and out of the monastery
easily. It is not a huge deal.
By the time a novice monks turns 20 he is expected to decide
whether he wants to be ordained as a monk or disrobe and go back to secular
society.
Something I am coming to realise is that monks, novices and
monasteries are a reflection of the outside world. Some are extremely conscientious and devout
and studious etc and some are not.
One of the delightful things I have learnt is that novice
monks are basically just boys from about the age of 8 to almost 20. They may have similar interests and
behaviours as other boys their age. They
have about 10 precepts they are to follow which compares favourably to the
monks 273. They are meant to be calm and
dignified at all times, but sometimes football calls and I gather it can depend
on the Abbot how much of a blind eye is turned to these “typical” boyhood
pursuits. Novices are not meant to eat
after their 11.30 lunch, until breakfast the next morning. This can be
extremely hard (and possibly not good for) growing boys and I gather this is
one of the more difficult precepts for many boys. Like other kids, many have mobile phones and
this week, a novice asked me if was on Facebook so I could send him some English language tasks.
I have met a number of young men who speak very fondly of
their time in the monastery. You’re
never short of someone to play with.
In a town like Luang Prabang, novice monks are part of every
day life. They are on the streets and go
to My Library whose morning class I have been going to for the last 2 weeks. Some of them walk for an hour to get to
class. They aren’t a curiosity or
treated differently. Most of the
students are boys and they participate the same as the others. One of the novices in class wants to be a film director and another is going to study to be a tour guide. This is their plan for after they leave the monastery.
As a female, I am aware that I am not meant
to touch a monk. If I want to hand a
book to a novice, I put it on the table and they pick it up. Last time I was here, I was aware that monks
are not meant to look females in the eye, but that rule seems to have been
relaxed.
One of the lovely things about being in a town like this is
that each day at 6pm it is time for evening prayers at any of the temples. This is where the monks and novices sit in
the temple and chant for about ½ an hour.
Any one who wants is welcome to sit in the temple. It is beautiful and means that I sit still
and try to meditate. Last week at one
temple, three gorgeous young French girls were sitting at the back. I think one is here teaching English. The young monk who was to lead the prayers
was flirting outrageously with her. He
was doing that in front of his 14 novices and 6 elderly women of his
congregation and no one seemed to think it at all odd except me. I don’t think it odd that a young man was
flirting with these gorgeous young women, what I felt was odd was that he was
doing it so blatantly, via the microphone in his hand, and in front of his
novices and congregation.
So.... that is "Lao Monks according to Marg". Will be interesting to look back on this in the future and see if my views change.
Certainly worth
reading. Phra Peter
Pannapadipo is an
English man who
became a monk in
Thailand at the age
of 44.
Very interesting post.
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