Virtuous monks?

[pattaya127]

Up in some hills in Kanchanaburi, I met a monk in his 60s whose english was so good i had to ask how he learnt. Turned out he had lived in Detroit and worked in the automobile industry there. he came back to Thailand and became a monk. as i asked him, he was not sure if he was going to stay in the monkhood all his life. he seemed alone where he was, the place was kinda off the beaten track, and schoolkids swarmed all around while he squatted in his little chapel in front of a Buddha shrine, chatting with visitors coming to see the grottoes nearby.

 

There are rules, yes, but the pace to enlightenment is up to the individual. Not every monk is ready to withstand the 227 precepts, and it is not a failure or a shame to leave the monkhood. Just personal choice.

 

I don't know about the farang monasteries like Wat pa nanachat in Ubon, did not stay except for visiting, seemed a serious place for meditation, but farangs who stay amongst thai monks in monasteries, think the discipline leaves a lot to be desired in Thailand and not conducive to make the kind of progress they aspire to.

[Lusty]

I also forgot to mention that I saw a couple wandering around Pantip as well.