Naughty Monks

In Mongolia, monks practice Tibetan Buddhism and temples are filled with constant humming and chanting. On Sunday, August 3rd, our group was taken to Erdene Zuu monastery, originally built in the 16th century. 

There, I asked Hoghi our interpreter about something that had been puzzling me. ”How come some monks chant so diligently while others are so relaxed about it?” In temples, monks sit on colorful cushions in two facing rows. The older, more experience monks near the alter are usually in the middle of chanting through pages of Tibetan prayers, eyes half closed in devotion. Meanwhile, the rest of the monks toward entrance of the temple are slouching, stretched back on their elbows as if watching a boring tv program and desperate for distraction.

Hoghi said that though the lamas were allowed to practice freely upon the fall of communism, Tibetian Buddhism in the country never quite recovered. Nowadays, monks can get married, even have girlfriends. Later, I found out that monkhood in Mongolia is similar to monkhood in Thailand. It’s something to do for a few years (a little like military service) before moving on with normal life.

Sitting behind a row of monks in Ulan Bator, I got a view of what they stashed in the shelf under their desks: packs of ramen and choco pies.

This entry was posted on September 9, 2008 at 4:59 am and is filed under Mongolia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.