Chanting

We visited a Chinese temple yesterday and were able to hear 90 minutes of chanting by the youngest novice monks. Sitting on the floor for that long - not criss cross applesauce but either on the knees or with the legs both to one side - was...um...numbing. The chanting was wonderful, but since it did not have any connection to my experience I drifted into watching the baby monks adjust robes, twitch, be corrected to stand up straight, shove each other into place and generally behave like preteen boys.

In Thai all men become monks at one point in life, usually right before marriage. They take 3-4 months government paid time off, go to a monestaries, having given all possessions to family, and learn to know themselves and selfless living. There is no failure in leaving after 3 months or 30 years and returning to life. It is simply a stage. Some, of course, stay forever, but to be ordained a monk is not a response to a call as much as training for a pure and simplified way which hopefully will carry into the rest of life. If after 30 more years they want to come back, they simply give away everything again and retreat. Thai monks cannot even touch or stand near women and must eat only what they beg, all before noon. No food then until dawn the next day.

In the South currently there is no ordination or monestary for women. No comment.