A 'moment' with a Buddhist monk

[cdnmatt]

are they supposed to be celibate?? I thought everyone in Thailand was a monk at some time in their lives...Maybe I should google how it works? Like are there short time monks and long time ones??

Yes, that's correct. Every male is expected to be a monk at some point in thie lives, generally raning from one week to three months. Then some spend their entire childhoods as novice monks, if they have no one to take care of them, such as Leo. He was a novice for 7 years.

Then there's some who dedicate their lives to Buddhism, and go on to become fully ordained monks. Apparently, this actually pays far better than one would expect. Those temples don't build and maintain themselves, and the head monks I guess make sure to get their cut.

You can tell depending whether or not their wearing a yellow sash type thing with their robe. If yes, they're just a novice and only have I think it's 12 rules to live by. If they don't have the yellow, they're a fully ordained monk, and have I think it's over 400 rules to live by.

[frequent]

Yes, that's correct. Every male is expected to be a monk at some point in thie lives

You've been reading too many guide books

[cdnmatt]

You've been reading too many guide books

Or been living here for the last 8 years. One or the other...

[frequent]

Or been living here for the last 8 years. One or the other...

Either way what you say may still - vaguely - be true in the back blocks of rural Thailand, but in Bangkok it's certainly untrue where it relates to "every" male or anything like "every" male. Young urban Thai males are much more interested in their phones than becoming a monk, even for a few days