Church in the City

A monk making a pastoral visit.  

Bangkok is a full on hustle and bustle place, and in a land that is Buddhist, a religion based on peace and meditation.  How does it all figure?  I just look at lived Buddhism from the outside in my Bangkok, trying to make sense of what I see.

Then on my walk from the underground to the refugee centre along a busy road, I see a first with a Buddhist monk sitting at a table with a woman presumably outside her home.  It all just happens in a busy Bangkok with no one paying any attention.

I think how flexible, how adaptable Buddhism can be.  I think isn't it great that the monks go to the people.

Then my good friends here who are Buddhists tell me the monks should stay in their temples and the people go to them.  The trouble is, as they explain to me, is that as monks venture out to the markets and the streets, they are showing themselves to be greedy and opening up Buddhism to corrupt ways.  This is because coming to the people may be more about getting as much as they can from them who are very respectful of their monks and give generously to them.

Ultimately, do I know?  I just trust my friends and confidants on this one who ever give me insights into what is really going on in my Bangkok.  This could be the same in any religion.  As always in my Bangkok, all is never what it seems.