Sunday, July 27, 2008

Morning Alms

If you're awake early enough in the morning in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, you'll see Buddhist monks collecting their morning alms. Walking barefoot and sometimes standing in a row, the monks hold special bowls to collect food or whatever people choose to give them. In return, the monks offer a blessing. According to tradition, monks are only allowed to eat and to possess things that are given to them by others. But, once in a while, you'll see monks shopping in convenience stores. I'd imagine that sometimes even monks crave potato chips and coca-cola.