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Me at the monastery, in my Wa ethnic minority head scarf!

The second biggest religion in China -second to atheism, if that counts- is probably Buddhism. Throughout the small towns of Southwest China, there is usually at least one Buddhist temple in the vicinity, and it is not uncommon to see young men in bright saffron robes riding by on motorcycles, picking up a pack of cigs at the nearest xiaomaibu, or sitting around looking monk-like. As Evan wrote in his post “A Totally Tea Time with Tutu” (http://www.portraitofanlbx.com/2010/05/a-totally-tea-time-with-tutu/), in many areas (such as Bulang) all boys are required to be a monk for at least seven whole days of their lives, a concept similar to the period of mandatory military service for boys in places such as Korea and Israel. Interestingly, it is absolutely illegal for girls to become Buddhist nuns. I guess girls become dangerous to society when they become religious and get a bit more of an education. As we soon learned, “being a monk” is a rather relative concept. Ascetic the life is not, even though it is supposed to be according to Buddhist tradition and doctrine. In fact, much like everything else in China, the Buddhism practiced here is based on a doctrine (law) proclaimed in words but very rarely followed in practice. All the rules of Buddhism can be broken (just like law in China!), and they most certainly are (just like law in China!).

We learned this first hand when we decided to visit a temple fair in Gengma. It started at 8 in the morning, but as it was raining, and as we are pretty slow in getting moving in the morning, we didn’t show up until around 11 am. As we pulled up in front of the temple, we see three or four monks sitting outside the temple gate smoking. Thinking it a little odd for monks, we muse that it must not be against the rules.

We walk inside to find that the fair has ended, and all the monks are just sitting down to eat lunch. Our initial disappointment turns to interest when we are promptly invited to sit down and have lunch with the monks. Even though we had just had breakfast, we gratefully sit down at a table with the head honcho, the director of the Buddhist Association that is responsible for the temples and monks of six nearby counties.

We are immediately surprised when we see the food. 5 out of the 8 dishes were meat!!  In other parts of China I have known Buddhist monks to eat fish, but never meat. We ask about this strange phenomenon and are told that Dai Buddhism is different than  Tibetan or Chinese (or Indian) Buddhism. Apparently they follow the Theravada school of Buddhism, and thus can eat meat. That’s fine in itself, but 5 out of 8 dishes are meat? Considering that meat is so much more expensive than vegetables, these monks are actually living quite large. We’ve witnessed and have heard that monk life is actually a fairly easy life when compared to the lives of most villagers. Not only do monks get all their food prepared and given to them for free, they get good, expensive food that the villagers often don’t get on a daily basis.

Additionally, there seem to be very few sacrifices on the part of monks. We talked to the head monk, a bespectacled man named Tikka Dashi, who gave us an entire explanation of the life and death of Buddha, the role that the monks fulfill, and certain doctrinal guidelines. The monks, it seems, are not allowed to smoke, drink, or do anything that defiles their bodies. We immediately bring up the fact that we just saw five monks smoking outside. At this, Tikka Dashi sheepishly explains that even though the monks aren’t supposed to smoke or drink, etc, a lot of them do anyway, blatantly breaking

the rules with impunity. I guess rules are meant to be broken!

All in all, it seems that being a monk is a pretty desirable thing to be. There are only upsides, no down. You get free food, free lodging, you can smoke and drink, and leave and get married when you want. A monk’s main job, according to Tikka Dashi, is to disseminate information on the classics, read the sutras, and conduct certain spiritual rituals. Other monks that we met even engage in commerce, tending to tea trees and the like. In sum, not a bad life.

On an only slightly related religious note, the drunk Wa middle school teachers we met in Xuelin who toasted us all night were Christian. We discussed different religions with them, and they said that while not all Chinese believe in the same God, they all believe in the Party. What a load of communist crap. Kinda made me want to vomit a little in my mouth. Totally something a government worker (i.e teacher) would say.