A Monk and a Tiger

Perhaps, the first time I saw a monk and a tiger together was in a popular reality show, Amazing Race. The scene must be shot at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno in Kanchanaburi province,Thailand, a place where supposedly tigers which have been orphaned, rescued or donated to the temple are looked after before being released into the wild. A UK-based Care for the Wild International (CWI) however had reported that the seemingly noble act was just a conservation facade of the monastery. CWI had claimed that the temple, far from being a rescue centre, is operating as a commercial breeding establishment involved in the clandestine exchange of animals with a tiger farm in neighbouring Laos. That aside, one perhaps would wonder what is the real purpose of a monk. A source has said that the Discipline of a Buddhist monk is intended to be conducive to the arising of mindfulness and wisdom. Monks have to undergo a code of conduct called Vinaya and perhaps, one should consider too the layman guide to the Monks' rules...

Comments

Liudmila said…
Oh my god, the tiger has it's fur, but the monk is nude in the winter cold! Brrr
footiam said…
I guess that makes the monk special. It can survive without fur.
Liudmila said…
Now I believe he is a monk. In the last period I mostly see the (photos) monks that are round as balls. I guess, vinaia is not about eat and sleep day and night. The abbey of the shao lin monastery for example (in a documentary) seemed sooooo glossy...
footiam said…
Some modern monks drive big cars and yes, some are round as balls. Shao Lin is a different story all together; it is chinese and kung fu is taught there.