{"id":8696,"date":"2015-12-09T23:56:10","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=8696"},"modified":"2021-05-30T17:21:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T09:21:38","slug":"laos-2015-alms-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=8696","title":{"rendered":"Laos 2015: Alms giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Theravada Buddhism, nuns and monks go on a daily alms-round \u00a0to collect food for their (only) meal around noon. At sunrise they leave the temple, carrying an alms bowl and in a procession walk along the row of devotees.<\/p>\n

In Luang Prabang it is a big event and \u00a0a major tourist attraction. \u00a0Devotees \u00a0sit down on small stools and take off shoes and socks. They give rice and small packets of sweets to the passing monks. When you are not a devotee, you should keep\u00a0a polite distance when taking pictures and not disturb the procession<\/p>\n

Not all tourists know how to\u00a0behave and we had\u00a0heard about\u00a0complaints from the local population. After some deliberation we decided to have a look ourselves<\/p>\n

At 6 am it was still dark and quiet near our hotel. But when we turned the corner to the main street, there was a big crowd of tourists waiting for the procession to begin. The devotees were already seated. And soon the first monks appeared.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2015-11-30<\/a><\/p>\n

First only a few, but later more and more. Very impressive. Notice that several monks are also carrying a plastic bag. They collect the rice in the alms bowl and the other food in the plastic bag..:-)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The orange color of the monk robes is so attractive that you keep taking pictures..:-). You will notice that many monks are young, sometimes really only kids. Does that mean that those boys have already chosen for a life as a monk? Not at all, poor rural families often “donate” one or more of their children to the temple, where they get food and an education. When they have grown up, they\u00a0can decide to become a “real” monk or leave the temple, for example to become a business man…:-)<\/p>\n\n\t\t