Monks On the Move

Everything a Buddhist monk owns or consumes is supposed to be donated, and every morning monks leave the monastery on an “alms round” to collect their meal of the day.  They carry a big bowl and collect alms - mostly cooked food - from people in their community.  Monks are not supposed to eat any food after 12:00, so that is the only meal they will consume all day.  However, the monks seem to have plenty of food in their bowls, as donors receive "merit" that eventually helps him or her achieve release from the cycle of rebirth.  A state that some call Nirvana.

Glen and I have seen small numbers (1-12) of monks walking in line collecting alms in the morning but returning from our training work today in late afternoon, close to 1,000 monks passed in line receiving food and small monetary donations from people along the road.  It was a special parade sponsored by the government which happens only once a month.  That’s a lot of alms.