The great monk debate (as I'm calling it) was beyond anything I could have imagined. The courtyard of the monastery was packed with monks some sitting while the others stood over them. The standing monks were clearly the ones in a position of authority and were "schooling" the monks on the ground. I'd imagined the debate looking more like something from the British parliament but it was more like a mock argument. The entire time the standing monks were angrily yelling and pointing at the sitting monks then, suddenly, they would rear back and then slap their hands together into the sitting monks' faces. It was fascinating! I really have never seen anything like it. I asked my guide what they were arguing about. He kinda shrugged and said, "Deep spiritual things."
The great monk debate (as I'm calling it) was beyond anything I could have imagined. The courtyard of the monastery was packed with monks some sitting while the others stood over them. The standing monks were clearly the ones in a position of authority and were "schooling" the monks on the ground. I'd imagined the debate looking more like something from the British parliament but it was more like a mock argument. The entire time the standing monks were angrily yelling and pointing at the sitting monks then, suddenly, they would rear back and then slap their hands together into the sitting monks' faces. It was fascinating! I really have never seen anything like it. I asked my guide what they were arguing about. He kinda shrugged and said, "Deep spiritual things."
No comments:
Post a Comment