Monk Chat

Saffron-robed monks and novices (monks-in-training under 18) are a common sight at the wats (monasteries) and in the streets of Laos. Many Lao people are very respectful of monks and novices as this shows respect for the Buddha. One must take care not to stand above them, not point at them, and women must never touch them. In addition, one must dress modestly when visiting a wat: no shorts and for women, no bare arms or knees or buddha forbid, cleavage. However, while remaining overly dressed for the 95 degree weather, one must remember to remove one's shoes before entering the sim (sancturary).

Dozens of wats later, we've got it down but we were a bit flustered at the first few wats we visited, a bit awed by these children (some as young as 10) who we heard were treated with deference by their parents and lay teachers. When some tittering novices would called "Hello" to us at a wat we would say "Sabaidee" (hellow in Lao) but keep our distance; if one came near us to ask where we were from we replied but kept walking. Then at a wat in Luang Prabang, as we exited the sim and were putting on our shoes, a sweet-looking novice peppered us with the questions with which we would become so familiar: Where you from? Where are you staying? How long are you in Laos? How do you find it? How old are you? We eagerly joined in this conversation as we had many questions about the monasteries and Buddhism in Laos. We soon found out that many novices are sent from distant villages to become novices as much so they can continue their education as for the merit their parents earn. (Many Lao children stop attending school around 6th grade.) Novices and monks may listen to music but they are not allowed to play musical instruments or sing or dance (Religious music and chanting excepted); riding a bike would be unseemly; they eat only two meals a day and not at all after noon. We also found out that the main motivation for them to speak to tourists is to practice their English. At least one novice told us he hoped to become a tour guide. None of the novices told us he wasn't going to continue on to become a monk but it soon became clear many of them probably wouldn't. ("We learned a little Japanese so we can talk to girls!" a couple of our new friends giggled.) We had intended to watch the sunset on the banks of the river but as the light faded, we had a hard time getting away from the wat. The novices were not the quiet, reflective creatures we'd expected. After asking if we'd return to help them with their English they explained that "maybe" in Lao meant "no" and tried to guilt trip us into returning. As luck would have it, they saw us cycling by a couple days later and we decided to help them with their homework. Their lesson that week included an article on "hip-hop fashion". We had a tough time explaining "backward baseball cap" to the robed, shoeless boys and an even tougher time figuring out how they would use their new vocabulary in Louang Prabang.

Here we are following the rule of Don't Touch a Monk