Living Buddha

I was at Kuala Lumpur Sentral to change my return flight a couple of days ago. I did't realise that it now houses a huge mall.

As I was passing the TUMI outlet, a figure in there caught my attention. What's a Tibetan monk doing in that shop? I have always admired TUMI products, but honestly I can't bring myself to buy any. I have plenty of its toiletry bags, though - thanks to MAS, for they give each B class passenger one each time you travel long-distance with them. This monk surely has good and expensive taste. Maybe he was buying as a gift to his girlfriend?

Talking about monks' new-found up-market tastes, I remember joining my boss in "entertaining" a "living "Buddha in Singapore's Four Seasons Hotel some years ago. It was certainly not a vegetarian treat. The food was not interesting, neither was the conversation or enlightenment. What made this encounter particularly memorable is that I found him coming down the elevator with a very sophisticated lady - two hours or so after our dinner. What was he doing with this lady up there??? He couldn't be preaching Sutra to her in the room, or could he?

After reading so much about the sexual exploits and abuses by priests and monks of all shades and denominations, the rendezvous by this living Buddha is just understandable. Isn't he just another human being once he takes off his robe?

 

Of course, there are many genuine chur-jia-ren (出家人) whom I hold in great esteem. But with so many of these charlatans around, not to mention the many more who prey on the kind-hearted souls in pasar malams (night markets), I just thought wasn't it time that something be done to curb this nuisance or nonsense?