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An Educated Man
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Phra Tanacom -one of my students- personifies, for me, everything that is lovely in the Thai character; always smiling, always positive, never unkind, always willing to put others before himself. Here he is on his graduation day, waiting with his friends to pose for the group photograph. He looks very thoughtful, maybe thinking of his future.
That night he knelt before his master, handing in his neatly folded robes, reciting the ancient formula. "Master, I wish to go forth from the brotherhood and henceforth live as a householder and no longer to be counted as one of the Sangah."
He came to see me next day, in jeans, a T shirt and a baseball cap. He is 23 years old; he has been in robes since he was 13. Now, he says, his days as a monk are over, he must return home and help his family, who are very poor. He picked up a bag with his few possessions and boarded the bus that would take him back to Isarn, on the Laotian border and the life of a rice farmer that he left ten years ago.
What has he gained for his years in robes? Well! I think good character training; he has learned to be disciplined, patient and tolerant. Also he has gained an education that will help free him from a life of poverty, and he has that blue silk folder containing a BA Degree in Humanities, major English Language, that says that he - unlike any member of his family before him- is an educated man |
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Great note, Kevin. I think the thais are not quite thai, if they forego the wisdom learnt around monks. Funny, for a long time, in france, they'd say the one year service in the army made a man out of you (???). and in thailand, it is a stay in the temple, learning Dharma. What a difference. Alas, modern life is attacking the foundations of Buddhism, in thailand.
Beautiful portrait, I think we can see in his face all the kindness and selflessness learnt while a monk. His sideay stare illustrate that modesty as well.
Hi Kevin,
great note!!!
Nice picture of the nice men, specially the beautiful smile of Phra Tanacom. Beautiful colours.
Nino
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