We tend to think that Tibetan Monks (although we know that they do not worship the true God) are at least people who are gentle, kind, and somewhat ‘holy’ people.
Welcome to the real world. Today I met with a couple of young monks who, in less than 10 minutes, managed to talk about how much they love Kobe Bryant (one kid proudly said in broken English, “I am Koo-bey Briant”, listening to rap music, and eating meat!
Let me explain the meat part. Traditional Buddhists are supposed to be vegetarian. Buddhism teaches that all things have souls and are part of the eternal cycle of reincarnation. So (especially Western followers of Buddism) most Buddhists eat very little, if any, meat. But these kids really surprised me.
I asked one rather chubby monk (the same one who said he liked rap music) what his favorite food was. He smiled really big and without hesitating 3 seconds said “Meat! Mutton, Beef, Chicken, Steaks, Hamburgers!” Unbelievable! I knew that many Tibetans (despite there being officially ‘Buddhist’) eat meat as much as the rest of the world, but to here a young monk talk about it so proudly was something new altogether.
Not that those are bad things in and of themselves, but its not what you expect to hear from young men who have committed themselves to celibacy and lives of scripture-study and meditation.
Here is a picture of some of these monks during ‘recess’ at their Buddist College:
