Thinking

[The_Traveler]

Young monks often do manual labor to maintain the temples and their monasteries.
Here is one taking a thoughtful break.

Shot in Luang Prabang, Laos

 

[The_Traveler]

Just for background

 

[oldhippy]

On his iPod

 

[tirediron]

Very cool!

 

[Fred Berg]

On his iPod

Yes, adds a nice modern twist to a traditional looking scene. A nice moment caught on camera, which really makes the viewer wonder what he is thinking.

 

[bribrius]

Maybe he is listening to Michael Jackson..?

 

[MaryGreen]

I thought they are forbidden to have such things like MP3 player. But maybe he is hiding it from grown-ups... It's really interesting what is he listening to... Anyway, great photo!

 

[scooter2044]

Makes you wonder why these young men (children, really) would choose this life at such an age.

 

[The_Traveler]

Buddhists are supposed to spend a couple of months as a monk twice during their life.

 

[Raj_55555]

I've met and spoke with a lot of Buddhist disciples in Sikkim, and most of them were adept with modern technology.

Makes you wonder why these young men (children, really) would choose this life at such an age.

I don't know about laos, but in North East India (like Sikkim) most parents send there kids to monasteries as they know they will be looked after as Buddhist monks and treated with respect, otherwise they would hardly be able to support their kids.

 

[The_Traveler]

I've met and spoke with a lot of Buddhist disciples in Sikkim, and most of them were adept with modern technology.

Makes you wonder why these young men (children, really) would choose this life at such an age.

I don't know about laos, but in North East India (like Sikkim) most parents send there kids to monasteries as they know they will be looked after as Buddhist monks and treated with respect, otherwise they would hardly be able to support their kids.

From the very few conversations I've has with them, their type of Buddhism is unique to Laos, a mixture of Theravāda Buddhism and animism. I have been to a baci ceremony twice; baci is a ceremony that marks a special event and is a Lao tradition. While there the last time someone tried to explain their specific brand of Buddhism to me and I got lost about 5 words into it.

(The man on the far right in this first picture is Lin Tong ,someone I had met eight years before; his picture from 2007 is at the very bottom.)

 

[Raj_55555]

Lao people believe that a human being is a union of thirty-two organs, each has a spirit or khuan (Lao word for spirit) to protect them. These spirits often wander outside the body causing unbalance of the soul which might lead to an illness. The tying of the white string represents tying of the 32 spirits to the body putting them back in harmony as well as bringing good luck and prosperity.

This was really interesting!

 

[The_Traveler]

Considering that the vast proportion of the Lao people I met were pleasant and honest, their beliefs seem to be much more effective than the stuff that most Westerners hold fast to.

 

[The_Traveler]

In the background of picture 2 is a case of the ubiquitous Beer Lao, a rise based soft mellow beer that goes with every food, occasion and temperament.

No meal was complete without a bottle of Beer Lao .

 

[fjrabon]

I like the pattern the branches create to frame the boy's face. And as others have mentioned the headphones/traditional garb contrast is pretty cool.

Kind of wish the background boy's robe didn't blend in with the subject's robe, but that's a relatively minor nit. Very good travel photo.