Monks in the Market Place

Perhaps this is the reason I came.

Yesterday I mentioned a neighborhood market. It covers the entire street next to the hotel. It begins at one major street and ends at a parallel street several hundred yards away. But that few hundred yards is a true slice of life.

Yesterday we observed people going to work and countless food stalls lining the street. The office people would pick up their lunch as they walked by. Many would sit at the little tables and have their breakfast. School kids walked and were led by parents and grandparents. If you want veggies or chicken or pork or fruit or numerous things which I could not recognize for your lunch or breakfast...it was there. Coffee. Tea. Soft drinks. Singha and Chang Beer.

At one end of the street is an Indian Temple. It has been around for about 150 years. It looks just like the countless Hindu Temples I visited a few years ago in India. Half way down the block, in the middle of the street market is an Islamic Mosque. It too has been around for a long time. I've been in numerous Mosques in Istanbul.

Today as we walked the market street we noticed many Buddhist Monks in their saffron robes. That in itself is not anything unusual here in this Buddhist country. These monks appear and then seem to disappear to wherever it is they go. There are lots and lots of Buddhist temples and monasteries around this city though and we've been to many. I am not certain where these monks in the market were from. I did not see them yesterday but today I was there earlier and I noticed that they were standing near many of the food sellers. Just standing there...with bags and baskets.

The local people, mainly Buddhist, were purchasing food for the monks and the other monks at the monastery. The monk would stand there. A Thai citizen would get eggs or tea or bread or more. Kneel before the monk and present it. As an offering. The Thai person would then collect his or her office satchel and Iphone and proceed to the office.

But even more interesting was that all of these offerings to the Buddhist Monks (photo #3) took place in the street between the Indian Hindu Temple (photo #1) and the Islamic Mosque (photo #2) Much of it directly in front of both houses of worship.

And by the way....all of this was observed and surreptitiously recorded by a Christian Minister.

Peace, Bob