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Something I thought I would never see, even in the heat of Thailand's politics...
vinlyn
Colorado...for now Veteran
Comments
Unusual in a Thai context perhaps Vinlyn..Regretfully Tibetan monks are always beating each other up...
Really?
There are large monks called dubdubs specially trained in violence, who keep order by the use of large clubs. :hair:
damn.
?
Here is some more info regarding Dob dob monks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dob-dob
Actually they are not confined to the Gelugpa, and they certainly do still exist.
Although they are not so handy with their clubs as they once were...
I just hate to see monks getting involved in violence either as victims or perpetrators.
Any back story to this pic?
I think they are not as violent as they used to be...which is of course a weird thing to say about any monk..
@Jayantha http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/monk-beaten-pro-government-demonstrators/
"A monk was beaten up by pro-government supporters after he criticized them"
As i suspected.. Not a surprise though. Admittedly my first thought at seeing the pic was very judgemental, i thought well what did he do, and now i know.
Yet another example of why monks should not be involved in politics, but in thailand they have been part of the politics for 100 years at least, so its nothing out of the ordinary.
Personally I feel it really harms the sangha in general. Its not about the person wearing the robe, but the robe itself and the image and message it is supposed to portray.
The warrior monks in the Tibetan tradition used to protect their monastery, back when monasteries sometimes would wage war against each other. Now they have more of a disciplinary function. But monks can get into fights with each other over seemingly petty disagreements, too.
Bear in mind that probably most monks are sent into the system as kids, and so, many aren't suited for the monastic life. They're just people. Many aren't there because they have a love for the dharma, or are inclined toward quiet contemplation, or anything like that. Some are pretty undisciplined and rebellious, as you might expect from random children and teens. You can get a sense of that from Dzongsar Khentse Rinpoche's film, "The Cup".
Dob dobs.. a religious feudal society's answer on how to maintain the order of that society.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.09.budd.html