Some Thai boys too young for sex or labor

renounce their worldly attachments to join the priesthood, a shortcut to fulfillment. To renounce something they never had has no meaning. They’re just lazy, looking for an easy life. Their heads are already shaved for school, so it’s not much of a transition. For most it’s just a summer session, then back to the real world. Some kids have no choice. They end up at the temple because there’s literally nowhere else, just like cats and dogs abandoned by their owners. You can even crash there if you’re too poor for a hotel. Don’t abuse that privilege like the Thai parliament members who travel around the country staying in hospital VIP rooms because they’re entitled to free medical care. Temples in Thailand are literally the last resort, for life and death, religion and cremation, social activity, even marriage. Tang and I got married like that in Thailand. We just showed up in the temple first thing in the morning, taking food prepared for the monks, then proceeded to kneel in front of a monk as he lectured us on our responsibilities, ultimately blessing our union. Later we feasted with family and only then did we actually get ‘hitched’, literally. Family members took turns lashing our hands together with white cord while food and drink flowed in the periphery. Fortunately Boy Scouts here don’t learn real knots.

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