A Day in the Life of Buddhist Monk

In Thailand, they have this really cool thing called “monk chats.” Monk chats are exactly what it sounds like. It is when you go and talk with monks. The purpose of them is really to provide the monks with an opportunity to practice speaking and learning English with those they talk to. However, it is also a great opportunity for anyone interested to learn more about Buddhism, Thai culture, or what it is like to be a monk. My teammate Mac and I had some extra time on our hands one day and it just so happened that there were monk chats going on at that same time so we decided to go and check it out.

To preface just a little bit, Thailand has a culture that places an extremely high level of value on relationships. For the missionaries here, this turns sharing the Gospel into a very slow and arduous process. It is not uncommon for some missionaries to take months building a relationship with someone before they even utter the name of Jesus. In Thailand, trust and respect is something that is built by faithfully showing up to be with people. People care more about your life and who you are than simply what you have to say. This has been something that has been floating in the back of my mind during my time here, and I have been spending time praying that the Lord would still somehow create divine encounters with people that would allow me to share the Gospel, even if it doesn’t necessarily mean me verbally telling them.

At our monk chat, Mac and I were able to talk with two monks whose names were Brunma and Chai (I’m sure those names aren’t spelled correctly). Both of them had lived in the country of Laos before traveling to Thailand to become monks. When I asked them why they decided to become monks, Chai responded by saying that his family is very poor and that his parents had forced him to become a monk in order to give him a good education and also to pursue more intentionally the teachings of Buddha. I continued to ask them questions about how they grew up, Buddhist teachings, and what it is like to live as a Buddhist monk, much of which I found consists of extensive amounts of time practicing chanting and meditation as a way to find some sort of peace of mind. As I asked them questions and listened to the responses they gave it was so hard for me not to open my mouth and go on a rant about how Jesus was the answer to everything they were after. It was fascinating for me to here how everything in Buddhist teachings revolved around a search for some sort of supernatural peace and understanding or “enlightenment.” I couldn’t help but think, “Man, this whole enlightenment thing sure sounds a lot like my relationship with the Lord.” However, I knew this wasn’t the time for me to interrupt and start telling them how wrong they were and that this entire process which they had devoted their lives to was a bunch of nonsense. I thought back to the time I had prayed that the Lord would somehow present his gospel through the way that I loved, the actions that I took, and the relationships I formed. “And they will know that you are my disciples by the way that you love one another.” After our extensive conversation, Brunma asked Mac and I if we would like to join him and another team of monks for the remainder of the day to help them go and teach English to a small community of Burmese refugees. We were startled by the invitation. This didn’t seem like a normal request so we looked at each other, but quickly gave a resounding “yes.”

When we got to the place we would be teaching English, Mac and I quickly realized that as the only two fluent English speakers in the group, we were the ones who were expected to get up and teach the lessons. The next few hours were spent learning new phrases, counting to twenty, and playing games. It was honestly so much fun to see how eager all these kids were to learn something new. After we finished, we had about an hour long drive back to the place we came and we were able to spend it again talking more with Brunma and Chai. The words of a wise man I know began to ring in my mind. “The Gospel moves at the speed of relationships.” I internally began to pray that in some way the Lord would begin to move through this newly formed relationship, no matter how random, weird, or minuscule it seemed.

Hopefully, we will be able to connect with Chai and Brunma again before we leave at the end of this month and I am praying that if it happens the Lord would provide an opportunity for us to share the reason for the hope that is within us. If you think about it going throughout your week, I would appreciate it if you could join me in prayer for these two as well!