Seriously wild:
Cambodian Buddhist monk was in hospital and his colleague was under detention on Thursday at a pagoda after a drug and alcohol fuelled fight allegedly ended in one attacking the other with a machete.
Police chief of Kandaing district in the central province of Pursat, Pen Thun, said after a night spent binging on methamphetamines and rice wine, the pair had quarrelled over a 50 cent loan owed to Khieu Aen, 23, that fellow monk Van Chanthoeun, 19, said he would need time to repay.
“Khieu Aen became enraged, produced a machete and chopped Chanthoeun once in the shoulder, requiring him to be sent to hospital,” Thun said. “It is unseemly behaviour for monks and it gives the police a headache dealing with such cases.”
He said police were now waiting for the ministry of cults and religions to make a decision on the case as the police cannot arrest monks.
That is the weirdest story I have read in a while.
Magnum A-Hole
Maybe these monks should turn to the Mulsims to find out how a truly “peaceful” religion handles its disputes…. Good peaceful Muslims don’t get drunk, they put suicide bombs on the back of kids and send them into a shopping center. What better way to glorify God, oh, I mean allah?
ppGaz
This proves that we are descended from monks.
Take that, ID’ers.
Steven
The Ministry of Cults and Religion? We need to get us one of them. Snark on.
tBone
Hmmmm. Drinking, drug use, machete fights . . . sounds like my kind of monastery.
cminus
I think I saw a Jackie Chan movie like this once.
Gary Farber
You don’t read much Asian news. There’s one of these every few months, and that’s just what makes it into the English-language press. I remember making this exact same point to some blogger who said pretty much exactly what you said, just a few months ago. It’s perfectly common for Buddhist monks to riot and beat on each other, with stabbings and occasional killings, over various feuds, but most often over who gets to beg on which corner.
akaoni
One thing to realize is that many young men in South East Asia become monks for various reasons (social, financial, etc.), not just related to issues of faith. It’s much more common than say, Catholics becoming priests. These young monks are not always as devoted to the Dharma as they should be. For instance, a good friend of mine was talking to a young Buddhist monk at a monestary in Thailand, when the next thing he knew, he was wandering through the streets of Bankok after being drugged and purchasing a large amount of jewelry, which was to be sent to him at a later date. Needless to say, not the best experience.
M. Scott Eiland
Monks are tougher in D&D 3.5 than they ever were under the old AD&D rules–but some things haven’t changed: they’re always short on cash.
goonie bird
Well back during the veitnam war a monk set himself on fire if anyone can recall
carpeicthus
Thank God he didn’t punch him, M. Scott. Machetes are d6 at best, and a good monk might roll all the way up to d20.
I hereby waive any claims that I have ever had a life.