how do we know whether he is a real or bogus monk
-
mm tiz afternoon, i was queuing for food in a coffee shop. There was a Theravada monk , with an alm bowl caming around asking for alms. I noticed that there was a buddha sticker on the alm bowl and he was also barefooted.
mm i was hesitant to give dana as i was pondering whether he is authentic or is a bogus monk. Some of the people in coffee shop also treat him very coldly. well, after a while i guess he is real becos' of the way he walk.. very steadily.. but after i finish queuing for my food, i went to look for him in the coffee shop.. he wasn't there anymore...
so how do we differentiate between real and bogus monks?
mm is there a social stigma regarding monks who went around asking for alms?
i thought most of the temple will provide food and lodging for the monks and nuns who are stayin in singapore.. so i was suspicious... but then giving dana is about true giving, without expect any real returns or merits..
Anyway i was also worried what if he is a real monk and has no alms.
Anyway i can't give him money right as they can't accept it directly?
can theravada monk accept some meat stuff too? -
a bunch of monks came to sim lim square buying jabra bluetooth set
use them for chanting?? -
all you need to do is ask.
-
You should have asked the monk for his identity and permit. If he is authentic, he will have a permit.Originally posted by Isis:mm tiz afternoon, i was in a coffee shop queuing for food. Then there is a Theravada monk, with an alm bowl came around asking for alms. I notice that There was a buddha sticker on the alm bowl and he was also barefooted.
mm i was hesitant to give dana as i was pondering whether he is authentic or is a bogus monk. Some of the people in coffee shop also treat very coldly to him. well, after a while i think he is real becos' the way he walk.. very steadly.. but after i finish queuing for my food, i went to look for him in the coffee shop.. he wasn't there anymore...
so how do we differentiate between real and bogus monks?
i thought most of the temple will provide food and lodging for the monk too.. so i was suspicious... but then giving dana is about true giving...
anyway i can't give him money?
can theravada monk accept some meat stuff? -
ask him to chant the whole sutra. Or mayb put a few babes n c if they got ti ko
-
I was Queuing for food.. then..Originally posted by An Eternal Now:You should have asked the monk for his identity and permit. If he is authentic, he will have a permit.
They have an Identity card and permit for asking alms??
I wasn't sure... so don't dare to ask -
By the way, I think Theravada cannot receive money. They can only receive food.Originally posted by Isis:mm tiz afternoon, i was queuing for food in a coffee shop. There was a Theravada monk , with an alm bowl caming around asking for alms. I noticed that there was a buddha sticker on the alm bowl and he was also barefooted.
mm i was hesitant to give dana as i was pondering whether he is authentic or is a bogus monk. Some of the people in coffee shop also treat him very coldly. well, after a while i guess he is real becos' of the way he walk.. very steadily.. but after i finish queuing for my food, i went to look for him in the coffee shop.. he wasn't there anymore...
so how do we differentiate between real and bogus monks?
mm is there a social stigma regarding monks who went around asking for alms?
i thought most of the temple will provide food and lodging for the monks and nuns who are stayin in singapore.. so i was suspicious... but then giving dana is about true giving, without expect any real returns or merits..
Anyway i was also worried what if he is a real monk and has no alms.
Anyway i can't give him money right as they can't accept it directly?
can theravada monk accept some meat stuff too?
And yes Theravada can eat meat. -
maybe they need it ..Originally posted by Diesel_Dimension:a bunch of monks came to sim lim square buying jabra bluetooth set
use them for chanting??
don't judge so easily.. -
Confirmed that Theravada cannot receive money directly.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:By the way, I think Theravada cannot receive money. They can only receive food.
And yes Theravada can eat meat.
See: Fake monks -
Originally posted by Isis:
Probably fake then. Theravada monks receives food alms before noon. It doesn't look like the monk is trying to get medicine, is he?
mm tiz afternoon, i was queuing for food in a coffee shop. There was a Theravada monk , with an alm bowl caming around asking for alms. I noticed that there was a buddha sticker on the alm bowl and he was also barefooted.
mm i was hesitant to give dana as i was pondering whether he is authentic or is a bogus monk. Some of the people in coffee shop also treat him very coldly. well, after a while i guess he is real becos' of the way he walk.. very steadily.. but after i finish queuing for my food, i went to look for him in the coffee shop.. he wasn't there anymore...
so how do we differentiate between real and bogus monks?
mm is there a social stigma regarding monks who went around asking for alms?
i thought most of the temple will provide food and lodging for the monks and nuns who are stayin in singapore.. so i was suspicious... but then giving dana is about true giving, without expect any real returns or merits..
Anyway i was also worried what if he is a real monk and has no alms.
Anyway i can't give him money right as they can't accept it directly?
can theravada monk accept some meat stuff too? -
mm there is a chance he is real.. since he was asking for alms in a coffee shop and he doesn't seem local...
monks take one meal a day .. before what time? -
ooicic.. yea around 1.30pm..
-
this happened about 6mths back when i had a short trip to kl with a bunch of friends. it was dinner time and we settled down in coffee shop, ordered chicken rice. then when our meal arrived and as we were chatting and laughing away, out of nowhere a thai monk appeared beside me. i didn't notice him when he approached as my back was facing the entrance. he was holding an empty bowl and looking at me without a word. before i could make the next move although confused from an unexpected situation, the waiter chased him away. i felt sorry for that thai monk. i wasn't aware that they were supposed to ask for alms during noon. whether he is a fake or real one, he did look like he was in need of food maybe for someone? who knows. of all my friends around, i was the only one he approached and my friends teased me and that happened on the 1st day of our trip. for the rest of the days, i was thinking about the monk, where is he now and hope he had enough food and sheltor for his well being and true practice.
since they are not asking or cheating around for money and just asking for food, i thought i should have offered him something within my ability when a being in need was right in front of my face.
ironically, a few days back in tpy, i came out of a bakery shop. i saw a crippled beggar sitting on the floor right outside the shop. i was walking with my hubby and stopped my pace. took out some money and offered him. then i also offered him the buns i bought but he rejected.
what is a true real need?
one is a spiritual person going around as normal asking for alms.
another is a suffering being begging for money instead of food.
to each his needs i guess. -
I see... I think if they ask for food at least thats reasonable and not so suspicious.. some more before noon. Although next time we might want to ask if he has any permit. If he has then we should do our best to provide food for him.Originally posted by paperflower:this happened about 6mths back when i had a short trip to kl with a bunch of friends. we settled down in coffee shop, ordered chicken rice. then when our meal arrived and as we were chatting and laughing away, out of nowhere a thai monk appeared beside me. i didn't notice him when he approached as my back was facing the entrance. he was holding an empty bowl and looking at me without a word. before i could make the next move although confused from an unexpected situation, the waiter chased him away. i felt sorry for that thai monk. i wasn't aware that they were supposed to ask for alms during noon. whether he is a fake or real one, he did look like he was in need of food maybe for someone? who knows. of all my friends around, i was the only one he approached and my friends teased me and that happened on the 1st day of our trip. for the rest of the days, i was thinking about the monk, where is he now and hope he had enough food and sheltor for his well being and true practice.
since they are not asking or cheating around for money and just asking for food, i thought i should have offered him something within my ability when a being in need was right in front of my face. -
sorry i edited, forgot to mention it was evening dinner time. btw i didn't know that they have to ask permission anything after noon.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:I see... I think if they ask for food at least thats reasonable and not so suspicious.. some more before noon. Although next time we might want to ask if he has any permit. If he has then we should do our best to provide food for him. -
If after noon and he's Theravada, then it may raise some questions and suspicion. In such cases we have to be wary.Originally posted by paperflower:sorry i edited, forgot to mention it was evening dinner time. btw i didn't know that they have to ask permission anything after noon.
The problem of fake monks is very widespread in Malaysia as well. -
if its just food why so stingy omg like some conmen will come and con leftover food from you
-
ok i see.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:If after noon and he's Theravada, then it may raise some questions and suspicion. In such cases we have to be wary.
The problem of fake monks is very widespread in Malaysia as well. -
he seems like he can accept anything...Originally posted by Cenarious:if its just food why so stingy omg like some conmen will come and con leftover food from you -
then pour some wet food like curry into his alms bowl lor lolOriginally posted by Isis:he seems like he can accept anything... -
ha ha ok... u mean it with good intention right?Originally posted by Cenarious:then pour some wet food like curry into his alms bowl lor lol -
then he cannot get anything but foodOriginally posted by Isis:ha ha ok... u mean it with good intention right?
(this is my new permanent account) -
I feel the issue shouldn't be so much what one can spare, but rather the authenticity and intent of the person involved. If it's a real monk I'm sure he won't have hesitated.Originally posted by Cenarious:if its just food why so stingy omg like some conmen will come and con leftover food from you -
Hmmm. Normally when the public offer alms to sangha during the morning round, I think nobody will offer wet food like curry right?Originally posted by SumOne:I feel the issue shouldn't be so much what one can spare, but rather the authenticity and intent of the person involved. If it's a real monk I'm sure he won't have hesitated. -
Hello Isis,
My feelings are that the monk you'd met probably is a bogus one. To my understanding, these bogus monks and those "8-precept ladies" (those ladies in pure white clothing) seems to be controlled by overseas syndicate.
Now firstly in Singapore begging for alms on the street is not a common practice. Any local monks would know this. And if it is a visiting monk, then he should be housed by a temple that he had registered himself in.
Testing the monks by asking them to chant the sutta is rather pointless, probably he may really know how to recite and whatnot. But you can try for entertainment purpose. My friend did this to a chinese "monk" who claimed he know many sutra. Then my friend asked him to recite ended up he only kept repeating "Nan Wu(yes he pronounced Wu) A Mi Tuo Fo" with that confidence look on the face. My friend ended up calling police on the spot. And apparently in his bags, there were cigarettes, condoms (the police was laughing over this), passport, a small book that records how much donation he had received and not forgetting cold hard cash.
Usually these bogus people often got away successful because they prey on people's kindness; and some common people's perception that "they-also-come-out-to-make-a-living-so-be-it". I think as disciples of the Buddha we should be careful and aware of the situation. Compassion should be accompanied with Wisdom.