Aun, my buddist friend.

Buddhism is a fascinating way of life. I have a surface level concept of what the religion is and I really like seeing it in devout practice in Laos and Thailand. Upon visiting a beautiful wat in central Luang Prabang (wat = temple) Karolina and I met a very, very nice, well spoken 20 year old novice named Aun. Aun explained the details of my questions about buddhism, Laos, about being a monk and a novice (many buddist laoian males spend months to years as a novice after high school to decide if they wish to become a monk and to improve their buddist practice). His english was perfect, as he talked with inquisitive foriegners like myself and had a book he studied 2 hours a day, everyday. He invited us to stay for the evening prayer/chant and to come ask him and hang out with him anytime. He really expressed the peaceful, mindfullness and calm of buddhism. He is my buddy. Hopefully he will continue with his practice, if not, he wishes to go into IT. (what? yeah, weird, especially weird when you see monks in computer stores). whoa - video! tp