105 Thai cops take temporary monkship

Gaya: Altogether 105 policemen from Thailand acquired 'temporary monkship' late on Tuesday by getting their heads tonsured and putting on white robes. During their spiritual 10-day-long training, these cops-turned-monks would visit all the important Buddhist places, including Lumbini (Buddha's birthplace in Nepal) and Kushinagar (the place of Buddha's final salvation) besides Sarnath (where Buddha delivered his first sermon after receiving enlightenment).
They will also visit Rajgir. After the 10 days' sabbatical, these cops will give up temporarily acquired sainthood at Bodh Gaya to continue with normal police life. TNN
According to Bhadant Anirudha, a regular monk of the Thai Monastery, as per the established Buddhist tradition, every Buddha follower is mandated to withdraw himself from the hurly-burly of family life and acquire temporary monkship at least once in life.
"More the occasions of renunciation, the better," said Bhadant Anirudha. Unlike lifelong monks, these temporary monks can have their regular meals, he said.
Explaining the concept of temporary monkship, Bhadant Priyapal, chief of the Bodh Gaya based Chakma Monastery, said temporary monkship was part of the noble monastic training aimed at acquiring self-restraint and spiritual purification.