Today, my guesthouse arranged for three monks to come visit. They would first give us a blessing, and then be available to chat about their lives as monks, Buddhism, and everything else we could think of asking.
The blessing - I had never received one before - was an interesting experience. They chanted for several minutes, sprinkled holy water around the room with a plant and tossed a few handfuls of small flowers into the room. At the end, we each received a bracelet (or rather, a piece of red woolen thread that only became a bracelet once it was tied around our wrists) to wish us good luck. I found it especially interesting that Buddhism also has the concept of 'holy water'.
During the chat, they explained that many monks in Cambodia are student monks - they study at high school or university level. It seems to be common for monks to stop being monks, for example when they go to support their family, or want to do a regular job after finishing university. (Since there are many rules that monks have to adhere to - they are not allowed to handle money, for example - regular jobs are somewhat difficult to do while they are still monks.)
Another thing I learned was that all schools in Cambodia cost money, from primary school all through university. In addition, there is no obligation to go to school, and so it all depends on the wealth and willingness of the parents if a child receives an education - or not.
One final bit that I found interesting concerned the status of women in Buddhism. I knew that monks aren't allowed to touch women. What was new for me was that Buddhist nuns are below the monks in the hierarchy and are therefore required to pay respect to monks - but not vice versa. Does this have a familiar ring? I wonder why on earth every single major religion considers women to be second-class citizens (if that). Seriously, how do religions expect me to respect them if they don't respect me?
