Requiem for a Thought

I really like Thai food. And so I've found a local Thai place here in Dallas that serves wonderful food--Thai Soon. Inside this small restaurant, which used to be located near downtown, is a handful of tables. In total, the place probably can handle about 20 people at one time. When I first stumbled over the eatery, I was pleasantly surprised to find numerous awards and positive newspaper reviews posted on a wall near the register. So I figured that the food was going to be good at least and probably authentic (not that I've been to Thailand to see for myself). Well, today I found out just how authentic the food is.

As my dad and I walked into the restaurant, we immediately noticed the 5 BUDDHIST MONKS sitting at a table eating together. Now I've met Catholic monks, brothers, and priests who wear various habits. That's one thing. But today was surreal. Each was wearing the traditional orange robe of Theravada Buddhism.

First of all, I didn't think I'd ever see Buddhist monks in person, let alone in a restaurant. I figured that they lived such ascetic lifestyles that they basically cooked rice and beans. Then I wondered how they got to the restaurant, especially since there isn't a monastery across the street. Certainly they aren't sporting the 5 series, I thought to myself. Indeed they were not. Instead, they had a large "Church van” that they all climbed into after their meal.

To me it has always been refreshing to listen to people discuss their religious beliefs, especially when those beliefs are radically different than my own. Similarly, when I actually see first hand people who have chosen a way of life that is so staggeringly strange to most people, it makes me realize that faith in something is universal. And it’s not a Western vs. Eastern thing, because, like I mentioned earlier, Catholic brothers and nuns take vows very similar to those that these Buddhist monks took. It’s amazing that in cultures that are so vastly different both in location and philosophy there is still at least one huge similarity—the renunciation of materialism.

Buddhist monks visiting the The Buddhist Center of Dallas. (Probably not the same ones at Thai Soon, but the same clothes.)