Dharma And Drag

In Thailand, it’s a social convention for young men to enter a Buddhist monastery for a couple of years to lead an ascetic life while studying the teachings of enlightenment.

The country has a huge number of fags, ladyboys and transgender types. In the spirit of human equality, they too are allowed to enter the monastery. True to form, they brought their urban debauchery with them.

It’s traditional for Buddhist monks to beg on the streets for alms and offerings. But the fag monks of Thailand turned that into cruising and hustling for cash, thereby violating their vows of celibacy. More worrying was the flamboyant wearing of skin tight saffron monk’s robes, effeminately shaped eyebrows with eye makeup and…..pink handbags.

So worried were the monastic authorities that in the northern province of Chiang Rai, a “Good Manners Guide” has been published to teach errant monks – especially the fag ones – about smoking, alcohol, walking and going to the toilet properly. Read that last one again fags. Teaching a fag toilet manners? Fags pretty much own toilets don’t they?? It was fags who made toilets fun to use.

Bemused readers can verify this posting for themselves by going to the BBC website for the story dated 27 April 2009.

Originally published 30 April 2009
Republished 11 December 2013