

This is secondhand, half-remembered information I picked up from some stranger on Reddit probably a decade ago, so take it for what it’s worth
But my understanding is that in some parts of Asia, being a monk is just sort of a thing that some young people do for a short time, and a lot of them aren’t really what we’d think of as “clergy.” Not sure if that’s the case in Thailand or not.
It’s almost more like taking a gap year to go backpacking through Europe or whatever the kids are into these days, or taking a summer job that just happens to be in a Buddhist temple and the uniform is a robe and shaved head instead of a polo shirt and khakis.
Now these seem to be involving “senior monks” so probably not just teens and 20-somethings trying to find themselves.
But I kind of have to wonder how many of those senior monks are more like that friend you had in high school who took a summer job working at a surf shop or something and just never went back to finish college and are still working there a decade or two later than they are someone who truly felt a calling towards religious service.
Thanks to ambiguous sans-serif fonts, we don’t really have to choose
Gen AIpha Gen Alpha
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At least on my phone, those look damn-near identical.