Man of the cloth? Bah.

Conned by a beggar - not a particularly unusual way to have the wool pulled over your eyes, but I think this one deserves a mention.

I live in Asia, and as a result you get a fair amount of buddhist monks begging for alms. These monks are essentially relying on the kindness of strangers to survive - more the fool them, but I like to drop a few coins in their bowl if I see them.

One day I was walking through town and not really concentrating when this man in robes babbling in tounges leaps out from behind a pillar, waving his alms bowl at me . Not really concentrating, I rummage around and give him some coins. Good deed done for the day, thought I.

It was only a few minutes later that I realized that a few things about this monk didn't really add up.
1. His shaved head wasn't as close-cropped as a monk's aesthetic generally should be. I'd say it was around a number 5 on a beard trimmer, and that's a generous estimate.
2. Monks aren't meant to approach you, muttering incantations. They're usually found standing serenely, waiting for some person to bestow a little kindness on them. This guy was waving his little metal bowl right in front of my face in an almost threatening manner.
3. Speaking of alms bowl, he didn't actually have one. What he had was a little metal tin that you buy in the market, rather than a big brass bowl that you strike like a gong.

Bollocks, thought I.

To be fair, the rest of his getup was convincing enough to pass first muster, but these days I find myself treating monks with a lot more suspicion than they probably deserve.

If you go to Asia, beware the fake monk con arists.
(schnuff, Mon 22 Oct 2007, 5:10, 1 reply)

Well that explains a lot...
no wonder the burma government are pissed off.
(kintore_homeboy tenuous links since 1986!, Mon 22 Oct 2007, 9:37, closed)