Another Monk Bites the Dust

A blog I write: "Can You Believe This?" involves a simple principle: real life is stranger than anything I can make up. And I can make up a lot of crazy stuff. Still, even I wouldn't make up a story of Monks Gone Wild because, well, who would believe me?

Turns out, the modern-day monk is not all that peaceful, if you consider the recent, bloody skirmish involving warring groups of monks in Greece. In fact, they more resemble the monks of old, the crusading monks. As usual, we have Hollywood to blame for the misconception.

If you're like the average American, your exposure to monks has been limited. I saw my first monk in the movie Brother Orchid, starring Edward G. Robinson. Robinson played a mob guy taken in, and dressed up, by monks. Most of the daily activity revolved around weeding the monastery's garden. Not a single monk went wild, not even the mobster, Robinson. No errant monks throwing tomatoes at one another. No rakes picked up in anger.

Ditto for the monks in Kung Fu. I can't remember a case of a wayward monk in the show, but if one existed, I'm sure the other monks whisked him away and put him in a meditating room. Everything was on the down low in monk-ville.

Another bubble bursts. We were looking at monks through rose-colored lenses via the wonder of Hollywood. Another edit job. The reality isn't so pretty.

Most recently, the monks in Greece went to war. As one news service reported: "Rival groups of monks wielding crowbars and sledgehammers clashed Wednesday over control of a 1,000-year-old monastery in a community regarded as the cradle of Orthodox Christianity."

Notice the use of the words "rival groups" as opposed to "rival gangs." Once a monk picks up a crowbar in a menacing gesture, what's the real benefit of choosing a euphemism like "group"? Later in the article, they are referred to as rebels. Doesn't that go against the monk code? They wear clothing so as not to be singled out. They live meager lives so as not to be overcome with pleasures of the world. So, how does a monk exhibit rebellion? A different color sash perhaps? Red flip flops?

This is a serious matter, however. It turns out that warring monks are much more common nowadays than Hollywood would like us to believe. By the end of this recent rumble, for example, seven monks were injured. Ultimately, no monks were arrested, but three were banned from the Orthodox sanctuary of Mount.

This fight revolves around the Esphigmenou monastery which has become the real and metaphorical battleground between Orthodox Church authorities and rebel monks who occupy the facility. The monk sit-in was deemed illegal, and the courts had ordered their ouster. But monks can be stubborn.

The "recognized" monks tried to force their way into the monastery which kicked off the fireworks. The "rebel" monks, holed up in the monastery without permission (squatters, if you will), attacked the "real" monks with fire extinguishers and crowbars.

The rebel alliance (monk) abbot, Methodius, insisted that they were blameless in the hostilities---fire extinguishers and crowbars aside. "We were attacked and had to respond," he said.

When I first saw this article, I assumed it to be an aberration. The truth is, monk factions have been warring for years.
Hard-line Orthodox monks protested the Pope's visit to Greece in May, 2001. Likewise Orthodox priests marched in Ukraine to protest Pope John Paul II's visit. These protesters accused the Catholic Church of stealing both believers and property. The property end of that relates to buildings taken over by the Soviets in the 1940s which the Church has demanded be returned.

In August, 2006, Sri Lanka was the scene of a monk melee during a peace rally. Moderate Buddhist monks were onstage when a group of hard-line monks mounted the stage and erected banners for their cause. Punches followed. According to witnesses, monks' robes and fists were flying.

While early-day monks behaved like crusaders, their predecessors evolved into the sort of monk depicted by Hollywood. In the '60s, for example, Buddhist monks were overcome by the war in Vietnam and the government's anti-Buddha stance. The monks protested when they were told they would not be allowed to carry flags on Buddha's birthday. They didn't pick up a crowbar or fire extinguisher. By the end of it all seven monks had set themselves afire in a ritual method of suicide.

No one advocates self immolation. No one wants monks to be over-run by evil government forces. But there's a wide, gray area between setting oneself on fire in peaceful protest and beating another monk with a crowbar.

People have wondered to themselves and aloud if we'll ever seen peace on earth.

If monks can't get along, what hope is there for the rest of us?