...China has 300 million smokers; maybe in hell they're smoking paper tobacco? But given that Buddhism has 84,136 hells, I'm not sure if folks down there are smoking or being smoked.
Nánpǔtuó's studious monks aren't so sure either. I asked one, "Who goes to Buddhism's 84,136 hells?"He said, "Anyone who does anything wrong." He pondered this a bit, and added with a wry smile, "Everyone, I guess."
"Is there a Buddhist heaven?" I asked.
"Of course," he said.
"Who goes there?" I asked.
The monk thought a little, and said, "Just a minute." He pushed his Gandhi spectacles back up on his nose, flipped back and forth through the pages of a massive, musty volume, and after a few minutes said, "No one has ever asked me that. I'll have to get back to you."
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
smokin' monks
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1 comment:
I wonder if one can call one of the hells on the paper telephone they advertise...
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