You know, it seems like not every time, but very frequently, when I’m driving down PCH in the LBC I will notice this one Buddhist monk either sitting or standing around smoking a cigarette. I don’t know, what do you think, smoking just doesn’t seem all that holy, does it?
 
This monk is obviously of Cambodian descent. As you may or may not know, Long Beach was one of the main focal points of Cambodian immigration into the U.S. during the era of genocide brought on by the Pol Pot regime. In fact, I wrote the first book on Cambodian Refugees in Long Beach, many-many years ago. It started out as the dissertation for my Ph.D. degree and then later evolved into a book.
 
In any case, there are a number of Cambodian Buddhist sanctuaries around Long Beach. I’m sure this monk lives at one of them. And, I guess, he needs to get away to get his smoke on.
 
I get it, it’s Urban Buddhism. I mean, Phnom Penh is a vast urban city and there are temples and Buddhist monks all over the place. But, do they sit around and smoke on the street corner?
 
I remember the first time I really took notice of a Buddhist monk walking a seemingly wayward trail. I was flying into Seoul, First Class, back in the '80s, and a Korean Buddhist monk was sitting next to me on the plane, rockin’ a gold Rolex. It was after that I began to take notice that pretty much all of the Korean Buddhist monks wore gold Rolex watches. Austere? Humble? Holy?
 
This area of Long Beach is pretty junkyard. My lady and I often joke, as we drive through this location, “Just think, if you told someone that your lived on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, California, that would sound pretty cool.” But, this area is no where near the ocean and, if they knew this location, they would understand that it is anything but nice, or cool, or anything like that.  
 
But, this all comes back to what is or is not holy? What is or is not Buddhist?
 
I mean, we all envision a Buddhist monk as someone who spends their days meditating, maybe doing for others, and stuff like that. But, to be sitting around on the curb, smoking, in the parking lot of a liquor store, is that meditation?
 
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am one of those people who believes you can turn anything into a meditation if you have the right mind for it. But, can doing something that is so addictive—so bad for your body and so bad for others around you and so bad for the environment become a meditation? I don’t know, what do you think?
 
But, all this should give you pause to contemplate the things that you are doing in your life. Is what you are doing meditative and pure, or is what you are doing simply based in aspects of your Lower Self?