City of the Golden Buddha | National Geographic

in the city of the Golden Buddha the day
begins as it has for hundreds of years
throughout the town Buddhist monks put
on their bright orange robes and begin
to gather in temples to pray
with dawn comes the call to morning alms
a ribbon of young monks carrying begging
bowls wines slowly through the quiet
streets they pause along the way to
collect bits of food and rice from women
waiting on the roadside this silent
perception
provides the men with a simple communal
breakfast eaten with thanks these
timeless rituals play out everyday in
Luang Prabang the ancient royal capital
of Laos but along the lazy Mekong River
and surrounded by St Emerald Hills it’s
home to 16,000 people including more
than a thousand monks of our ages they
live in dozens of beautiful temples
scattered throughout the city being a
monk is no longer just about religion
these days temples teach modern subjects
like math history and foreign languages
but while more and more boys are
entering these holy places fewer are
choosing to dedicate their lives to be
amongst ironically there are many more
men choosing to become monks very late
in life they leave behind families
children and the comforts of home opting
for days of meditation and prayer
dedicating
years to Buddhism despite these subtle
changes Buddhism
continues to play a central role of his
lives and in Luang Prabang many of the
ancient traditions continued as they
always have