Walking With Monks

This morning I followed two monks from Wat Mahathat on their collection of food offerings. It was quite enlightening, as I didn't know where all of that food went before. Apparently, monks take the food back to their wat (temple), where they eat two meals a day, or sometimes one meal, which are eaten before noon. The remaining food (which there was plenty of this morning) is then available for the homeless, or people like us who accompany monks on their morning ritual. It was a beautiful experience to see people embrace Buddhism at such a normal, day-to-day level. As the people handed the monks their offering, I wai-ed the monks as a sign of respect. The monks then gave a brief prayer, which I thought sounded like a rap with a cool baseline, and then the person kneeled down for about 15 seconds in prayer. I'm not really sure who or what they are praying to since Buddhism does not give a clear definition of "God", but it was definitely a spiritual moment. I hope to do this again soon!