Monks pray during a Buddhist ceremony celebrating World Vesak Day in Nakhon Pathom province on the outskirts of Bangkok May 10, 2006.
Buddhist monks in Thailand are too tired to receive early morning alms because they are staying up late to watch the World Cup, a Thai newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The Nation quoted a woman in the northern city of Chiang Mai who said her birthday celebrations were ruined because monks at a city temple were not awake to receive her morning offering, a mandatory religious ritual in the predominately Buddhist country.
The woman, who declined to be identified, said she was told by a senior monk that most of his young colleagues were still asleep because they had stayed up to watch the games which can go on well past midnight.
The Sangha Council, which oversees the tens of thousands of Buddhist temples in Thailand, has not banned monks from watching the World Cup but said it should not interfere with religious activities.
Chiang Mai chief monk Phra Thep Wisuthikhun said he had received complaints about "inappropriate behavior" at seven temples in the province. "It is the duty of the abbot of each temple to supervise the behavior of young monks, making sure that their religious activities will not be affected by the games," he said.
In neighboring Cambodia, some 40,000 monks have been warned they could be defrocked if they became too excited while watching the games.
"If they make noise or cheer as they watch, they will lose their monkhood," Phnom Penh patriarch Non Nget said. 本週三，泰國一家報紙報道，泰國的和尚們因熬夜觀戰世界盃，以至於累的起不來接受清晨佈施。
《民族報》在報道中引用了來自北部城市清邁的一位女子的話，她説，由於當地一所寺院的和尚沒有起來接受她的清晨佈施，她的生日宴會都泡湯了。清晨佈施在佛教盛行的泰國是一項必須舉行的宗教儀式。
這名不願透露姓名的女子説，一位年長的和尚告訴她大多數年輕和尚還在睡覺，因為他們前一天晚上看了一個通宵的.世界盃。
僧伽理事會總管泰國的幾萬個寺院，理事會並沒有禁止和尚們看世界盃賽，但理事會表示，和尚們不應因此影響正常的宗教活動。
清邁市高僧Phra Thep Wisuthikhun説，清邁地區已有七所寺院因“不當行為”而遭到投訴。他説：“監督年輕僧侶的行為是每個寺院住持的職責，要保證僧侶們的宗教活動不受世界盃賽的影響。”
在鄰國柬埔寨，約四萬名和尚受到警告，如果他們在看世界盃時過於興奮，將會被解除僧職。
金邊長老Non Nget説：“如果和尚們在看比賽時亂喊亂叫或歡呼喝彩，他們就做不成和尚了。”
Vocabulary:
alms : something given to a charity or cause(佈施;施捨)
defrock : 解除僧職
學識谷
