As planned, we ate out in a nearby kopitiam but today was a little different. As we were eating, a monk walked in the kopitiam. As far as I could see, he wasn't soliciting but mainly looking around. We continued eating.
I would be horrified if he started asking for money...but he didn't. He mainly walked around maybe trying to find the right people. He held a basket of stuff to pass around. Some might assume he was selling and pushing stuff...I had a feeling he wasn't really. Maybe he was looking for food?
Maybe some people, like monks, don't really have any intentions.
For some reason, he walked up to us, the three of us, and asked if he could place these blessing/friendship bracelets on us. Of course, I said yes.
Buddhist friendship bracelets, often known as Thai "Sai Sin" or Tibetan knotted bracelets, are string accessories blessed by monks or artisans to symbolize protection, good luck, and interconnectedness. Hand-tied, they are worn on the left wrist to invite positive energy, friendship, and spiritual blessings into the wearer's life.
Not knowing the proper procedure, my question was "Are we supposed to pay for this?
I pulled out the only cash I have in my wallet which was a grand total of RM10. I don't have much cash these days...it's all eWallet these days.
I asked, "Should I pay for this?" He understood my confusion and said, Can:.
And I placed it in the can he was shouldering.
Then he did his thing and we did our thing...which was eating. And then, before we left, he turned around and gave each of us this, for our phones. He prayed a little (very short while) for us and left us to our own devices.
Before we left, he approached us again and passed us this thing and told us we can place it on our phones and we did.
At the end, I saw him ordering something from the prawn mee seller and I hoped my RM10 paid, partly, for that.
Was he an angel or were we delusional?
Normally, we would have to drive and walk into a temple to be blessed like this but today. he walked into us.
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