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• Apparently spiritual Zen wasn't enough for Buddhist monks at two small temples in northern Thailand, The Washington Post reported.
As part of an investigation into drug abuse in the Phetchabun province, officials visited the monasteries and discovered that all of the monks -- even the abbot -- tested positive for methamphetamine.
"I was frightened because I never thought the monks would be addicted to drugs," said Sungyut Namburi, the village headman.
But the monks' behavior gave them away. "When I inspected the abbot's shelter, I was stunned because it was a mess," Sungyut said.
The monks were forced to leave the monkhood and enter rehab. For now, "the temple is empty," Sungyut said. [Washington Post, 12/1/2022]