Burmese monks take their yearly exam December 13, 2011 in Bago, Myanmar. Around 1,400 monks from Bago province took part . (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Elaborately dressed monks costumed as wrathful guardian spirits perform ceremonial dances during the Tenchi Festival on May 25, 2014 in Lo Manthang, Nepal. The Tenchi Festival takes place annually in Lo Manthang, the capital of Upper Mustang and the former Tibetan Kingdom of Lo. Each spring, monks perform ceremonies, rites, and dances during the Tenchi Festival to dispel evils and demons from the former kingdom. (Photo by Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)

A young monk takes his food from the dining hall at Changangkha Lhakhang temple in Thimphu, Bhutan, April 13, 2016. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Police gesture in respect towards a monk as they block protesters trying to march to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC summit venue, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Wason Wanichakorn/AP Photo)

Buddhist monks wait for a lantern parade ahead of the upcoming birthday of Buddha at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

Two miniature pigs, Brad Pigg and Gordon Hamsey, train for racing season at Monk Park Farm near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, UK on March 18, 2025. (Photo by James Glossop/Times Media Ltd)

Thai Buddhist monks wear face shields to protect themselves from new coronavirus as they walk to collect alms from devotees in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

A Buddhist monk uses a traditional needle to tattoo the body of a man at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, March 18, 2016. Believers from across Thailand travel to the monastery to have their bodies adorned with tattoos and to pay their respects to the temple's master tattooist. They believe the tattoos have mystical powers, ward off bad luck and protect them from harm. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)