All this chatter about texting and shorthand and related non sequitur nonsense has led me to a real puzzle. What about monks? I mean, I have been told that some of these guys are going around with digital cameras and mp3 players and cell phones…yes, even cell phones. I’m sure we’re not talking about the vow of silence dudes. That would just be too bizarre, even if they got one of those free texting plans.

But the regular, less orthodox monks who occasionally kick back and have a little light discussion about what type of rope makes the best robe belt, or whether an old school straight razor is better for shaving the cranium than a five-blade name brand with disposable cartridges.

I wonder if these guys are sneaking around with iPhones, downloading apps and texting their brothers. Somewhere it must be happening, right? Probably in some particularly lenient temple. Even so, though, there’s got to be a lot of quiet time in a place like that. And even if they allow a little time for chat, you know it’s got to be quiet and meditative. So if one monk is texting another monk a little humorous anecdote about enlightenment or the afterlife or whatever, and the second monk responds LOL…you know he’s probably not actually, literally laughing out loud, right.

So, is that a lie. Seriously. Wouldn’t that kind of screw up your whole karmic balance?