Opening a new hotel? Give to monks!

It is hard to find an occasion of any kind in the Golden Land that doesn't involve generosity and deference towards the Sangha, the Buddhist monastic order. In this case, to inaugurate the opening of Hotel Dawei, the owners and senior staff invite several monks from a local monastery. After feeding them a full nutritious meal consisting of several courses, requisites are presented and accepted on the part of the monks, who then give discourses to the householders and chant Pali suttas. Such a selfless start to any company grants the staff with some good merit and a clear heart to start on the business side of running the day to day operations. As Dawei opens up to greater tourism and unexplored beaches find their bums, it is refreshing to see local values and spiritual beliefs still held onto.