the judgment | chart korbjitti

9 forest, chopping firewood, turning over the soil – in short, anything anyone asked him to do. When Fak was a little boy, he always went out with his dad.

At that time in his life, Fak’s closest friends were the temple boys. In the morning and at lunchtime, he would help in the monastery, bringing the food to the monks and waiting on them while they ate. He carried out his duties just like any other temple boy; the only difference was that at night he didn’t sleep with the rest of them.

He went back to sleep with his dad on the small stage.

His life as a child revolved around the temple, the monks and the other boys, and was filled with the smell of incense, the sound of chanting and the sight of the heavens and hells of Buddhist mythology and the lives of the Buddha depicted on the rows of paintings that hung on the walls in the basement of the prayer hall.

These things were like precious ornaments that kept his heart warm. He never grieved for not having a mother, maybe because he had never had one, and besides, the other temple boys were not allowed to have their mothers sleep with them either. He never felt wanting in having only his father with him. Having his dad was enough for him.

As Fak turned eleven, the temple began to build a school, and when it was finished, his father’s responsibilities increased. He had to look after the building, open and close windows and doors, do the cleaning and sweep and mop the floors. At first the work wasn’t too THE JUDGMENT | CHART KORBJITTI