Being a Monk 出家

A series of pictures showing a 4-year-old boy experiencing a monk’s life in Lingshi Zishou temple in Shanxi province has gone viral on the Internet.
近日，一组四岁小男孩在山西灵石资寿寺体验出家生活的照片走红网络。



The little child’s cute behavior amuses(逗乐) many other monks, and his infinite vitality(无限活力) brings new life to this millennium-old temple(千年古刹).

The boy’s name is Kele(可乐), and he’s from Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi. His father wants him to experience a special and interesting summer vacation(暑假), so he sent Kele to the temple.

During his stay there, elder monks read Buddhist scriptures(讲经) to him, and his designated master teaches him Chinese ancient culture as well as some basic Kung Fu moves(基本武功招式).

重点词汇 Key Words:

出家chū jiā
The literal meaning is “to leave home”, but it usually means “to leave home and become a monk or priest, such as “出家人”(monk/nun). Another related phrase is “半路出家”, a metaphor for “changing to a job one was not trained for”.

Eg. 有时候他会在深夜里偷偷溜出家与她相会。
      Sometimes he would sneak out of his home late at night to be with her.

     一个年轻姑娘要求出家。
     A young girl asked to be a nun.

     我刚半路出家来当教师,还没有什么教学经验。
      I have just switched to the profession of a teacher and quite lack experience in teaching work.


逗乐 dòu lè
amuse/amused/make...laugh

Eg: 他能把所有人逗乐。
      He could make anybody laugh.

      我们被逗乐了。
      We were amused.