Buddhist Monks on-Line – on the Impact of Modern Technologies on Monastic Life in India and Nepal

Technical modernization as well as use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strongly contributed to social and cultural change among Tibetan monks in exile. It’s an example of a modernization of a very homogeneous and traditional society. Under the influence of television and internet very strict monastic life had started to widen and experience new spheres of existence. ICT provided knowledge about different ways of living, new ways of entertainment. Under its impact monastic live have changed on physical and mental levels. For example monks started to watch Bollywood movies and football on the TV, use facebook and online messengers, speak English, and learn how to become a managers of different Buddhist ceremonies. Young monks have started to live different lives, changed their way of communication, and social organization

In this paper I will present flow and process of these changes and their effects. I will discuss various examples from the four-year ethnographic research project conducted among Karma Kagyu monks in India and Nepal.