Tatchakorn Yeerum, better known as Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) has become a Buddhist monk at a Buddhist temple in Surin, Thailand, best known for its trained elephants. It is not known at the moment how long he will remain at the temple.
Tony Jaa became an international martial arts star when Ong-Bak was brought to the states. With much success of the first movie, Jaa became director for the sequel, only to have problems with production.
The sequel was split into two movies (Ong Bak 2 & Ong Bak 3) – Ong Bak 3 was a flop in Thailand, and has never been seen here in the United States. With many of the disasters that took place within production (Studio holdouts, tearful TV appearances, etc), perhaps this is why he has decided to be ordained as a Buddhist monk.
If running off to the Surin providence sounds like a good idea to you too, i-to-i is coordinating a 22-day volunteer trip to Surini-to-i.com where travelers can help feed and care for Surin’s elephants as well as help lure elephants owners who have left the region to come back. For more information on the trip, check out .
In any case, we wish Tony Jaa the best!
It is normal for every Thai male to enter the mnastery for a period of time during their life. Most do it after finishing school and prior to heading out to the work force. I, too, wish him well and look forward to the next movie.
As Khon Kaen pointed out, yes, it is expected that Thai Buddhist men will spend a period of time as a monk. This is generally done to make merit (tham boon) for one’s parents. Usually in the old days a man would be a monk for at least one “pansaa” (one rainy season, about three months long).
But nowadays it can be much shorter. Two weeks is not uncommon. So I don’t know how much one can learn about the Dhamma in two weeks.