Thai monk will bless devotees through video calls if they send offerings via delivery app

Since we’re living in the age of on-demand car rides, meals, house cleaners, and cuddles (yes), an over-the-top blessing service doesn’t seem too far fetched. 

So if you’re ever feeling in need of a divine invocation by a monk in Thailand, know that it’s totally possible. A monk in the southern Thai city of Trang has adapted to the ways of the digital world — dispensing blessings via video call to whoever donates food to his temple via Foodpanda. 

“The world is spinning fast, and dharma is also spinning in our heart,” Phra Itthiyawathaya wrote on Facebook. “#Disruption,” he added, because why not. 

The monk also shared that the long-distance blessing will still count towards karmic points. “The method may change, but the intent is the same,” Khaosod English quoted him as saying.

Lamyong Thiengtham, a 63-year-old devotee at the temple, noted to the publication that she would have to rely on food delivery services to exchange her offerings for remote blessings since she doesn’t have time to visit the temple due to work. 

“Usually I like going to temples, but I thought this method is so convenient and new, so I wanted to try,” she said. 

Tech-fuelled spirituality isn’t that rare, really. There’s Godblessyoo, for example, a mobile app that lets Christians bless pictures of friends and family by making the sign of a cross on the screen. 

ilyas@asiaone.com