Lodi Pertovt, Boyhood (PEOPLE 2025)

There’s a quiet paradox in watching children train to be Buddhist monks. We often picture monks as wise old men with shaved heads and serene smiles, yet here, the saffron robes belong to young boys hunched over homework and playing football between prayers. For many families, sending their sons to the monastery is both a spiritual offering and a practical choice — a path to education, moral guidance, and stability in regions where opportunities are limited. These young novices carry the weight of an ancient tradition, even as they grow up within it, balancing childhood and devotion in equal measure.

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