I think the critical bit is that the good deed is in support of the Sangha. The ironic part of the villager’s response is in thinking that simply giving food wi

I think the critical bit is that the good deed is in support of the Sangha. The ironic part of the villager’s response is in thinking that simply giving food will support the Sangha. If the local monks are taking meth, donations are not likely to help make things better. This looks like a form of Tanha - the villagers are so attached to their ideas of how a Sangha _should_ be supported, that they are disappointed when they cannot donate to monks who need much more than monetary donations. Edit: I’d also criticise the description of monks as professional mendicants. In many places the local monks provide education services or council locals in a similar way to a western psychologist. They aren’t just resource sponges, they can provide important community services in places that would otherwise go without. Thus I think of them more as professionals who beg. That is excluding Monks in the article who are obviously LARPing.