What does “tudong” mean? What is a “tudong monk”? The [Thai] term “tudong” is derived from the Pali term “dhutanga” and refers to thirteen practices allowed to the Sangha by the Buddha that “go against the grain”. This list of ascetic practices includes eating one meal a day, eating all food from almsbowl and living at the root of a tree, and concludes with the most demanding: abstaining from the posture of lying down. The tudong practices play a prominent role in the forest monasteries of northeast Thailand, and many are embedded in a daily life of the monastic communites. […]