My kind of monks

This NYT story about a buddhist couple who are never apart has a weird kind of appeal to me. The celibate part would be too hard, I think, but what an interesting way to pursue a spiritual practice. You must continually submit your will to another.

TEN years ago, Michael Roach and Christie McNally, Buddhist teachers with a growing following in the United States and abroad, took vows never to separate, night or day.

By “never part,” they did not mean only their hearts or spirits. They meant their bodies as well. And they gave themselves a range of about 15 feet.

If they cannot be seated near each other on a plane, they do not get on. When she uses an airport restroom, he stands outside the door. And when they are here at home in their yurt in the Arizona desert, which has neither running water nor electricity, and he is inspired by an idea in the middle of the night, she rises from their bed and follows him to their office 100 yards down the road, so he can work.

It puts the intimacy of living with a spouse, two kids, two cats, and a dog into a little perspective.