Temple burns down as monk attacked by hornets

he achieved his goal, next

I thought Buddhists respect all forms of life.

"Honey-Monk" !

the monk, Atsushi Sato, 41, suffered burns on his ears, face and left hand, but he was not stung.

Well apprently the torch worked, he didn't get stung. Japan has a species of giant hornets, I wonder if this was them?

attacked by bees or hornets? which is it JT? - there is a huge difference!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=vQQk_B4hwEs this video shows the difference.

I guess we will never know whether there really was a hornets nest. But I'm sure that nice fat insurance check will come in handy...

Where did he get that idea? A Looney Tunes cartoon?

his own home was burnt down by the very torch he used to burn down the home of the bees. why, its perfect irony.

How exactly did this happen? He got burned, but not stung? So he was holding the torch up, some hornets came flying out, and he dropped the torch, OH HIS OWN HEAD?

I'd rather believe that the hornets saw him coming, flew out and collectively grabbed the torch from him and beat him over the head with it as he fled. And that would be counted as "being attacked by by hornets....but not stung."

That would make a better cartoon, anyways.

Whoops!!!

I can tell you from experience, getting stung by the Japanese Giant Hornet is horrificaly painful. I got attacked last year and was stung 4 times. When people say that it is equivelant to being stuck by a hot nail, their not kidding. That's exactly what it felt like times 4.

As for this monk, obviously he never read "The Tao of Pooh."

S

OgieDoggie

Japan has a species of giant hornets, I wonder if this was them?

The giant hornets nest in the ground, under a stump, etc. Other hornets build "paper" orb shaped enclosures as nests, with multiple horizontal layers of comb inside, and these are generally under an overhang or on a branch.

Honeybees do not build an enclosure but find a box, wall, etc. These probably were not hornets.

Too bad he wasn't stung at least once for his stupidity. I do not feel at all bad about his temple – there are lots of them and precious few bee colonies.

"The giant hornets nest in the ground, under a stump, etc"

This is not necessarily true. The giant hornets that I had the displeasure of meeting were building a "paper" nest under a step on the fire escape of my apartment building. Thus the attack. I was ascending the staircase but did not notice the hornets. Until it was too late.

S

Insurance Scam!! But good Idea!! Might use it sometime.

Fail-plank

Yeah i thought buddhists respected all life?

he might be reincarnated as a bee then

I guess it was karma.

And the dumba$$ award goes to Atsushi Sato, yes for burning down his temple he wins the dumba$$ award of the week!

I have been living in Japan for about 20 years and did not realise how dangerous Japanese hornets are till recently. Only this summer I directed a hose at a hornet (perhaps) nest in the eves of a hut. About 20 people or more die a year in Japan apparently. Hornets will often attack in groups if you approach their nest. As well as being painful and highly poisonous the sting contains a chemical that encourages other hornets to sting you. If it is your second sting occasion you may well have developed an allergic reaction. The most common cause of death is allergic shock. Be very scared of hornets, the monk got lucky. I hope his temple was insured.

The Japanese version of Homer Simpson.

Sounds like he got rid of the nest though, a job well done!

would make a good Rakugo, or 3 stooges for the western version.

Yeh, them hornets wont mess with him again in a hurry.

He said the monk, Atsushi Sato, 41, suffered burns on his ears, face and left hand, but he was not stung.

Am I the only one to find this line gut-bustingly hysterical?

Nah, Guru. I think it's just typical Japanese irony. However, everyone has assumed it is the giant Japanese hornet, but the story gives no definition of species. There are more than one type of hornet in Japan and most will attack in swarms. If this was a giant hornet's nest he can consider himself lucky he is not dead. The authorities advise people to NEVER attempt removal of these monsters, but to contact the police and get professionals to remove them.

Bees: 1 Monks: 0 Game over

Japan has a species of giant hornets, I wonder if this was them?

They are Osuzumebachi , scientific name Vespa mandarinia japonica. They nest under eaves.

Kurosuzumebachi, scientific name Vespula flaviceps nest in ground. (Larvae of Vespula flaviceps are eatable, imagoes attack only hunters)

Damn got to be an idiot

Hornets are a type of social wasp and not bees at all.

God must be angry with him.

BTW Neverknow2, Japanese Buddhism is so far removed from mainstream Buddhism that it's pretty much considered a cult here, especially Souka Gakkai. There is no concept of karma, reincarnation, nirvana - basically the foundations of Buddhism.

Oh dear, I'm afraid to say that I did laugh when I read this. Not a good day for this poor chap.

In other words, the temple was constructed in a way that was not conforming to fire safety standards. It was an accident, which was expected to happen one time. Actually, there exists a special quite oily anti insect spray in Japan that can be used against hornets. I know, because it was used at the day of "Kusakari" when trimming a hedge. First spray from outside and then with an extension tube inside the nest. And be careful. Then, with gloves try to out the nest into a plastic bag, spray again and seal.

BTW Neverknow2, Japanese Buddhism is so far removed from mainstream Buddhism that it's pretty much considered a cult here, especially Souka Gakkai. There is no concept of karma, reincarnation, nirvana - basically the foundations of Buddhism.

Try http://www.buddhanet.net/nippon/nippon_preface.htm it may help you to stay clear of cults.

Never say I didnt help a fellow human out. You will be stunned to discover that Japanese main line Buddhism is no different than most.

You just have to stay away from the crazy stuff. What ever you do do not go to Ginza during Xmas. That is when the insane other religious folks start carrying their "you are all damned signs"......Thought I saw Palin there last year....Hmmm

BTW Try http://www2.hongwanji.or.jp/english/shinbuddhism.html to get a better understanding of Japanese Buddhism. Stay away from the Cults....Bad

Hahaha...hahaha!! This made the front page on MSN.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26541899/?GT1=43001

S

It is such a shame... poor guy

As a Monk,he must not harm any living beings.. well that`s a bad Karma..

Ancient Japanese slogan: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

A monk trying to rid his temple of a hornet’s nest panicked when the hornets attacked him and dropped a torch

How did the hornets get hold of a torch?

If only this geezer had a buddy with a handycam, he could have become an internet star.

There are tons of videos on Youtube starring fools throwing rocks at hornets nests, setting them on fire or blasting them with shotguns.

he just could have said that he didn't wanted to be a monk but too torch your own temple and making stories up about bees?hornets? :p

LOL!!!! XD XD XD!!!! LMAO!!!!!

gee, don't they have a saying in Japan equal to "do not poke a stick at a hornets nest"? surely they do. But this guy held a flaming torch to a hornets nest. Thats like stepping between Tyson and Lewis and saying "you guys are weakling little girls". Stupid!

yeah, well you would freak out if a "Suzumebachi" came at you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet

haha ... call the expert next time!

good, the headline finally changed from bees to hornets. I once destroyed a wasp nest with a can of fly spray and a cigarette lighter, perhaps the monk could have done with some 'tips'

good, the headline finally changed from bees to hornets. I once destroyed a wasp nest with a can of fly spray and a cigarette lighter, perhaps the monk could have done with some 'tips'

The monk preferred a flammenwerfer, but he only had a torch.

What happen to the patient and calm monks like the ones in the stations with the bowl? I bet one of them could do a better job.

Shouldn't he plug the hole and let the hornets go anyway? I thought Buddhists were non-violent.

NetteMarie.

Myself not that familiar with "religious" Buddhism, but familiar with Zen-Buddhism. Might sound weird but true buddhism like confucism is a philosophy and not a religion. Yeah plenty of cults out there. And you can be a buddhist as well as christian/muslim/etc at the same time too. Most asian religions/beliefs simply say if you follow our rules you are one of us. Hence why the majority of japanese can follow buddhist and shinto rites, there is simply no conflict.

Also why one of my martial Dojo's was in the basement of a Zen-Buddhist temple. We trained 2 styles there, one japanese and one chinese.

Buddha & Confucius were living persons not gods. There is no concept of creation or miracles in either, just a following of the teachings of an enlighented person. Like Gandhi, etc.

AFAIK, to become a buddhist monk you need to take certain vows(all are optional). So you can have a buddhist monk that eats meat or has sex depending on their vows.

Said that I have known some monks here that drove mercs, etc and we got 2 monks that stand outside my station with a bowl and traditional garb.

Temples and shrines were always places of study, most schooling before public schools(both academic and martial) was done there same for east and west.

As for the hornets, etc you need to smoke them out, than get rid of the nest. Taking fire to a wooden or hatched structure is NOT a good idea. I myself took out 2 wasps nests in my parents garden.

I saw this on the news one night. The blip at the top right corner said suzumebachi, so it was the giant hornets who were responsible.

This is really funny, but I can't explain why. Anyone?

it is the irony that makes you laugh mate