Buddhist priests join the professional pervert ranks.

The professional pervert trend has definitely gone too far this time. A 37-year old Buddhist priest was arrested today for paying two junior high school girls for sex in Niigata. Ok, first of all. You are a Buddhist priest. Not cool that you're having sex at all, never mind violating child pornography and prostitution laws. A few years ago, I took part in a guided meditation class at a Soto Zen temple in Nishi Azabu. As I was quietly walking from the main hall of the temple to the chanting meditation room, I struck up a conversation with one of the monks. He said he was interested in learning English, and slipped me a piece of paper with his phone number and e-mail address. "Don't show anyone," he said. "We're not supposed to have cell phones in the temple." I never called him, but I just remember that his email address was strawberrycheesecake@xxxx.co.jp. And I wondered if it was okay that he was picking up on his students. The Buddhist priest molestation trend spans all ages. Back in March, a 73-year old priest, who was also a respected teacher at the temple's nursery school, was arrested for picking up a child prostitute. This man in the photo is NOT a child molester, at least I don't think so, but I post his image here simply as a warning: do not be fooled by compassionate smiles and holy garb. Exercise caution.