Too Close For Comfort?

Michael Roach, 55, trained in the same Tibetan Buddhist tradition as the Dalai Lama, and became a monk in 1983. Monks must take strict vows of celibacy. So what’s wrong with that? Well, Michael and Christie McNally, 35, a Buddhist teacher, took vows to be never more than 15 feet from each other. No problem though as they claim that they are celibate too.

However, within the traditional Buddhist religion living with a woman whether celibate or not is a scandal. Talk about gender divide and separation!

So how do they do that? Half of the year, it's fairly simple, since they both live in a tiny, 22-foot yurt (or tent) in the middle of the Arizona desert, where they read books at the same time and follow each other like shadows. (They first moved there to do a silent retreat, so from 2000-2003, they lived in complete, silence and meditation.)Things do get a bit more complicated when they travel. For example, if they can't get seats next to each other on a plane, they simply refuse to board. If one gets up to go to the bathroom, the other must follow and stand outside the door. Now that is togetherness to the max.

I don’t know if you should try this at home. What do you think?