Asia-Pacific News
Japanese priest loses temple to angry hornet swarm
Sep 4, 2008, 2:34 GMT
Tokyo - A Buddhist priest in Japan caused the destruction of his own temple when trying to smoke out some hornets squatting in the building, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said Thursday.
The 41-year-old tried to burn out a hornet's nest on top of a cupboard in his temple in the central Japanese province Niigata with a home-made bamboo torch.
However, the cupboard caught fire as the angry insects defended their home and attacked the scared priest. The fire soon spread to the rest of the building. While the priest only suffered light burns, the temple burnt down completely.
The priest had intended to move his temple to a new location as it had been damaged in an earthquake, but now will have to rebuild it from scratch, the newspaper said.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Hornets are completely harmless. Just leave their nest alone and they'll show no interest in you whatsoever.
They are less agressive than bees, their poison is less potent and their sting less painful.
#1- Buddhists don't eat any meat, whale or otherwise.
#2- It said he was trying to smoke them out,not burn their nest.
He was most likely thinking of the safety of the worshipers at his temple, worried an elderly or very young child might be stung.
This article is a tragedy that a sacred place of worship has been lost, not a comedy over which to air petty grievances and politics.
@ superBob: The hornets in question were almost certainly Vespa mandarinia, the giant variety that are indeed aggressive and dangerous to humans. Probably a dozen people die each year when they walk too close to a nest or cross a swarm's path.
page: 1
Tokyo HaimSep 4th, 2008 - 10:18:06
What kind of Buddhist tries to set fire to a nest??? (let me guess - the kind that eats whale meat?)
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