'LITTLE BUDDHAS' WAGE WAR ON DRUGS

GOLDEN HORSE MONASTERY, Thailand - He was a soldier and champion boxer, but
now the burly abbot leads a band of "Little Buddhas," some as young as 7,
who practice martial arts and meditation, then ride into the mountains to
fight the scourge of drugs.

There are nearly 33,000 Buddhist monasteries in Thailand but not many like
this remote retreat set in limestone crags and bamboo thickets of northern
Thailand.

Most of the country's sanctuaries are defined by a languid atmosphere and
little physical exertion by the clergy. The Golden Horse Monastery resounds
with the neighing of some 100 horses, the thwack of body punches and the
barking of orders at ranks of disciplined youngsters.

"Before I was just a soldier of Thailand. Now I am a soldier of the Lord of
all the world's people. Now, I fight against lies, theft, hate and
violence," says Abbot Kru Ba Nua Chai, seated in a simple hall stacked with
religious icons.

His little army consists of the sons of impoverished hill tribe families,
most of them orphans, some former drug addicts. Its mission, Kru Ba says,
is to spread the Buddha's teachings and combat widespread drug abuse among
tribal people in an area where narcotics are as common as cold pills.

The 40-year-old monk, accompanied by some of the novices, spends about a
half of each month trekking through the rugged region along the Myanmar
border in the northern province of Chiang Rai. They ride horses, which fare
better than vehicles, especially during the monsoon rains.

A Strict Regimen

Wake up call is at 1 a.m. followed by meditation, religious teaching and
the chanting of prayers until dawn. Then, standing in military formation,
the novices - there are currently 17 - count off before calisthenics and
immersion in a pool of frigid mountain water for more meditation. There are
periodic fasts, lasting up to three days.

Days are spent cleaning the monastery grounds, cooking and caring for
horses and ponies, which the novices gallop, their loose yellow robes flapping.

Thai-style boxing is practiced every evening, and Kru Ba, tucking his robes
between his legs to reveal a powerful, densely tattooed torso, happily
demonstrates techniques.

The monastery where the charismatic monk bends the minds and bodies of
young boys is in part supported by the office of the Supreme Patriarch, the
country's Buddhist leader.

Also assisting is the Third Army, Thailand's front line of defense against
the flow of opium, heroin and methamphetamines from Myanmar and other areas
of the tri-border region of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar known as the Golden
Triangle.