Once a week.

This was the answer that Buddhist monk Ven. S. Pemaratana gave to a student's query, "how often do you shave your head?"

During the question and answer period at an event held last night in the Forestry building, students and visitors asked questions ranging from to how monks can meditate in the wild with tigers and not be harmed to how meditation can help children.

Pemaratana spoke to a group of about 20 people about different aspects of Buddhism and how it can enhance learning.

He said things such as attention, mental focus and creativity can be changed and the attention level that a person naturally has is not fixed.

One audience member asked about his thoughts on children using meditation to cope with problems such as Attention Deficit Disorder. Pemaratana said that in the current age of multitasking, people should instead focus on doing many different things well, but not all at the same time.

When asked the reason for shaving their heads, Pemaratana, and his companion Ven. K. Munindawansa, laughed before explaining that it was for the ease of not having to worry about hair, and to save time.

Both monks came to Penn State from the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center, which opened last September, but are originally from a monastery in Sri Lanka.

They said their physical activity at the monastery includes a lot of walking and all of the labor that goes into keeping the building clean in the tropical weather.

They also have the option of practicing yoga, but there is no required physical regiment.

The photographer shooting the event was brought to attention when someone asked whether or not the flash from the camera was bothering him, but in another example of calm, Pemaratana said he had learned to move it to the back of his consciousness.

One question that was pertinent to college social life was how to point out to a friend when he or she is being narrow-minded. Pemaratana said in these situations, people must focus not only on what they say, but how they say it.

No specific campus group brought the monks to Penn State, Dasitha Gunarathe (graduate-chemistry) said.

He said some students are attempting to create a Buddhist student association, but the necessary paperwork would have taken too long.

Instead, the room for the night's talk was reserved through another group that wished to remain anonymous.

Pemaratana ended his session with several wishes of good will like "good health," "good luck," and for the audience to "gain happiness," and have peace of mind.