Bill Murray invented 5-Hour Energy? Huh. That seems like something he'd do.

better article Forbes:The Mystery Monk Making Billions With 5-Hour Energy (new window)

pretty interesting read

FTA:
(I put "monk" in quotes because Bhargava tells Forbes there's no real word in English language to exactly capture what he and his fellow devotees were doing, instead likening it more to a commune, minus the drugs.)

He was a lay disciple. He wasn't a monk in any respect.

Not terribly unlike the history of Red Bull, in fact.

Wait, was he a billionaire before or after he started selling it?

RexTalionis: FTA:
(I put "monk" in quotes because Bhargava tells Forbes there's no real word in English language to exactly capture what he and his fellow devotees were doing, instead likening it more to a commune, minus the drugs.)

He was a lay disciple. He wasn't a monk in any respect.

Maybe a "dedicant" or strict adherent would be better terms.

RexTalionis: FTA:
(I put "monk" in quotes because Bhargava tells Forbes there's no real word in English language to exactly capture what he and his fellow devotees were doing, instead likening it more to a commune, minus the drugs.)

He was a lay disciple. He wasn't a monk in any respect.

Sounds like the Buhddist equivalent of a "third order religious" that several Catholic monastic orders have. Third orders take some of the vows of the order but are also able to marry, have kids etc.

Stupid Flanders...

What is the sound of one hand shaking from too much caffeine?

So he came up with the idea of taking a normal energy drink and sucking all of the liquid out of it leaving only a syrup that tastes like cough medicine?

ExperianScaresCthulhu: A real buddhist, or a western 'buddhist because it's an in-thing to do' buddhist?

FTA:

Bhargava was born in India, but his parents moved to the United States when he was a child so his father could pursue a career in the plastics industry. After dropping out of college after one year, Bhargava returned to India, where he became a member of the Hanslok Ashram order and lived the lifestyle of a Buddhist "monk" for 12 years.

tricycleracer: The basis of 5 Hour Energy is believing that it will work, not unlike a religion.

/Bullshiat placebo.

Meh, I'll grab one from time to time and whether it works or I only believe it works, fact is they allow me to stay alert and woke longer than I would be able to if I did not take it.

ExperianScaresCthulhu: A real buddhist, or a western 'buddhist because it's an in-thing to do' buddhist?

Yeah, the "in thing to do" for a Western Buddhist is go live in a Buddhist commune in India for 12 years.

I wonder how many Western Christians have gone to the Middle East and spent 12 years in a similar place.

I guess their not "real" Christians.

Subby:

WinoRhino: Anyhow, 5 hour energy is silly. It's fun talking to people who think it actually works, though. "Well, it works for me." It's like that episode of the Beverly Hillbillies from way back in the day when grandma Clampet claimed to have a cure for the common cold. It was this horrible tasting elixir. After you drank it, your cold would go away after a week of bed rest and plenty of fluids.

So you're saying that Caffeine isn't really a stimulant? I'm pretty sure that's the active ingredient in 5 Hour Energy.

shivashakti: He wasn't part of any order or (from what they said in the article) taken any vows, so he's not a Buddhist monk.

Buddhist? Sure. Monk? No.

But that's still interesting.

A lot of Buddhists are educated by the monks. They may serve some time as novices without becoming monks. Perhaps this lead to the confusion or perhaps it was just journalistic Fark-mongering.

As in Medieval Europe, many older people of both sexes in Buddhist and Hindu communities join religious orders when they are past child-rearing age. This is sort of a pre-welfare state version of the retirement community--a largish donation to the monastery helps to ensure the welfare of the new members in much the same way that large payments to a senior citizen's home or community helps to ensure the good treatment of the clients. If you look into the historical details, you often find that former times were as sophisticated as we are, although their solutions to problems might be slightly different.

In Europe, couples or other family members would often join a monastery and a convent near each other and twinned, so to speak, to be near each other and possibly communicate if their superiors allowed it, in writing or by the occasional visit in the parlour (which means "speaking room") of the convent or monastery.

I May Be Crazy But...: Lionel Mandrake: ExperianScaresCthulhu: A real buddhist, or a western 'buddhist because it's an in-thing to do' buddhist?

Yeah, the "in thing to do" for a Western Buddhist is go live in a Buddhist commune in India for 12 years.

I wonder how many Western Christians have gone to the Middle East and spent 12 years in a similar place.

I guess their not "real" Christians.

But what about their real Christians? Or did the lions get into the stock, and there's none left? I guess they're out of luck.

A grammar Nazi. How adorable. God forbid someone makes a typo on FARK...the ghost of William Safire will skewer him with sharp witticisms.