Bound by their religious teachings that forbids them to harm any creature small or large, Buddhist monks at a Malaysian temple are battling hard enough to get rid of stinging red ants that have severely infested the temple for the past year. According to a volunteer at the Hong Hock See temple in the country's northern Penang state, one of the devotees at the temple was bit so hard by the ants that he had to be hospitalized.

After several failed non-violent efforts to purge the insects, a temple disciple tried to relocate the ants using a vacuum cleaner, but that method also couldn't stop the fiery creatures from springing up again in the temple.

"We haven't found a solution so far," Elma Lin told the Star newspaper. "Nothing has worked."

According to the temple's chief monk, Boon Keng, the monks had to "respect other living things" in the temple and for that they "must not flick it (ant) away or blow on it."

"If you do, it will bite to hold on. You just have to shake it off," Keng was quoted by the paper as saying.

Boon Keng has urged anyone who can solve the problem without violence to contact the temple.