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When I went for my first ever Zen retreat a couple of weeks ago I saw quite clearly how much of my time I spend preoccupied with stuff that has nothing to do with happiness. So many of us have been thoroughly brainwashed into dedicating our lives to accumulating stuff. It's easy to understand that stuff doesn't bring happiness but when you have a job and a home, it is insanely difficult to keep that understanding in perspective. Perhaps that's why someone would want to dump everything and dedicate themselves entirely to spiritual life.
I wouldn't mind going off to a monastery for a few months myself but who'll pay them bills?
Accumulating stuff is a choice. This is where living mindfully comes in. you can choose not to accumulate stuff, not to have all the appliances and gadgets that are the norm, not to have a car (if there's public transport in your area), not to have a TV. And what you discover when you do without all that is that a) life is more peaceful and b) you don't have to work as many hours/wk., because you don't have all that stuff to pay for, make monthly payments on, pay insurance on, etc. So you have more freedom. You sacrifice a little convenience, but life is about compromises.
I think why people choose the monastic life can be as simple as that it's a calling. They're called to the spiritual life. But I think a householder can live a spiritual life, too, and use life's challenges to deepen his/her practice. I've heard the monastic life has its challenges too; there are personalities to deal with, conflicts happen, monastics have baggage just like other people. What's unusual about Asian monastic traditions is that the monks/nuns aren't confined to the monastery/nunnery, they go out among the public, so there are challenges and distractions to deal with there, unlike some Christian monastic traditions, where it's very peaceful, conducive to meditation, and no one leaves the facility. Interesting contrast.
I was sat in the bank in Thaland the other day and A buddhist nun came in and sat down smiling. She waited for a long long time and I do not know why, but her number never came up to go up to the desk and eventually she just left...
I was sat in the bank in Thaland the other day and A buddhist nun came in and sat down smiling. She waited for a long long time and I do not know why, but her number never came up to go up to the desk and eventually she just left...
Accumulating stuff is a choice. This is where living mindfully comes in. you can choose not to accumulate stuff, not to have all the appliances and gadgets that are the norm, not to have a car (if there's public transport in your area), not to have a TV. And what you discover when you do without all that is that a) life is more peaceful and b) you don't have to work as many hours/wk., because you don't have all that stuff to pay for, make monthly payments on, pay insurance on, etc. So you have more freedom. You sacrifice a little convenience, but life is about compromises.
I think why people choose the monastic life can be as simple as that it's a calling. They're called to the spiritual life. But I think a householder can live a spiritual life, too, and use life's challenges to deepen his/her practice. I've heard the monastic life has its challenges too; there are personalities to deal with, conflicts happen, monastics have baggage just like other people. What's unusual about Asian monastic traditions is that the monks/nuns aren't confined to the monastery/nunnery, they go out among the public, so there are challenges and distractions to deal with there, unlike some Christian monastic traditions, where it's very peaceful, conducive to meditation, and no one leaves the facility. Interesting contrast.
There can be a lot of reasons for joining the monastic life -- tradition, true belief, or escaping from life that one can't cope with.
People can't join and benefit from monastic practices until their Karmic root are ready! It's all a part of the progress! So there is no such thing as forcing it. Most of us can be happy being lay Buddhists cause thats our causes and Condition!
Comments
I wouldn't mind going off to a monastery for a few months myself but who'll pay them bills?
I think why people choose the monastic life can be as simple as that it's a calling. They're called to the spiritual life. But I think a householder can live a spiritual life, too, and use life's challenges to deepen his/her practice. I've heard the monastic life has its challenges too; there are personalities to deal with, conflicts happen, monastics have baggage just like other people. What's unusual about Asian monastic traditions is that the monks/nuns aren't confined to the monastery/nunnery, they go out among the public, so there are challenges and distractions to deal with there, unlike some Christian monastic traditions, where it's very peaceful, conducive to meditation, and no one leaves the facility. Interesting contrast.