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The Hermit
person
Don't believe everything you thinkThe liminal space Veteran
The vocation of the hermit is often misunderstood. The hermit does not withdraw from the world because he feels rejected, because he can find nothing better to do than wander in the mountains, or because he is unable to assume his responsibilities. He decides to leave, a decision which may seem extreme, because he realizes that he cannot control his mind and solve the problem of happiness and suffering amidst the endless futile and distracting activities of ordinary life. He is not running away from the world but distances himself from it to put it into perspective and better understand how it functions. He does not flee his fellow men, but needs time to cultivate authentic love and compassion that will not be affected by ordinary concerns such as pleasure and displeasure, gain and loss, praise and blame. Like a musician who practices his scales or an athlete who exercises his body, he needs time, concentration, and constant practice to master the chaos of his mind and penetrate the meaning of life. Then he can put his wisdom to work to help others. His motto might be: “Transform yourself to better transform the world.”
The chaotic situations of ordinary life make it very difficult to progress in practice and develop inner strength. It is best to concentrate solely on training the mind for as long as it is necessary. The wounded animal hides in the forest to heal its wounds until it is fit to roam again as it pleases. Our wounds are those of selfishness, malice, attachment, and other mental poisons.
The hermit does not “rot in his cell,” as some have imagined. Those who have experienced what it is really like will tell you that one matures in one’s hermitage. For someone who remains in the freshness of mindfulness of the present moment, time does not take on the heaviness of days spent in distraction, but the lightness of a life fully savored. If the hermit loses interest in certain ordinary concerns, it is not because his existence has become insipid but because he recognizes, among all possible human activities, which ones will truly contribute to the happiness of self and others.
http://www.matthieuricard.org/en/index.php/blog/
4
Comments
you should explain for clarity that this is an ideal, rather than as a vocation or description of one who follows such a path. It is like explaining how all monks train by the example of what the buddha did.
There is no other way.
I only go 'out' into society to get what I need.
(work, food, excercise, clothes, stuff)
I live my live for a big part as a hermit.
This forum is spiritual training, my sangha.
China's hermits
For the most part.
I take teachings and make them my own.
When Master said...Nature? Close to nature? Will the clothes climb on your back?
This was good stuff! Good stuff to keep my practice determined!
Thanks again for posting this
for all living beings,
harming not even a one,
you would not wish for offspring,
so how a companion?
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
For a sociable person
there are allurements;
on the heels of allurement, this pain.
Seeing allurement's drawback,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
One whose mind
is enmeshed in sympathy
for friends & companions,
neglects the true goal.
Seeing this danger in intimacy,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like spreading bamboo,
entwined,
is concern for offspring & spouses.
Like a bamboo sprout,
unentangling,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a deer in the wilds,
unfettered,
goes for forage wherever it wants:
the wise person, valuing freedom,
wanders alone
like a rhinoceros.
In the midst of companions
— when staying at home,
when going out wandering —
you are prey to requests.
Valuing the freedom
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
There is sporting & love
in the midst of companions,
& abundant fondness for offspring.
Feeling disgust
at the prospect of parting
from those who'd be dear,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Without resistance in all four directions,
content with whatever you get,
enduring troubles with no dismay,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
They are hard to please,
some of those gone forth,
as well as those living the household life.
Shedding concern
for these offspring of others,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cutting off the householder's marks,[1]
like a kovilara tree
that has shed its leaves,
the prudent one, cutting all household ties,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
If you gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don't gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
wander alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
We praise companionship
— yes!
Those on a par, or better,
should be chosen as friends.
If they're not to be found,
living faultlessly,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Seeing radiant bracelets of gold,
well-made by a smith,
clinking, clashing,
two on an arm,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
[thinking:]
"In the same way,
if I were to live with another,
there would be careless talk or abusive."
Seeing this future danger,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Because sensual pleasures,
elegant, honeyed, & charming,
bewitch the mind with their manifold forms —
seeing this drawback in sensual strands —
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
"Calamity, tumor, misfortune,
disease, an arrow, a danger for me."
Seeing this danger in sensual strands,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cold & heat, hunger & thirst,
wind & sun, horseflies & snakes:
enduring all these, without exception,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a great white elephant,
with massive shoulders,
renouncing his herd,
lives in the wilds wherever he wants,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
"There's no way
that one delighting in company
can touch even momentary release."
Heeding the Solar Kinsman's words,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Transcending the contortion of views,
the sure way attained,
the path gained,
[realizing:]
"Unled by others,
I have knowledge arisen,"
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With no greed, no deceit,
no thirst, no hypocrisy —
delusion & blemishes
blown away —
with no inclinations for all the world,
every world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Avoid the evil companion
disregarding the goal,
intent on the out-of-tune way.
Don't take as a friend
someone heedless & hankering.
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Consort with one who is learned,
who maintains the Dhamma,
a great & quick-witted friend.
Knowing the meanings,
subdue your perplexity,
[then] wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
Free from longing, finding no pleasure
in the world's sport, love, or sensual bliss,
abstaining from adornment,
speaking the truth,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning offspring, spouse,
father, mother,
riches, grain, relatives,
& sensual pleasures
altogether,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
"This is a bondage, a baited hook.
There's little happiness here,
next to no satisfaction,
all the more suffering & pain."
Knowing this, circumspect,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Shattering fetters,
like a fish in the water tearing a net,
like a fire not coming back to what's burnt,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Eyes downcast, not footloose,
senses guarded, with protected mind,
not oozing — not burning — with lust,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Taking off the householder's marks,[2]
like a coral tree
that has shed its leaves,
going forth in the ochre robe,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Showing no greed for flavors, not careless,
going from house to house for alms,
with mind unenmeshed in this family or that,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning barriers to awareness,
expelling all defilements — all —
non-dependent, cutting aversion,
allurement,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Turning your back on pleasure & pain,
as earlier with sorrow & joy,
attaining pure equanimity,
tranquillity,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With persistence aroused
for the highest goal's attainment,
with mind unsmeared, not lazy in action,
firm in effort, with steadfastness & strength arisen,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Not neglecting seclusion, absorption,
constantly living the Dhamma
in line with the Dhamma,
comprehending the danger
in states of becoming,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Intent on the ending of craving & heedful,
learned, mindful, not muddled,
certain — having reckoned the Dhamma —
& striving,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Unstartled, like a lion at sounds.
Unsnared, like the wind in a net.
Unsmeared, like a lotus in water:
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like a lion — forceful, strong in fang,
living as a conqueror, the king of beasts —
resort to a solitary dwelling.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
At the right time consorting
with the release through good will,
compassion,
appreciation,
equanimity,
unobstructed by all the world,
any world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Having let go of passion,
aversion,
delusion;
having shattered the fetters;
undisturbed at the ending of life,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
People follow & associate
for a motive.
Friends without a motive these days
are rare.
They're shrewd for their own ends, & impure.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html
In one lifetime, if one can't relinquish all for the forest, then be content living in society as Enlightenment could be found everywhere, not necessarily in the woods alone. However, living in the woods requires a greater level of graduation in the Dhamma than if one is to live in society. Why? It is becaue in the woods, if one thinks there is no distraction at all, then it is false. There is a different level of distraction that only the highly trained of meditator could overcome. That is the distraction posed by Mara.
Mara takes on any form. Their purpose is to distract a meditator from finding Enlightenment and they'd use powerful spells to entrap/lure an individual from their sublime goal. If one does not have the training, they could not overcome this obstacle. But there is the danger to the most trained as well: the danger of unable to return to their physical form once their soul enters the jhana state.
At any rate, in society, one can cultivate enlightenment because enlightenment is another word that means the cessation of a cause or effect. For example, if one is to find enlightenment in smoking/drinking, then no amount of temptation could lure that individual. In all his years, he never touch a cigarette or a drink after the vow, then at the end of his life, he'd earn one enlightenment: the enlightenment of no smoking/drinking. To be a fully enlightened Buddha, a Pacceka Buddha, s/he must cultivate billions and billions of enlightenment. This requires eons to accomplish.
This is back to basics, back to Buddha as you can get!
Take away the finger-burning, the prayer flags, the zafus,
the gold statues, the altars, all that!
I really appreciate the Hermit vocation. lolololol
I call it that, because yes, @how, it is different than Monks. As
seen in the video(s). This Hermithood is a full time gig!
Letting it ALL go, 24/7. Practicing full-time, if you will.
May Hermits teach us the practice of giving.
Giving happens with such intention and with such ease.
This dedication of oneself seems to be such a usefull teaching
tool for Lay/Householders, or is it just me?
I grew up in this 'hermit' enviroment as well. Our commune was taught by people
who arrived in canoes. I guess we were the 'village' at the end of the swamp. Really.
Other than coming together for teachings, they stayed to themselves.
Must be why I love the video's so much!
Reminds me of our future goal as well.
To a large extent I live a relatively hermetic life, compared to a lot of peers.
However, freedom from desire, from craving and attachment is still achievable without becoming a hermit. It's a lot harder admittedly. But it is a question of control over thought, mind, habit and attitudes.
@TheBeejAbides I guess it's just relearning how to not have to be aware of all the distractions. When you are so used to traffic (and traffic here constitutes 5 cars traveling in a line) and sirens and standing in lines, it's actually kind of distressing at first to suddenly be in the absence of that. You have to relearn how to just be. Then there are the more practical things. I prefer to be barefoot whenever possible, and when I camp I'm barefoot almost all the time, so that means always being really aware of where I am stepping, of whether that noise in the trees was just a noise or a bear after my dinner, etc. I don't know if I can adequately explain it. It's just that the world is a very different type of place when you can actually eliminate all those distractions. When the sounds of drunken karaoke are replaced with loons calling to each other, it's just a different way of being, even if you are very good at mindfulness in your life surrounded by society.
In my normal everyday life, even if I shut off the tv, and the computer, and the phones, there are always distractions. My kids need a ride, my dishes need to be done, pets need food, garden needs tending. I am better at being mindful within it, but it's not the same as when you can eliminate those distractions entirely.
I feel really lucky to live where I do. My grandparents settled here many years ago, my parents stayed, and I came back. It's an area a lot of people like to visit, because it's one of the few places in the US you can go where the wilderness is not allowed to be influenced by culture. No roads, no motors, flight restrictions, no blinking cell towers, no sirens, no light pollution. You can lay in the sand at a campsite and watch the northern lights. It's a sense of peace like no other, and people flock here to find that sense of peace in their lives, if only for a week or 2 every year. I feel very blessed to have a life that people have to take vacation to have. I wish more people could experience it on a regular basis. It changes your life.
It is both simple and hard
for everyone, everywhere.
Explaining my online Sangha, online Dharma, etc.
And yes, the future plans will include letting go of the internet.
I could never do it given that I live on the opposite end of the country, and opposite ends of the globe from family and friends, and the communication benefits are just too much.
If you mean letting go in the sense of ceasing to waste the working day away on news websites, blogs, comixed.com, youtube, facebook. Then yes ... maybe one day ;-)
That reminds me ... haven't been to comixed in a while.
Hermit is kind of a mental state, liberated.
The really adept can be amidst as much hustle and bustle that can exist and not be phased by it at all.
There are those that can die anywhere, like a beggar in the street, the most adept.
There are those that can die out in the wilderness away from most of the turmoil.
Etc. etc.
I still think it's a useful tool...but... well, nevermind all that...
BTW....FYI...mods here don't like threads pulled that
are over 6 months old.....see the date under names(s)...?
Please start a new thread recognizing my quick wisdom...
hahaha..In the meantime, if you get pinched...I'll have the
bail money together.
My apologies.
Hold on to your tie...it can be a bumpy ride...lolololo
I know of someone who is enlightened and isnt a hermit!
In fact, he is a normal, ordinary, working family man!
(Hes not even a buddhist either)
Well, he thinks hes not a buddhist
warning. strong language.
Cue @federica.... she sings a lovely swan song.