Why do monks live so simply

And peeking through all these identities was in many ways a person, often a child, that was scared, vulnerable and insecure. As I learned to let my humanity, my emotions, my needs and longings speak for themselves instead of my identities, I felt a different kind of strength coming to me.

One that was more resilient and less rigid about my views of the world. This of course remains to be a work in progress, yet these days I feel more spacious and balanced in relationship to my identities that give me stability and protection at times while also letting my humanity come through when it feels safe.

Some people asked me how it was possible to live such a simple life without all the other elements we usually have. I find it important to point out that my intention with the first list here was a very kind one.

Of all the emotions that I had never really learned to attend to, sadness and crying were probably on top of the list. A large part of my conditioning as a man in a conservative, Roman Catholic family consisted of hearing versions of the following regularly:.

This became so internalized that people among my peer group became ostracized for crying, seeing it as maybe the biggest sign of weakness possible. Combining this with a heavy dose of homophobia in the conservative, small town I grew up with, i. Finding the safety among the monks and other residents at the monastery to re-open the door to crying was healing to me on such a deep level.

I probably cried almost daily for 6 months during that time and it was a real joy after a while. Only once we complete the cycle of what happened does our body fully release the traumatic experience and integrates it into our episodic memory with a beginning and end point. As I completed more and more old events in the monastery, a sense of ease and inner space slowly started to take root.

There I was coming to a place so peaceful and calm that I thought my life would just transform from being in that environment. I noticed this was and remains at times a severe temptation. To just let myself fully float around in the caring presence of others. Another aspect of this for me was to project my past patterns of being a type-A entrepreneur alongside my other identities onto this new environment.

How could I meditate the best? How could I stay in the most perfect posture and say the most kind and spiritual things? Those were the kinds of questions that my mind naturally produced since it was just an extension of what I was practicing before. The video below, as painful and later on funny!

A big aspect of what I thought would happen is that I would have more understanding of my mind. And by mind, I had mainly thought of my thoughts and their patterns. I had read so much about mindfulness, mental strength, having a strong mind and so forth.

And it all ended up centering me around my experience from a kind of heady place. The more I spent time with these monks, the less it was about that. Instead, most of my most healing and revealing experiences all started in the body. My tensions, my relaxations, my anxieties, anger, fears and despair, they all were firmly rooted, not in my mind, but in my tight or relaxed shoulders, my clenched or open belly, my chest, arms and legs.

This was revolutionary to me in how I started to relate to the world. Instead of seeing everything through the lens of my mind and its thoughts, there was an opening to see things through the lens of my feelings and my sensations. My conditioning to live in my head and to prioritize my thoughts over my bodily sensations and feelings remains strong and yet having made a bit more space for these aspects to have a say in my life has contributed so meaningfully to the wellbeing of my life.

For Father Adrian, the line of responsibility includes spiritual direction, retreat work and some teaching. What about the rest of the day? They do the things that make them communal — Mass, prayer, reflection, service. They also do the things that make them unique — exercise, collecting, composing, cooking.

Peel the habit. Dive into the hobby. Back to Father Adrian. So he cuts right to it. Rather that self-control was a part of basically everything monks do. He was the drum major of the marching band at Southport High School and played the trombone in the Marching Hundred at Indiana University then worked in the corporate world marketing before redirecting his life to Saint Meinrad, so he knew how to follow a plan. But somewhere between there and here, he started smoking.

Saint Meinrad is located on a rather steep hill and most buildings have steps. When he climbed, his body wheezed. He wants an even keel. He gets there via the weight room. There are free weights and TVs and satellite radio. Father Adrian visits after morning prayer and Mass. Rarely is the year old alone. He prefers free weights, supplements the circuit with machines and hits the iron five or so days a week. The man who had become hooked on smoking is now addicted to fitness. Several years ago, he studied for five semesters in Rome and lived in a tower with a weight room at the top.

The equipment? One weight bench and a degree view of the city. He did what he could. The kinds of things that make a monk better at the really important stuff. Father Augustine Davis has his own room. There are 40 or 50 bins, all filled with baggies stuffed with stamps.

The year-old has been compiling stamps since he was 7, nowadays with the postage squares funneling from a bag in his room to the surface of his desk then back into another bag before resting at last in a bin. He sits in his room, the neck of his desk lamp bent so the light better illuminates all four corners of the stamps. He slices the stamps from envelopes, cleanly cutting their edges — the goal is to leave one-quarter inch of space on all four sides — before depositing them into another bag.

Official stamp collector protocol calls for aficionados to place stamps in albums with hinges that allow the stamps to be examined without incurring damage. Also, many stamp collectors obtain one stamp of as many varieties as possible. Father Augustine is not into being official. Following are the numerous types of Buddhist Monastery volunteer and travel abroad Programs that you can enroll:. While the English language might be easy for some of us, most in the Buddhist community find it difficult to communicate in the said dialect.

Teach English to monks in the Buddhist monasteries as a volunteer to get the satisfaction of helping and learning. Some programs in Nepal like Volunteers Initiative Nepal offers this unique experience while getting the opportunity to learn about Buddhist culture and practices. This is a great way for international volunteers to get something out of the experience while also offering some help that is very easy to give.

While Buddhist monks and nuns are free to express their opinions and share their practices, most of them are underprivileged and have not received education in respects to international dialect. Hence, they mostly do not communicate in the English language. However, due to growing tourism in these monasteries, monks and nuns have shown a desire to learning the English language, which could lead to better communication with the outer world.

Even as of now, monks and nuns in monasteries have knowledge in aspects of scriptures and beliefs; hence not much in the scope of English is being taught.

As a volunteer, you will teach basic conversational English to the monks and nuns for a couple of hours per day while living at the monastery for about 1 to 5 months.

You will be offered accommodation in the host family. Even if you are yourself not very proficient in English, enough to teach it as a language, you might join for the Volunteering program by working for the daily works in the monastery to help out the monks and nuns.

There are many structured and unstructured events in the monastery. Since there are many monks and nuns living in the monastery, work is divided among them. As a Buddhist monastery volunteer , you will be helping out in the domestic work. The work can range from making food to washing clothes, cleaning, or preparing for the daily rituals.

During festivals, there will be various events where helping hands are required. There might even be a change of plans at the last minute so you will have to be proactive and dynamic in managing these events. This will teach you a lot about hard work and the lifestyle of the monks and nuns. Also, you will learn to work in a team and manage events during events. Also, the monks will teach their practices and values, which is worth noting. At the end of the day, you will most certainly get a sense of achievement which will only boost your volunteering spirit.

While you might help the nuns and monks in their day to day activities and teach English, you will also get to learn a great deal from them. There are daily practices of meditation for the most part of the day. Allow yourself to stay at a Buddhist monastery and be guided by the monks towards peace and solitude through various meditational practices. While conversing with the monks, you can also learn about Buddhist culture and their way of life.

This first-hand experience broadens your mind towards yoga and meditation and relieves you from stress. Since the monasteries in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand are generally situated in higher altitudes and isolated hills, there is no noise except that of chirping birds and prayer flags fluttering in the wind.

Stay in a Buddhist monastery to experience this retreat. You will develop a habit of meditating once you join the monastery and practice it every day for the next couple of months. The monks are very helpful and will definitely teach you all there is about meditation to bring you a step closer to peace of mind. It is very beneficial for your mental and physical state to practice meditation. You can learn the techniques and even take it back home and spread it among those you know.

Buddhist volunteer opportunities also give you a chance to meet with the monks and understand their culture, tradition, and way of life. If you really want to research about the Buddhist culture itself, then volunteering at a Buddhist monastery is the best option.