The western culture has recently started to investigate the way of ‘living like a monk’ and be changed by the tremendous insight of the Buddha’s lessons. Thus many have been emphatically influenced by the excellence and endless shrewdness of Buddhism. This wisdom has traveled all around the world on many occasions even in the past.
Nations change, individuals change, values move, and societies either fall back or awakens with time. It’s a continuously flowing procedure. It is not based on what is right or what is wrong, but the consistent ongoing regular progression of things.
Most countries have monasteries built for the monks to live in so that they are completely away from the normal lay life. They have the freedom to be practicing meditation and leading a peaceful life. The main aim of a monk is to end suffering by gaining a higher state of mind or the ultimate enlightenment which is known as Nirvana. Therefore, for monks to reach their goal they must follow the path which Lord Buddha took.
How could living like a monk be important in your life?
What’s the key to feeling quiet and centered? There is an incredible motivation in the manner monks attempt to carry out their lives. The effortlessness of their lives, the focus, and care of each action, the serene and harmony they find throughout their days. You most likely would prefer not to turn into a monk, yet you can carry on your life with ease by following a few basic techniques.
Buddhist monks seem calm and present constantly. The reason is that they are more concentrated, mindful, and tranquil about their lives. For a large number of years, the Buddhist way of thinking has concentrated exclusively on the most proficient method to decrease human anguish and keep the mind concentrated on the current moment.
Monks have given their lives to be available in all that they do, to being committed, and to serving others. It is a great example to normal people like us. Hence, we too should start trying to arrive at that point even it is not as perfect as the lives of a monk.
Certain principles can be applied to any life, regardless of what your religion and beliefs are or what your way of life is. In this article, we will experience probably the most significant standards and propensities that Buddhist monks follow every day. We can utilize them in our day to day lives. While they may seem hard and difficult in the beginning, if you continue it, they’ll advantage you for a lifetime.
The 10 tips on how to be living like a monk:
1. Devote yourself to the religion
Being a monk implies living in physical, spiritual, and philosophical dedication to your faith. Start your excursion of living like a monk by making a profound pledge to your spiritual way today. Start concentrating day by day and taking part in praying a few times each day. Set aside time to recite or meditate each morning and night on the off chance that you can.
At whatever point you have space, read, and learn more insights concerning the religion. Listen to sermons delivered by other senior monks or well-knowledged people on the topic. You should be very well learned in the customs, read religious readings, and knowledgeable in religious thoughts.
Begin your journey by devoting yourself. This progression will be difficult if you are not effectively associated with rehearsing Buddhism, yet for living like a monk, you will require an instructor who can offer you guidance.
Search out Buddhist sanctuaries and religious communities in your general vicinity and visit them routinely to build up your faith and commitment. Likewise, celebrating significant Buddhist occasions, for example, Vesak and other Poya days can profit you since this is also a part of a monk’s life.
You can even make a trip to countries where Buddhism is commonly practiced. Going to temples to visit monks and nuns, offering them food and imperatives, and aiding around the monastery will assist you with making certain the method of living like a monk.
On the off chance that you meet great monks and nuns, request to be taught Buddhism. Keep in mind, even if you donate the smallest thing to a monastery, the uprightness of your activity may profit you for a lifetime. Remain open in your heart and permit it to prompt you the serenity you look for.
2. Follow the 5 moral precepts daily
Start your way of living like a monk by taking refuge in the Triple Gem. The Buddha doesn’t compel anybody to accept, however, requests that devotees demonstrate the genuine dependent on their examination of the religion.
At the point when you take refuge in the Triple Gem, you pledge to maintain the Five Precepts, yet this can be hard on occasions. Give extra effort to avoid killing any living animal, avoid stealing, avoid committing sexual misconduct, avoid lying, and avoid consuming addictive intoxicants, for example, liquor or drugs that cause you to lose control of your mentality. Give a valiant effort to continue maintaining them.
Continuously remember that whatever outcomes you get is from whatever the good and bad you do throughout everyday life. If you sincerely observe the 5 precepts every day in your life it will make you feel relaxed, secure, and stable.
Additionally, try observing the 8 Precepts on Uposatha Days, give donations, and put forth an exceptional attempt in meditation. Moreover, get familiar and educated on the other fundamental everyday practices which monks follow, for example, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Three Characteristics of Existence.
Study the lessons of the Buddha and retain significant sacred texts. Acknowledge Buddha’s lessons and follow them. The Eightfold Path, which is the route to the end of suffering. This path comprises the right understanding, right speech, right intention, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right action, and right livelihood.
The Four Noble Truths, which contain the essence of Buddhism is the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
3. Let go of unwanted worldly possessions
Alongside living in fellowship with others, due to religious rules monks give up their ownership to material possessions. Monks evacuate every one of their assets and become ordained to start leading a simple life. You can experience this life and draw nearer to living like a monk by parting with some of what you own.
Monks live as vagabonds, which means they have just what is required for a simple lifestyle. They are given sundries, clothing, and different things expected to remain agreeable. However, electronic gadgets, costly garments or shoes, and anything that could be viewed as an extravagance thing is not permitted.
Monks are not permitted to have things that could rouse feelings like voracity, jealousy, or possessiveness. Living essentially doesn’t imply that you need to proceed to toss out the entirety of your material belongings. In any case, it implies disposing of what’s a bit much.
Check out what you possess and inquire as to whether you need every last bit of it. Do you need each one of those sets of shoes, tablets and TVs, and other different appliances? You may find that disposing of a portion of the additional things would make it simpler for you to perform various tasks rather than them being available; you can encounter more satisfaction from the occasion.
What’s fundamental for every one of us changes from individual to individual. Observe what you utilize and do each day, and what is simply lounging near or disrupting the general flow. Attempt to stop needing and wanting. The second noble truth is an acknowledgment of the cause of suffering, which originates from desire, obliviousness, and the craving of material goods and pleasures.
4. Practice meditation
An essential part of the Buddhist monastic custom is a profound and devoted meditation practice. Having the option to exhibit your training might be fundamental to show that you understand the life of a monk. At the point when you live in a monastery, a lot of your day will be spent in meditation. This takes practice.
Buddhism joins various types of meditation, including meditation that focuses on breathing and transformation. Meditation can likewise incorporate certain stances. Start with five minutes of reflection two times each day, slowly increase until you can meditate for 15 minutes two times each day.
A few monks meditate for quite a long time at once. Keep in mind, it is smarter to meditate once consistently for 10 minutes than to meditate once every week for 2 hours. Getting into a decent propensity is vital.
Living like a monk requires day by day meditation and a purposeful effort to change how the brain functions. Cooking and cleaning frequently feel like something hard and boring being a necessity that must be completed. However, these undertakings can be everyday tasks that assist you with a grasping of a more monk-like way of life.
Attempt to think both cooking and cleaning as a type of meditating. Focus on what you are doing and the advantages of these errands. Rather than simply adding ingredients, cutting, and preparing the food. Set aside the effort to appreciate the process of making a meal.
Similarly, focus on how cleaning is an approach to tidy out both you and your home. A cleaner room can change your mindset and help you relax. Utilizing these pieces of your day as a type of meditation will assist you with finding significance in normal errands.
5. Help people in need
Help those in need at every possible opportunity, for example, poor people, the sick, the handicapped, and the destitute. Show kindness to all living things. Try not to hurt even the littlest creature. This can incorporate turning into a veggie lover or a vegetarian however it is truly up to you.
Karma is firmly entwined with resurrection and nirvana since karma figures out where and when a being will be reawakened. Karma comprises of the fortunate or unfortunate activities of past lifetimes and this lifetime. Bad or good karma may influence a being immediately, a large number of years from now, or in five lifetimes, contingent upon when the impacts are intended to happen.
Attempt to do at any rate one thing daily that serves another person. Make sure to smile and be thoughtful towards other people. The simple act of smiling can improve your state of mind as well as others.
Regardless of whether you’re a parent or serve somebody most days, urge yourself to see your activities as helpful. Don’t take care of business since you believe you need to. Attempt to appreciate the demonstration of helping other people.
To consolidate all the more great activities into your life, you can help individuals who need a hand, volunteer your time and abilities to individuals who need you, show others things you have learned, and be benevolent to individuals and creatures. Offer individuals food, water, or something different when you see a need that could be met.
6. Be respectful
Being respectful is another way of living like a monk. Always talk delicately and politely. Don’t swear. Talk just obvious and supportive things, and don’t babble. Show regard to parents, teachers, monks and nuns, and the older. Being respectful begins with a fundamental thought of others’ emotions.
Ask yourself how you’d need to be treated in a given circumstance, and put forth an attempt to treat others that way. Treat everybody you meet well and nicely; outsiders in the city, colleagues, and relatives with respect and civility.
Rehearsing great habits is an approach to be conscious of others’ existence. If nobody tried being considerate in ordinary circumstances like eating in a cafe, holding up in line at the bus station, or managing awful traffic would be grievous.
Respect contrasts with beliefs and opinions. Respect individuals who are even different than you, regardless of whether you don’t comprehend them quite well. The distinctions among us are what make life intriguing, what’s more, you likely share more for all intents and purpose with individuals than you know.
In any event, when you don’t see where another person is coming from, be polite and common. You don’t need to cherish everybody you meet, and you unquestionably don’t need to concur with them, yet you can in any case give them respect. Regard the earth and all who live on it.
Being conscious stretches out past simply being pleasant to others. Make sure to show regard to all other animals, plants and the earth itself. We’re all living here together, and every single one of us deserves respect. Treat each living animal as an individual deserving of kindness.
7. Never be lazy
Be passionate at school or work and attempt your best consistently, never be lazy. There are various types of laziness. To begin with, there’s the laziness of solace direction, we simply attempt to remain agreeable and comfortable.
At that point, there’s the apathy of loss of heart, a sort of profound demoralization, a sentiment of abandoning ourselves, of sadness. There’s likewise the laziness of don’t care. That is the point at which we solidify into renunciation and harshness and simply close down.
Incorporated with the human dilemma is by all accounts the suspicion that we ought to wipe out our failings; as sufficient and commendable individuals, we ought to be capable just to jump over our shortcomings. So maybe the best way to deal is by throwing away our laziness with no regrets.
The way of waking up is a procedure. It’s a procedure of continuously figuring out how to get close with our supposed obstructions. So instead of feeling disheartened by sluggishness, we could investigate our laziness, become inquisitive about lethargy.
We could become more acquainted with laziness significantly. The profound way is a procedure of unwinding into this exact moment of a person. We contact in and afterward, we go ahead. This is the training for the lazy mind to get over laziness.
Monks don’t mope the entire day being lazing. Not being lazy is a significant part of the method of living like a monk.
8. Be positive always
Attempt to put a positive turn on everything, in any event, when it appears as though that is impossible. On the off chance that you reflect sufficiently hard, you can generally figure out how to transform a terrible circumstance or feeling into a decent one.
Possibly you despise getting up to go to work. This could imply that you have to find another way in your life. Maybe it’s an ideal opportunity to begin searching for a new position. Like a few people, some do not like fighting with themselves.
Make a positive move by setting a period and day to refresh your resume and begin organizing. Try not to disregard your negative considerations or feelings. Acknowledge that you have these emotions and pause for a minute to consider how you can check these terrible sentiments or thoughts with the good ones you have.
If you feel down, beaten, or rejected at certain points in your life, attempt to make sense of what that is. Then start thinking that this is a chance to investigate something new other than thinking that you are bad at it. If individuals begin criticizing your convictions, simply state that you don’t value the way they talk or that it is their opinion on the matter.
On the off chance that you realize that you are probably going to talk without speculation or start to feel that outrage, dread, dissatisfaction, or some other negative feeling develop, it might be an ideal opportunity to leave.
Inaction in specific settings is the way to being a monk. By not acting contrarily in a specific second and leaving, you are deciding to act emphatically in another second. Pleasantly pardon yourself. Take a couple of moments to inhale and see something appreciative.
9. Do one thing at a time
Living like a monk includes living at the moment and putting a legitimate spotlight on our ordinary everyday practice. Abstain from performing multiple tasks whenever the situation allows.
For instance, when you are pouring water, simply center around pouring water. At the point when you are eating, center around your dinner, and experience your food. Set aside some effort to concentrate on the job that needs to be done regardless of how huge or little.
This implies not taking a gander at your telephone while during supper or attempting to perform multiple tasks during your day. If you are noting an email, concentrate just on noting the email before checking your preferred site. Put your concentration into the job that needs to be done to perform it intentionally, and take as much time as is needed.
Do whatever it takes not to proceed onward to the following errand until you complete your present one. Do less with your day. This doesn’t mean being sluggish yet rather alludes to not filling your day with a ceaseless rundown of work.
Attempt to limit the work and errands you have to achieve each day. While this isn’t in every case simple if you are in school or have a tiresome career, handling fewer things in a day encourages you to keep a reasonable psyche. Concentrate on the now, don’t fixate on what’s to come.
Furthermore, attempt to leave extra time in your calendar. Try not to plan arrangements or gatherings excessively near one another. This urges you to start with one thing then onto the next. A pressed calendar frequently attracts your concentrate somewhere else to what you should achieve later. Instead of what you are achieving now.
10. Think before you react
We frequently let ourselves respond without speculation in distressing circumstances when somebody pesters or enrages us. Pause for a minute to relax during a circumstance where you are vexed. In this manner, consider what you need to state before you state it.
Living like a monk isn’t just about remaining present and being glad. It is seeing how our body and mind function, particularly together. Also, utilizing that information to acknowledge what our identity is, every one of our deficiencies notwithstanding.
Sit easily for some time with your eyes shut and attempt to picture your annoyance as though it were substantial. Notice whatever may come up which drives you crazy. Your inner mind could be giving you pieces of information regarding what triggers your outrage. Notice where your body worries and where you feel outraged.
A few people feel something in their stomach or their chest. Inhale gradually in through your nose and out through your mouth. Scribble down the entirety of your irate considerations and triggers. Record where you felt your displeasure.
At that point, read what you composed. Start to shape noteworthy strides in the best way to transform this annoyance into positive fuel and vitality. It will require a significant period to handle the entirety of your internal evil presence.
Be without a care in the world as much as possible. It helps, particularly when stepping through an examination. Think before you talk. At the point when it’s your chance to talk, attempt to detail a deferential reaction. Consider what the individual was stating and voice your conclusion without subverting theirs. Abstain from offending the other individual by saying something impolite.
