From about eight-thirty until ten-thirty I have free. I do lots of
different things, like type this letter, or maybe do some laundry, or go for a walk, or
sit and chat with a friend or just sit. At ten thirty the main bell is rung and we all
gather for the meal. We just have one main meal and it should be finished before mid-day.
I put on my robe, take my alms bowl and go to the hall. There are two rows of mats on the
floor. I bow to the shrine and sit. All the food is offered to the monks and I can put
what I need in my bowl. We then do some chanting which is the traditional way of saying
thank you to the people who gave us the food. I wait until the senior monks have started
eating and then I quietly eat my food. After the meal I wash my bowl and take it back to
my room. It is now about twelve o'clock. Now, I may have a rest for a while.
At about one-thirty I usually do some publication work. Print this letter, type out some
information leaflets, scan and edit some pictures. I spend quite a bit of time on the
computer. I take a break every now and then and just go for a bit of a walk and look at
the trees and the sky and listen to the wind and the birdsong. At five-fifteen I try and
leave the work for the day and go and have a cuppa with my fellow monastics - these are my
friends. Sometimes it's difficult to stop work. Do you get absorbed in doing things that
you enjoy? I work at what I like, so I enjoy my work, so my work is not work but play.
At seven-fifteen the big bell is rung and I put on my robes and go to the main hall for
the last meeting of the day. We do some chanting for about half and hour and then meditate
for about an hour. Sometimes, after we have finished this, the Abbot gives a talk about
the Buddhist teachings. It is now about nine o'clock. I go back to my room, maybe read,
write a letter, sit and look out of the window, sit and look in the window (of my mind) or
just go to sleep.
Today is the full-moon day and we begin a retreat period. I shaved my head yesterday (I do
this every two weeks) and this afternoon all the monks will gather and there will be a
recitation of our rules - all 227 of them, in Pali. It takes about 45 minutes of fast
chanting and is done from memory. It takes a long time to learn and remember all that
chanting.
 Why did you decide to become a monk and
why choose the Theravada tradition?
I have lived many different lifestyles - lots of money, no money,
married, family, travelling etc., and each one kept giving me the feeling that somehow all
those things were not quite enough - I wanted more. More what? Looking back now, what I
wanted was not more things but more peace of heart, peace of mind. So I tried looking at
philosophy and religion and finally decided to become a Buddhist monk. I don't feel that I
'chose' this particular school of Buddhism. I think there is something organic about life
and it often only seems that we freely 'choose'. Like with meeting people and making
friends; you meet people in all sorts of odd places and some you like straight away. Why
is that? It was a bit like that for me with Buddhism; I met a couple of monks in Western
Australia and it all just felt right. It was eight years before I went to live in a
monastery but somehow I knew from that first contact that this was the thing for me to do.
Did you ever wish you were not a monk?
I used to think 'I'd rather be taller. I wish I was older, richer, stronger,' and on
and on like this. What is this feeling of wanting things to be different, this feeling
that things are not quite right? If you look at the Four Noble Truths you will see the
second one is about craving, wanting. This is the cause of suffering (dukkha ). When I get
this feeling I often think of the weather and how stupid it is to get angry wanting the
weather to be how I want it to be. When I am tired, bored, unwell or just fed up, I
sometimes think 'if only I was . . .', in other words 'I don't want to be a monk, I want
to be something else'. And then I ask 'what?' . . . I know really that what I want is to
be content - and most of the time this life supports that.
Do drugs, sex and alcohol ever pose a
temptation?
Sure. I did lots of that stuff as part of experimenting with different lifestyles. I
still get the thought that I might like to do more, but having lived this life for about
eight years now I know that it would only bring short-term satisfaction - the quick hit,
the cheap thrill. The peace that comes from investigating the mind and nature of truth is
much more satisfying and longer lasting; mainly because it isn't dependent on anything.
Things like drugs are basically ways of distraction. An expression used about taking drugs
is 'getting out of it' ('it' being the mind). Another expression when something is really
excellent is that it is 'unreal' or 'extraordinary' - as if the real or the ordinary
weren't particularly worth noting. The emphasis in the monastery is to be with it (the
mind), to observe the real (which is the present moment) and take note of the ordinary.
Drugs are a fairly extreme form of distraction but there are many forms 'temptation' can
take, even in a monastery - reading, writing, chatting, sleeping, drinking tea. Not that
these things are 'bad' but they can just be time fillers, distractions. Like flicking
through a magazine - not really reading it, just letting the mind be 'tickled' by the
images and a few words here and there. The result, of both drugs and the magazine
mentality, is a dull mind. Without some good 'exercise' the mind gets flabby and often
depressed. Getting stoned is dependent on having the drugs whilst peace is not dependent
on any 'thing'. Resisting temptation does require effort. Bit of a drag really, but well
worth it.
Why do you have only one meal a day?
Probably the easiest answer is that it is simpler. We usually have about fifty people
at the meal and just getting everyone together is difficult. Not having to cook and wash
up in the evening leaves that time free for study or meditation. For the lay people,
because we are alms mendicants, this means that they only have to think about offering
food in the morning which is simpler for them. Also one's mind isn't cluttered with dinner
thoughts: 'hmmm, maybe there'll be cake, or . . .whatever'. Food can be quite a
distraction for some people. There is also the factor of renunciation, working with
non-attachment. There is nothing wrong with eating in the afternoon but it is possible not
to. For those who have greed around food, having limited access to it acts like a mirror
to greed. You can't indulge it, so best learn to understand it and let it go. If you
aren't sure whether you are addicted to something then try going without it for a month.
Does the one meal a day offering affect
your health in any way?
Not that I have noticed. I don't weigh any less but I don't do as much physical work
either. The rule about not eating in the afternoon limits eating to between dawn and
midday, so because of the colder weather in the Western monasteries we now have a simple
breakfast to compensate for the extra energy needed. There are some things classed as
medicines or tonics which can be taken in the evening like sugar, bean extracts (e.g.
miso), soya milk, cocoa, meat broth.
Why do monks shave their heads?
This is a traditional symbol of one who has left the life of the householder - see the
shaven pate of Friar Tuck. It is a sign of renunciation; giving up a significant part of
one's self-identity; putting aside vanity. The religious life is very much about not being
selfish - letting go of ego, singularity, uniqueness. (This doesn't mean the dissolution
of personality). It also makes for simplicity - if I'm going out I don't need to think how
to do my hair when I haven't got any.
How many hours each week are spent in
solitary confinement?
The word 'confinement' suggests being shut up in a room somewhere. Our life is based on
contemplation and reflection - these are individual, solitary pursuits but don't involve
physical confinement. Theravada Buddhism was set up by the Buddha in such a way
(specifically in relation to the need to collect alms food), that monks practising in
isolation are not common; there is always some relationship with the laity and other
monastics. In the monastery I live in we have a period of silent retreat during January
and February (winter) when the whole community devotes a lot of time to formal practice.
Quite a lot of this time I would be on my own - in my room or sitting in the temple or
going for a walk. In a sense I am 'confined' within my own body and mind in that I don't
engage socially with others.
Do you feel that the monastic life is
introvert and world-denying?
In Buddhism we say that 'the world arises right here, in this body and mind'. All your
experiences are totally personal and are of 'the world'. Denying the world is denying your
own existence. Contemplation of one's experience - and this is inward looking - is a
contemplation of the world. The word 'introversion' tends to have negative, sometimes
psychotic overtones. What we mean by 'the world' is the relationship between all things -
people, bus timetables, countries, customs. A true monastic life is a fully open and
honest investigation of the world - which is often carried out in solitude.
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Do you plan to be a monk for the rest of
your life?
In this tradition we don't take lifetime vows so I can disrobe any time I like and
become a monk again if I want (up to seven times). After eight years I am feeling more
comfortable with the life and really starting to appreciate the benefits of this style of
practice. I pushed my heart about quite a bit in the past and it has taken quite a while
to see some of the wrinkles shifting out. When I first took my vows the thought of
'getting stuck' as a monk worried me but now it doesn't so much. Time will tell.
What do you hope to achieve as a monk?
On a personal level I would like to think that I get to be a little wiser than I am
now; a bit less suffering. I try and always keep the possibility of enlightenment alive
and close by, without making it into some kind of bulls eye I have to keep taking shots
at. On a general level I hope to develop some educational resources (like this booklet)
and make this way of practice more available to those who are interested. I enjoy teaching
and hope to do a bit more of that. Generally I like the idea of relaxing - taking it easy
- both internally and externally. Work but no sweat.
Can anyone become a monk?
You have to be a human being, male, debt free, free of civil duties (like military
service), over 20 years old, have your parents' permission, your wife's permission if you
are married, free of contagious diseases. In this tradition there is a two year noviciate
when the teacher and the community have a chance to see if you are suitable - and vice
versa. Apart from that anyone can get in. Staying in is not quite so easy!
Are all 227 of the monk's rules really
necessary?
Probably not. Because they were compiled 2500 years ago a few of them mention objects
that don't even exist today. What we try and do is get a sense of what the spirit of the
rule is - what was the Buddha pointing to? For example, the rule about money is literally
about 'not handling gold and silver'. So, say the cheeky ones: 'paper money is OK, and,
credit cards even better'. The spirit of this rule is about giving up the power that money
offers; this challenges desires and my sense of independence. With any system of rules
different people always have different views and opinions but we have these 227 and rather
than waste time debating them I can just get on with the system wer have; some might be a
bit odd but they work well enough. It is also useful to consider the rules as part of a
personal system of training, based on restraint and renunciation, rather than just some
legal system to keep the monks in line. Most of the rules are not moral judgements but
more suggestions on how to live together harmoniously. There are certainly loopholes one
can 'wriggle out' through but I figure why take up this monastic training if I just want
to get out of it. There are four rules that involve expulsion; thirteen that involve a
penance and the rest are relatively minor offences.
Why is there so much chanting in Buddhist
temples?
The chanting originated because in the time of the Buddha paper was not common and all
his teachings were memorised in chant form by the monks and nuns. The teachings were
passed on in this way for 400 years until they were finally written down about 80 BC in
Sri Lanka. We still chant for many reasons. Tradition is one. Memory/mind training another
- it is hard work learning even some of the chants but it really focuses and calms the
mind. In learning the chants one also learns various aspects of the teaching and filling
the mind with some of the basic concepts - like the chants on compassion - in this
repetitive way it is very energising. With public rituals and ceremonies it can be very
powerful, especially if everybody is familiar with the chants, even if they don't know
them off by heart. Although many of the chants have been translated we still use the Pali
language as there are many words that don't have a good English equivalent.
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