They’re nuns, Doug, not monks. Tough as nails.
You can’t get around Buddhist nuns.
Here’s a little of what’s in store… Note the special
stricture prohibiting musical instruments. Woe is me!
Eight Precepts & Daily Routine
Five Training Precepts: Ethical Standards for the Cultivation of Virtue
- Harmlessness and Nonviolence: To Cherish All Life – I undertake the training to refrain from intentionally taking the life of living beings.
The first precept entails the development of metta (goodwill and loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion) toward all beings. This includes even the creatures that we may be afraid of (e.g. spiders) or who may hurt us (e.g. snakes and scorpions). In our practice of metta-karuna we need to make an extra effort not to swat at a mosquito or squash a small spider. Insect repellent may offer an alternative, especially for the early evenings. Mindful of the suffering and unwholesome kamma produced by the taking of life, with this precept we aspire to offer our practice of benevolence and harmlessness as a protection to all beings with which we share the forest.
- Trustworthiness and Integrity: Developing Contentment – I undertake the training to refrain from taking what is not given.
Living in a monastic community involves a high level of respect for belongings that are not ones own. Guests are expected to be careful not to make use of communal property such as toiletries, washing powder, tissues, etc. without permission. Food and drinks should be consumed at the regular meal or teatime.
Please remember that everything in the monastery has been offered out of faith to the monastic community. If you are in doubt about something, please ask. While living at the monastery you are asked to keep all of your requisites simple and basic. Keeping things simple offers a chance to develop a mind that knows how to relinquish and let go. It also offers a beauty and grace to the form while at the same time freeing up time for meditation practice and service to the community.
- Chastity: The Gift of Wholesomeness – I undertake the training to refrain from all sexual activity.
A period of retreat in a monastery is a rest from sexual relationships — and possibly a chance to gain some insight into the nature of our sexuality and gender conditioning. Lay guests are asked to mix as little as possible with members of the opposite sex, avoiding long conversations with each other. Newcomers are asked to be particularly aware that postulants in white robes (called pahkows or anagarikas) and resident female practitioners with shaven heads are encouraged to keep their distance from members of the opposite sex. The women’s section is out of bounds for men, and similarly women are asked not to walk through the parts of the forest where the dwellings for monks are.
This precept, perhaps more than any other, distinguishes the type of training practiced at a monastery. Strictly adhering to the practice of chastity enables people to trust and rely on the monastic community, and to be open with us. In turn, we can freely give teachings and help lay guests in a way otherwise not possible. Furthermore, preserving sexual energy increases vital energy for spiritual practice.
- Honesty and Right Speech: A Love of Truth – I undertake the training to refrain from speaking untruthfully.
In an earnest aspiration to care for the truth and develop right speech, we endeavor to refrain from all types of unwholesome speech. This includes speech that is divisive, hurtful, harsh, vulgar, deceitful, evasive, self-aggrandizing, cynical or hypocritical as well as gossip and frivolous speech. Topics such as travel, politics, sports, movies etc. although normally considered harmless can sometimes agitate or distract the mind in a way that takes us away from our goals in meditation. To a community practicing in a forest monastic setting, a conversation that might seem innocuous enough by worldly standards can still be quite inappropriate.
Consider silence a gift that you can offer to others as much as to yourself. Remember that the human voice has a powerful effect on the mind; even if what you speak is not understood, people may still find the sound of it distracting and can’t help picking up on tones of voice. Developing a devotion to honesty and silence as an offering to others, and ourselves in turn, facilitates the natural development of inward silence and self-honesty in meditation.
- Clarity and Purity of Mind: Sharpening the Sense of Knowing – I undertake the training to refrain from taking intoxicating drinks and drugs.
In the broadest sense, the spirit of this precept entails refraining from any activities by body, speech or mind that dull or intoxicate the mind. Through the cultivation of mindfulness and meditation, we take refuge in present-moment awareness, grounding ourselves in the simple down-to-earth clarity of mind. Intoxicating drink or drugs are strictly prohibited. Smoking also is unsuitable for members of the community and all guests are asked to refrain from smoking during their stay at the monastery. Generally, avoid anything that clouds the mind and hinders the practice with heaviness, dullness, defilement or confusion (e.g. certain books, newspapers, etc.).
Three Renunciation Precepts: Inclining the Mind Inward for Spiritual Practice
- Simplicity – I undertake the training to refrain from taking food after mid-day:
Monks and novices in the Thai forest tradition keep to the practice of only eating one meal a day and guests are asked to follow accordingly. This means not to eat outside the area in the kitchen designated for guests to eat their meal and not to eat before or after the mealtime. Please do not take fruit or cartons of drink away after the meal. Allowances can always be made if there are sufficient medical reasons by discussing one’s situation with the abbot. Eating once a day can have many practical benefits. As the body adjusts to the schedule, eating in this manner allows one to sleep less (and better) in the evening, and frees up much more time of the day for meditation.
- Sense Restraint – I undertake the training to refrain from dancing, singing, playing or listening to music, attending public performances and from any kind of self-adornment including cosmetics, perfumes, garlands and jewellery:
These are ways we can amuse ourselves and divert our attention from meditation and spiritual practice. In coming to stay in a spiritual sanctuary we consciously put aside distractions and turn ourselves inward. During your time in the monastery we ask you not to listen to music or the radio and not to use any fancy electronic equipment such as a laptop computer. Lay guests are required to adopt the traditional lay clothing (white trousers and shirt for men, and the white blouse with a long, black skirt for women), all of which the monastery can usually provide. Men or women with long hair are asked to tie it in back and all men staying beyond three days are asked to shave their heads. In general, guests are asked to relinquish any kind of behaviour, which can attract the attention of others or distract us away from our goals in meditation and contemplation.
- Wakefulness, Alertness and Attentiveness in all Postures – I undertake the training to refrain from lying on high and luxurious sleeping places.
This precept entails practicing mindfulness, clear comprehension and present moment awareness in all postures and activities throughout the day. Although there are no luxurious sleeping places in the monastery, the spirit of this rule is to encourage us to keep our time spent sleeping down to what is really necessary. The combination of hot, sticky weather and boredom can make sleeping a very easy way to pass several hours of the day as well as the night. As this is an area that may pose challenges to a newcomer to a forest monastery, feel free to practise in the salas or the bot if this is an aide to your wakefulness.
Bye, you’all, Jim
