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Buddhist Monks,
Sangha,
Teachings &
Living
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Monastery,
nirvana,
samsara,
Noble
Eight-Fold
Path, sila,
samadhi
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A monk has similar destination with a layperson, one of this is
the attainment of Nirvana. This is coming
when all
desire and suffering have been eliminated and
the cycle of rebirths or Samsara ceases.The Buddha
preached Four Noble Truths: life is
suffering (that's even true in the non
Buddhist world of today) and this is initiated by desire
and suffering ends when desire is
eliminated. Following the Noble Eight-Fold
Path is the way
to achieve this. The first step for a Buddhist Monk is Sila or morality which
means speak in the right way, right conduct and the
correct life.
A Buddhist Monk and other Buddhists
try too gains Sila on observance of the
Five Precepts, no killing, no lying, no stealing,
no sexual misconduct and no drugs, this includes
alcohol. The
second stage is Samadhi or mental discipline, which means the right
endeavor, right mindfulness and correct meditation.
The third stage is Panna or wisdom and insight, made
up of the right views and the
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correct intent. The
Buddha started the Order of the Sangha or (monks) and the Order of Bilkkuni (nuns) for men and women
wishing live a life of purity, austerity and self-discipline. To achieve one’s goal although the spiritual
progress is expedited by this process. A layperson can also become an Arahat (Saint) and proceed to his or
her final destination. |
Monastery
school
Monks in monastery
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Every morning younger monks
and novices
accompanied by some of the
boys of the monastery
school, `sons of the
monastery' as they are
called, go out in silent
procession to beg their
daily supply of food.
Each monk or novice carries
a black earthen or lacquer
begging bowl and as the
procession comes to the
house of a known supporter
it stops and a member of the
household will come out and
put an offering of rice in
each bowl and perhaps a
portion of curry in the
receptacles carried by the
attendant boys.
No word is spoken,
either of request or thanks,
for the monks are doing the
laity a favor in allowing
them to acquire merit, and
eyes will be discreetly cast
to the ground for the monk
must not look upon a woman,
lest fleshly lust be
aroused.
On the return to the
monastery the food will be
reheated and eaten before
noon. But nowadays in some
of the less strict
monasteries the food
collected is given to the
boys and the dogs and a more
palatable meal is eaten
which has been given by
wealthy supporters and
cooked while the monks are
out on their morning round.
The rest of the day is
passed by the monks in
studying the scriptures,
teaching the younger monks
and the novices, or in the
practice of meditation.
In the old days, before
mission and government
education became so general,
there was a school attached
to almost every monastery,
in which the boys of the
village were taught reading,
writing, some elementary
arithmetic and the
principles of their
religion.
The Buddhist teaching
methods
in most of these schools
were primitive and the boys
learnt most of what they
did, by heart, shouting out
the lesson after the
teacher. Yet the result was
that almost all Burmese boys
learnt to read, making Burma
the most literate country in
the East.
In addition they received a
good deal of instruction in
the Buddhist religion at an
impressionable age and this
combined with the custom of
every boy becoming a novice
for a shorter or longer
period helps to explain the
hold which Buddhism has on
the people of Burma.
Monasteries have several
social functions among other
as orphanage, picture
left. |
 .jpg)
Hermit
near
Kyaiktiyo |
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A journey to
enlightenment
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Around 630 A.D.
Hsuan Tsang, a
highly respected
26-year-old monk
from China started
his quest to India
and Nepal in search
of Buddhist scriptures
and teachers. Since
all
Tripitaka
translations
available at that
time didn't look
very genuine he
tried to find the
real
one and sought
instruction in the
true teachings of
the Buddha.
The journey
was a
difficult one,
crossing deserts and
the Himalaya
mountains which
divided China from
India. Another China
home made problem
was that the Chinese
emperor of that time
had forbidden travel
to the West.
This young guy
had to hide his
identity until
passing the border.
The Chinese monks quest
lasted 17 years,
traveling through
much of Central Asia
and India.
He
studied at the most
famous monastery of the
time and gained high
respect in an 18-day
debate attended by
thousands of monks.
He
returned to China,
where he received a
positive welcome
from the emperor and
spent his later
years translating
Buddhist texts into
Chinese.
He become
one of the most
famous travelers in
the history of China
and had a major
influence on later
Chinese Buddhism.
The Chinese folk
story, a Journey to
the West,
is based on
his trip. A
typical day begins
with prayers,
meditation and a
walk around with
alms bowl to collect
some food.
This
is usually
followed by
lessons and
interpretations
of Buddhist
scriptures
and the
usual daily
activities
such as
cooking,
eating,
cleaning
etc.
In a
monastery
there are
novices,
usually kids
and monks over
about 20
years, over
this age
they are
ordinated,
below they
are novices.
The
smaller boys
around
in the
typical
saffron or
red robes
are either
attending
the
monastery
school or
are living
in the
monastery
either
because they
are orphans
and have no
other place
to go or
they are
sent from
their
families to
stay in the
monastery
for a while.
The
photos show part of
their lives
and the area
around them.
Their work
has a
visible
dedication
to bring a
better live
to the
community
and improve
the
monastery
they live
in and teaching the
novices,
among other and preserve
the culture. |
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At
Trang
City Thailand
in the
morning |
At a teak
monastery Mandalay
Myanmar |
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Sometimes Buddhist Monks
live in danger,
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we have seen
this on TV during the last
uprising in Myanmar and here
is a example from
neighboring Thailand. The
Thailand monk Phra Supoj was
stabbed to death at the
dhamma sanctuary on June 17,
2005.
The killing took place
at the Mettadhamma Forest
Sanctuary Centre in Fang
district of Chiang Mai. A
team of the Department of
Special Investigation took
over the case.
The
investigating team was
changed in 2007 when
former judge Sunai
Monamai-Udom was in charge
of the DSI. Mr Sunai
believed the first team had
overlooked important points
and over-emphasized the
monk's alleged sexual
misconduct.
Since the first
group of investigators said
they found plenty of
pornographic photo files on
a hard disk seized from his
computer notebook and
concluded the death of the
monk was related to a love
affair.
The new
team of investigators to
find out the real background
of the death,
sent the hard disk to the
Information and
Communication Technology
Ministry for inspection and
they found a number of files
were added after his death.
The monk Phra Supoj
was stabbed to death on June
17, 2005."But between
October 2005 and January
2006, his hard disk had
4,000 new files added. Among
them are 1,120 photo files,"
a police source said.
Investigators have narrowed
the murder down to two
possibilities.
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Buddhist monks
in northern
Thailand |
One of the
motives for the death could be related to
the monk's articles the Thaksin Shinawatra
government's violent dealing
with the southern
insurgency. Another theory
involves Phra Supoj having
conflicts with forest
encroachers, he made
complaints to Fang district
police about them and two
days before the murder, Phra
Supoj was threatened,
because of that.
Already in
2002 monks at the center
were threatened by so called
"influential people" about
this land conflict.
The police
believes three people might
be involved in the murder of
the highly respected
Buddhist monk Phra Supoj. But
they have all died in
separate incidents, possibly
resulting from attempts to
silence them. Two have been
cremated, but the body of
the third person has been
exhumed for checks. From
Bangkok Post
5.10.09
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Monk in
Bangkok Thailand, Pantip Plaza
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Copyright by www.buddha-buddhism.com |
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