Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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puppha
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Location: London, UK

Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by puppha »

Dear Dawn,
DAWN wrote:Iam agree with you.
I will try to explain it to my family.
I don't know if you did it yet, but it would be good to stay in a monastery for a while as a lay person. That would give you an idea of what it could be if you ordain. A sort of reality-check, in other words!

I have seen some lay people living for years in monasteries, BTW!

Metta
hermitwin
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Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:35 pm

Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by hermitwin »

this is my opinion.
consider yourself lucky that you have the opportunity to ordain.
there are many people who dont even have this opportunity.
it is normal for family to be reluctant to let you go.
if all the people who wanted to ordain stayed at home because
someone in the family cried, there will be very few monks/nuns.
obviously, you care very much about your mom. kudos.
this is my advice. go n get ordained.
you dont know how long you will last.
maybe you will be back home after 2 weeks or 2 years, who knows?
all the best, whatever you decide.

DAWN wrote:Hello everyone,

I would like to ask you some question about one situation.

Since 1 or 2 years I preparing myself to ordination, 1 meal a day etc etc. My mother seems to be agree.
But this weekand, when i come to my family, my mother and brother, before i leaving, i see my mother crying, she said me that all time (twice a mounth) when i leave the familial home, she cryes. She cryes because she feel very peacefull when i am near, and she said that my brother missing me to...

She tell me that she dont know how the family will leave if i go forth, if i will ordain, and sje said me that if i want i can still at home, live a bhikkhu life or everythink that i want to do ! But just be near to family...

So i would like to ask you what is better for practice and harmony:
- to ordain in a monastery, not be disturbed by internet, world news, and other, live a very simple life; but see my family suffering
or
- to ordain (or not ordain but live a bhikkhu live, guided by patimokkha) and live at home, in city, on the bad of my family, have a risk to be disturbed by internet, world news, modern peoples and friends incomprehention, critucising etc etc; but practicing solo on my own and see my family in peace.

Personaly i dont know how to do.
-I know that in monastery my practice will be more complet, and i feel guilty that i dont feel sad when my mother cryes
-but i know that my mother offered me the best life, so i cant allow to myself to let my familly alone, but i know that the practice can be disturbed and influenced, also i dont want become a "propriety" of my mothers ego...

Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu", it's a noun of this topic.
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DAWN
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Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by DAWN »

Dear puppha and hermitwin,

Yes i will do it anyway, if i will not be accept as a bhikkhu, only in this case i will return and stay like a home practitioner. Fortunatly i alrady have some kind of "cityzen" kuti undergruound with a walk medidation footpath etc :sage:
Sabbe dhamma anatta
We are not concurents...
I'am sorry for my english
hermitwin
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Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:35 pm

Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by hermitwin »

do you mind telling us where you live?
if you wish to keep that private, i will understand.
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DAWN
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Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by DAWN »

hermitwin wrote:do you mind telling us where you live?
if you wish to keep that private, i will understand.
I am from France
Sabbe dhamma anatta
We are not concurents...
I'am sorry for my english
Raksha
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Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:30 pm

Re: Monastic Bhikkhu or "Home Bhikkhu"

Post by Raksha »

Sadhu! Dawn.
:namaste: R.

'Letting the Buddha Relax.' by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

'Since we have obtained this precious human life, now is the time to stop the suffering of samsara. When you remain a layperson or householder, there are many interruptions to your Dharma practice. On the other hand, if you ordain, in contrast to the life of a householder, you have greater opportunities to engage in Dharma practice. Therefore you should appreciate the life of ordained beings and the qualities of ordained beings, and you should know the faults of the householder life.
This is not to say that you will not be able to engage in Dharma practice if you are a layperson. But what is clear to all of us is that when you lead a household life, you naturally need to take care of all the members of the family, which includes gathering wealth and so forth. Then, in relation to your family members, you develop many more enemies and many more objects of attachment. It is in this way that you extend your circle. Therefore, under such circumstances, even though you have the wish to engage in Dharma practice, you will be naturally compelled by the situation itself to spend most of your life, your energy and your time looking after your relatives and so forth...
...In the case of very serious practitioners, particularly among the monks and nuns, there are those who really try to develop the specially trained qualities. Among the Tibetans there used to be a monk from Changse Monastery who made it sure that in the rest of his life he would not live under a roof. The purpose of this is to be able to engage in practice remaining under a tree with our robes and maintain contentment with tattered cloth and simple foods.
Such serious practitioners choose a very natural way of life, remaining in the forest near the water or watch the rising and dying of the waves in the sea and reflecting on impermanence, seeing one’s body and mind as similar to this rising and falling of waves. Then, they spend their time discerning the truth of the grasping at self and they develop disgust towards the afflictions of samsara and they see the world and sentient beings within it as an illusion. Serious practitioners aspire to such practices, and all these practices are possible in the case of an ordained person.
You should all develop some appreciation toward such a way of life. That way, even if you are unable to become ordained, if you appreciate this way of life, it leaves an imprint to be able to be ordained in the future...'
:candle: :buddha1: :candle:
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