Learning at the Leela Academy from the level of Warrior * involves participation in the
3, 10 day and full-time retreats, which have approximately the same schedule, according to which the daily life of a Buddhist monk takes place in a monastery.

The life of a monk in a monastery is maximally designed in such a way that he can continuously practice to move towards the fulfillment of the main goal of many incarnations: enlightenment.

The last two weeks, before returning to Russia, I spent in meditations and conversations with monks, in the north of Thailand.

I was wondering what the day of the monk is, what they do and how they follow the spiritual path, and also see what the students of the Academy of Leela can learn from the monks, and in what do they have an advantage over the monks?

So, let's find out who Buddhist monks are and how they live.

Features of nutrition.

Monks, professing Buddhism, live in monasteries. Each day passes on a strict schedule, the deviation from which is considered a great sin. Buddhist monks wake up at 6 am and begin their day with prayer. After its termination they start breakfast, consisting of products brought to the temple by local residents. The hermits themselves do not get food and do not cook, according to the prescriptions of religion they should eat only what they receive from the believers in the form of alms. In Thailand, after prayer, the monks go through the streets of the city to beg. The food they receive from the townspeople will be their breakfast. By tradition, they should eat everything that is on their plate, even if the products have already deteriorated.

The rules of Buddhist monks allow them to eat twice a day: early in the morning and at noon. After dinner they are only allowed to drink water and infusions of herbs. Inhabitants of the monastery eat only modest food, food for them is not a pleasure, but a source of gaining vitality. The diet of Buddhist monks consists mainly of plant food, but there are limitations. Hermits very rarely eat garlic and onions, since it is believed that these spices increase sexual desire, and this is unacceptable for them. Monks are not vegetarians, but they can eat meat only if they are sure that the animal was killed not for food. But alcohol, tobacco and drugs are strictly forbidden to them.

The ban on eating in the afternoon does not just happen. At this time, Buddhist monks are engaged in self-improvement, meditation and reading of religious literature (tripitaka), and a stomach full of food will prevent them from concentrating their thoughts in the right direction. Also after lunch, they receive believers who come to the temple to provide material assistance, pray, or receive a blessing.

Things necessary to achieve nirvana.

The community of Buddhist monks lives very ascetic. It should clearly follow the postulates of religion, stating that a person needs only 3 things for normal life: food, clothes and a roof over his head. Everything else is considered superfluous and hinders the attainment of nirvana.

But in reality, today's residents of monasteries are not so honored by the Buddhist rules as their predecessors, and often acquire mobile phones, computers and even personal machines (note the photo, almost every monk has a modern mobile phone). The truly righteous monks, who strictly observe all the rules of religion, are getting smaller every year.

Autor: Сангха

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