{"id":820,"date":"2011-05-09T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projectconversion.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2011-05-09T12:00:32","modified_gmt":"2011-05-09T12:00:32","slug":"living-with-the-monks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/projectconversion\/2011\/05\/living-with-the-monks.html","title":{"rendered":"Living with the Monks"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Mentor gave me two instructions before I left to stay with the monks: 1)<\/span> keep an open mind, and 2)<\/span> bring back a flower.<\/p>\n

I’ll get back to you on that second one.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I packed\u00a0 and left early Friday morning for\u00a0a weekend at the\u00a0Wat Carolina Buddhist Monastery <\/a>completely\u00a0unaware of what to expect.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Fog drifting over the Wat Carolina Monastery early Saturday morning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Turns out that my timing was perfect. Two visiting monks from Thailand were among the four monks in residence. While their English was weak, their actions provided a visual experience that confirmed much of what I’ve read and heard about living the Buddhist life. My main teacher and host for the weekend was Tan Chao Khun\u00a0Phrakru, abbot of the monastery.<\/p>\n

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Abbot Phrakru and me taking a break from one of his meditation lessons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Abbot Phrakru\u00a0wasted no time in\u00a0beginning my instruction. Ten minutes after pulling into the driveway, my first lesson in meditation and mindfulness was to “Use hammer. Straighten metal.” So I took the hammer and pounded on a few metal strips, each\u00a0about a foot long. I had no idea what these were for and I dared not ask. Abbot proceeded:<\/p>\n

“Andrew. What you doing?”<\/p>\n

“Hammering.”<\/p>\n

“Good, good. That is mindfulness. That good meditation.”<\/p>\n

The idea was that I stay in the moment at all times. Reality is only what is happening now and your thought is only in your current action. This continued as we walked into the woods with land-clearing tools in hand.<\/p>\n

“Andrew. What you doing?”<\/p>\n

“Walking.”<\/p>\n

“Yes good. When walking, you are walking. Always think: left, right, left, right…all the time.”<\/p>\n

Abbot\u00a0maintained this lesson\u00a0throughout my stay. Any time he saw me\u00a0he asked\u00a0what I was doing. He ensured I remained ever-present in the moment.<\/p>\n

The stereotypical ideal that Buddhist monks sit around in lotus pose near scenic nature spots and meditate all day–at least in the Theravada tradition–is way off. In many, if not most cases, meditation is done via labor. Remember we talked about every action being a meditation? The idea is that every movement is\u00a0purposeful and meaningful with your mind ever-present on the here and now.<\/p>\n

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One of the visiting monks sweeping early in the morning. Sweeping is a popular form of meditation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no typical days at the Wat Carolina Monastery, however there is some<\/em> structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n