Living Like A Monk — My Thai Experience
Hello Friend,
I hope you are well,
During the three months we spent travelling Thailand (which seems so long ago now), Jennie and I spent 5 days living like a Buddhist Monk in the stunning mountains of Northern Thailand at Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery, in the Mae Hong Son District. Beforehand, as you can imagine, I was extremely sceptical indeed. I thought that the experience wouldn’t be for me and ultimately would be waste of time. Jennie on the other hand was raring to go! As it turns out, like most things, I had no need to be so sceptical and anxious because it turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life (so far).
Living Like A Monk
Upon arriving at the Monastery, we were shown to our white, loose fitting and very unflattering clothes and were assigned to our Kuti’s, a small hut where a monk typically lives in. I went one way, Jennie went the other. Men and Women are required to remain separated and refrain from any form of hand holing, kissing or any other loving affection to one another. As you can imagine, the Kuti’s are extremely basic but have the required necessities, i.e. a shower, sink and a rock solid hardwood bed with no mattress (literally wooden).
And just like that, our time as Buddhist Monks had begun!
A day in the life of a monk
As you can imagine, I wasn’t exactly used to living like a monk! Here is what a typical day at the monastery looked like:
- 05:00 Morning meditation in your Kuti
An early start, but monks wake up very early and believe it’s the best way to start the day. Early in the morning is a great time to do any sort of meditation, yoga, or any other spiritual practice.
- 06:30 Rice offering to the monks
Each morning it was required to make an offering of rice to the monks. This is a tradition in Thai Buddhism and is believed to generate good karma.
- 07:00 Breakfast
There wasn’t exactly eggs and bacon for breakfast! Instead, monks follow a vegetarian/vegan diet, therefore breakfast typically consisted of rice and vegetables. I know, it’s not exactly like your typical breakfast and sounds incredibly bland, but it was extremely delicious.
- 08:00 Morning Dharma lesson, and meditation class
Each Morning after breakfast, we attended Dharma lessons, where we listened and were taught about the teachings of the Buddha, which were given in English and Thai. After the lesson we did 40 minutes of walking meditation (yes walking meditation is a thing), 40 minutes of seated meditation and then around 15 minutes of lying meditation. A grand total of one hour and 35 minutes of meditation.
- 10:30 Food offering to the monks
We again offered food to the monks, just like we did in the morning at breakfast, as a show of respect to the monks and to give good karma. When offering food to the monks the food needed to be raised off the floor and only lowered when the monks touched it. One day, the monk even returned the moon cake I gave him for desert, how kind of him. In Buddhism, the monks aren’t allowed to take or touch any food themselves unless it has been offered to them.
- 11:00 Lunch
Lunch consisted of rice, noodles, vegetables, soup, baked goods and deserts — buffet style! I’m not kidding, I think the food at the Monastery was some the best we had throughout the whole of our travels. It was out of this world! Plus definitely some of the healthier food we had! It’s Buddhist tradition not to eat after 12pm as it’s a way to practice self control, therefore it was our last meal.
- 12.50 Afternoon Dharma talk and meditation
There was also an afternoon Dharma talk, followed by more walking, sitting and lying mediation. At the end of meditation, there was the opportunity to ask the monks some questions about anything from life, business, happiness etc.
- 16:00 Cleaning the area and helping in the monastery
The monastery always needs some form of upkeep whether it’s from from raking up leaves, putting away plates and cutlery, feeding the fish, tidying your Kuti etc.
- 17:00 Free time
During free time we could explore the stunning monastery grounds, read and relax.
- 18:00 Evening Chanting, meditation and Dharma talk
Every evening, we performed chanting as a way of learning and showing devotion to the Buddha’s teachings. Chanting normally lasted for around 45 minutes, and was followed by another 40 minutes of sitting meditation. At the end of the evening session, we were given a final Dharma talk of the day by the abbot (the head monk).
- 20:00 Meditation on your own, or have tea, coffee, hot chocolate & relax
In the evening before bed it was possible to have a cup of tea, hot chocolate or coffee. Before bed we were encouraged to meditate for 15 -20 minutes in Kuti’s before sleeping.
Ohhhh, and one day, me and Jennie even spent the whole day in silence!
Now, you might think that the days sounds a bit intense and too rigid, I initially thought this too before we began our mini monk journey. But as it turns out, I actually loved the rigid structure to the day. It meant I always had something to look forward to, and knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing at what time. At the end of the 5 days, it just became ‘normal’ and we came to know the days schedule off by heart.
Looking back
At the end of our 5 day tenure, I came away feeling totally euphoric. Looking back now, it was probably the best I have ever felt in my entire life. I couldn’t stop smiling all day, I felt so relaxed, everything just felt so easy and I felt undisturbed by anything. It was almost like all the little worries and bad emotions I had just evaporated. It might all sound a bit cliché and a bit cheesy, but it’s such a difficult feeling to explain until you have experienced it yourself. It was truly unbelievable. These feelings lasted for at least a good few weeks too, until I got dragged back down into ‘normality’ again!
There was something about being stripped from day to day indulgencies i.e. no phone, no mirrors and nothing but a rock solid hardwood bed to sleep on which just felt amazing. I loved the most simple, most basic kind of lifestyle we lived in our short time as beginner monks. It’s something I’d like to replicate in my own life, not to the extremes of a monk, but a much more basic life without as many ‘things’. In my opinion, a basic life is the best kind of life.
Without a doubt when me and Jennie eventually find ourselves back in Thailand, it will probably be the top thing we would want to do again, but next time we will stay for longer. An unbelievable experience, one I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.
See you next time,
Yours Sincerely,
Tom
