<blockquote>
  <p>What is monastic life like?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>From <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.olen.html" rel="nofollow">Nalaka Sutta</a>: Gurgling Loudly (excerpt) translated from the Pali by
Andrew Olendzki -</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>...<br>
  Listen to the sound of water<br>
    In the clefts and in the gullies:<br>
  The tiny streams gurgle loudly<br>
    — Mighty waters flow in silence.<br>
   ...  </p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>how do the challenges?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>From <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html" rel="nofollow">Nalaka Sutta</a>: To Nalaka translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[Nalaka:]<br>
  Now that I know<br>
   Asita's words to be true,<br>
   I ask you, Gotama,<br>
  you who have gone<br>
   to the beyond of all things.<br>
   I'm intent on the homeless life;<br>
   I long for the almsround.<br>
   Tell me sage, when I ask you,<br>
  the utmost state of sagacity.  </p>
  
  <p>[The Buddha:]<br>
   I'll explain to you<br>
   a sagacity hard to do,<br>
   hard to endure.<br>
  Come now, I'll tell you.<br>
   Be steadfast. Be firm.<br>
   Practice even-mindedness,<br>
   for in a village there's praise &amp; abuse.<br>
   Ward off any flaw in the heart. Go about calmed &amp; not haughty.<br>
   High &amp; low things  will come up like fire-flames in a forest.<br>
   Women seduce a sage. May they not seduce you.<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.olen.html" rel="nofollow">1</a><br>
   Abstaining from sexual intercourse, abandoning various sensual pleasures,<br>
   be unopposed, unattached, to beings moving &amp; still.<br>
   'As I am, so are these. As are these, so am I.'<br>
   Drawing the parallel to yourself, neither kill nor get others to kill.<br>
   Abandoning the wants &amp; greed where people run-of-the-mill are stuck,<br>
   practice with vision, cross over this hell.<br>
   Stomach not full, moderate in food,<br>
  having few wants, not being greedy, always not hankering after desire:<br>
  one without hankering, is one who's unbound.<br>
   Having gone on his almsround, the sage should then go to the forest,<br>
   standing or taking a seat at the foot of a tree.<br>
   The enlightened one, intent on jhana,
  should find delight in the forest,<br>
   should practice jhana at the foot of a tree,<br>
   attaining his own satisfaction.<br>
  Then, at the end of the night, he should go to the village,<br>
   not delighting in an invitation or gift from the village.<br>
   Having gone to the village,
   the sage should not carelessly go among families.<br>
   Cutting off chatter, he shouldn't utter a scheming word.<br>
   'I got something, that's fine. I got nothing, that's good.'<br>
   Being such with regard to both, he returns to the very same tree.<br>
   Wandering with his bowl in hand — not dumb, but seemingly dumb —<br>
  he shouldn't despise a piddling gift nor disparage the giver.<br>
   High &amp; low are the practices proclaimed by the contemplative.<br>
   They don't go twice to the further shore.<br>
   This [Unbinding] isn't sensed only once.<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html" rel="nofollow">2</a><br>
   In one who has no attachment — the monk who has cut the stream,<br>
   abandoning what is &amp; isn't a duty — no fever is found. </p>
  
  <p>I'll explain to you sagacity:<br>
   be like a razor's edge.<br>
   Pressing tongue against palate,<br>
   restrain your stomach.<br>
  Neither be lazy in mind,<br>
   nor have many thoughts.<br>
   Be committed to taintlessness,<br>
   independent, having the holy life as your aim.<br>
    Train in solitude &amp; the contemplative's task,<br>
   Solitude is called sagacity.<br>
    Alone, you truly delight &amp; shine in the ten directions.<br>
   On hearing the fame of the enlightened<br>
   — those who practice jhana,<br>
     relinquishing sensual pleasures<br>
   — my disciple should<br>
  foster all the more conviction &amp; conscience.  </p>
  
  <p>Know from the rivers in clefts &amp; in crevices:<br>
   those in small channels flow noisily,<br>
   the great flow silent.<br>
   Whatever's not full makes noise.<br>
  Whatever is full is quiet.<br>
   The fool is like a half-empty pot;<br>
   one who is wise,   a full lake.<br>
  A contemplative who speaks a great deal endowed with meaning:<br>
  knowing, he teaches the Dhamma, knowing, he speaks a great deal.<br>
   But he who, knowing, is restrained, knowing, doesn't speak a great deal:<br>
  he is a sage worthy of sagehood; he is a sage, his sagehood attained.  </p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-11T09:12:50.477Z
2015-10-11T09:12:50.477Z
Shrawaka
<p>Pay everyday's attention to:</p>

<ol>
<li>listening meditation lesson from tipitaka-memorizer.</li>
<li>observing the 91,805,036,000 vinaya-rules.

<ol>
<li>keeping to violate the prohibited rules, such as denying money, denying sex activity, etc.</li>
<li>keeping to do the procedure rules, such as memorizing <a href="https://unmixedtheravada.blogspot.com/search?q=course" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bhikkhunissayamuccaka-course</a>, go to bowl, keeping the monk robe,  etc.</li>
</ol></li>
<li>keeping the balancing between the virtual, the concentration meditation and the insight meditation to enlighten nibbāna.</li>
<li>develop the knowledge from <a href="https://unmixedtheravada.blogspot.com/search?q=course" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bhikkhunissayamuccaka-course</a> to tipitaka-memorizer.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-21T02:26:32.787Z
2018-04-21T02:26:32.787Z
Bonn
<p>I had the same problem as you with romanticising monk life. Of course the day to day living of a monk varies a lot depending on whether they live in a monastery, a cave, or the forest. Despite having many hours in the day for their own practice I often see monks telling of how they have little free time.</p>

<p>This book called The Broken Buddha which was written by an ex-monk exposes the reality about monasticism in thailand/sri lanka/burma <a href="http://www.buddhistische-gesellschaft-berlin.de/downloads/brokenbuddhanew.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.buddhistische-gesellschaft-berlin.de/downloads/brokenbuddhanew.pdf</a></p>

<p>Reading that drove away a lot of my dreaming of monk life because I realised the type of people I would be living with if ordaining in Asia. I still strive for a monastic lifestyle but not because of romanticised ideas.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-10T04:11:40.770Z
Thank you for the link. I don't think the author is an "ex-monk": apparently he calls himself a "Buddhist" monk now, not a "Theravada" monk (see [this reference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravasti_Dhammika) and [this reference](http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=2698)).
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-22T21:40:58.270Z
2018-04-20T21:29:43.603Z
2018-04-20T21:29:43.603Z
Hugh
<p>I am curious to know a little bit more about the day-to-day life of Theravada buddhist monks. I am drawn to the idea of ordaining, but I fear this is only because I have romanticized the buddhist monk's life in my mind as easy and care-free; like an escape from my own life. What is monastic life like, and how do the challenges that come with this lifestyle compare with those of lay-life?
I am looking for a reality check if anyone can provide it.
Thx!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-22T04:15:03.857Z
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/wat_m5.htm
ruben2020
<theravada><monk>
What is the life of a monk really like?
# What is the life of a monk really like?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-21)

I am curious to know a little bit more about the day-to-day life of Theravada buddhist monks. I am drawn to the idea of ordaining, but I fear this is only because I have romanticized the buddhist monk's life in my mind as easy and care-free; like an escape from my own life. What is monastic life like, and how do the challenges that come with this lifestyle compare with those of lay-life?
I am looking for a reality check if anyone can provide it.
Thx!

**Tags:** theravada, monk

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/wat_m5.htm  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-03-22. Score: 9

I had the same problem as you with romanticising monk life. Of course the day to day living of a monk varies a lot depending on whether they live in a monastery, a cave, or the forest. Despite having many hours in the day for their own practice I often see monks telling of how they have little free time.

This book called The Broken Buddha which was written by an ex-monk exposes the reality about monasticism in thailand/sri lanka/burma <http://www.buddhistische-gesellschaft-berlin.de/downloads/brokenbuddhanew.pdf>

Reading that drove away a lot of my dreaming of monk life because I realised the type of people I would be living with if ordaining in Asia. I still strive for a monastic lifestyle but not because of romanticised ideas.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Thank you for the link. I don't think the author is an "ex-monk": apparently he calls himself a "Buddhist" monk now, not a "Theravada" monk (see [this reference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravasti_Dhammika) and [this reference](http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=2698)).  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-10-11. Score: 2

> What is monastic life like?

From [Nalaka Sutta](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.olen.html): Gurgling Loudly (excerpt) translated from the Pali by
Andrew Olendzki -

> ...  
> Listen to the sound of water  
> In the clefts and in the gullies:  
> The tiny streams gurgle loudly  
> — Mighty waters flow in silence.  
> ...
>
> ---
>
> how do the challenges?

From [Nalaka Sutta](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html): To Nalaka translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

> [Nalaka:]  
> Now that I know  
> Asita's words to be true,  
> I ask you, Gotama,  
> you who have gone  
> to the beyond of all things.  
> I'm intent on the homeless life;  
> I long for the almsround.  
> Tell me sage, when I ask you,  
> the utmost state of sagacity.
>
> [The Buddha:]  
> I'll explain to you  
> a sagacity hard to do,  
> hard to endure.  
> Come now, I'll tell you.  
> Be steadfast. Be firm.  
> Practice even-mindedness,  
> for in a village there's praise & abuse.  
> Ward off any flaw in the heart. Go about calmed & not haughty.  
> High & low things will come up like fire-flames in a forest.  
> Women seduce a sage. May they not seduce you.[1](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.olen.html)  
> Abstaining from sexual intercourse, abandoning various sensual pleasures,  
> be unopposed, unattached, to beings moving & still.  
> 'As I am, so are these. As are these, so am I.'  
> Drawing the parallel to yourself, neither kill nor get others to kill.  
> Abandoning the wants & greed where people run-of-the-mill are stuck,  
> practice with vision, cross over this hell.  
> Stomach not full, moderate in food,  
> having few wants, not being greedy, always not hankering after desire:  
> one without hankering, is one who's unbound.  
> Having gone on his almsround, the sage should then go to the forest,  
> standing or taking a seat at the foot of a tree.  
> The enlightened one, intent on jhana,
> should find delight in the forest,  
> should practice jhana at the foot of a tree,  
> attaining his own satisfaction.  
> Then, at the end of the night, he should go to the village,  
> not delighting in an invitation or gift from the village.  
> Having gone to the village,
> the sage should not carelessly go among families.  
> Cutting off chatter, he shouldn't utter a scheming word.  
> 'I got something, that's fine. I got nothing, that's good.'  
> Being such with regard to both, he returns to the very same tree.  
> Wandering with his bowl in hand — not dumb, but seemingly dumb —  
> he shouldn't despise a piddling gift nor disparage the giver.  
> High & low are the practices proclaimed by the contemplative.  
> They don't go twice to the further shore.  
> This [Unbinding] isn't sensed only once.[2](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.11.than.html)  
> In one who has no attachment — the monk who has cut the stream,  
> abandoning what is & isn't a duty — no fever is found.
>
> I'll explain to you sagacity:  
> be like a razor's edge.  
> Pressing tongue against palate,  
> restrain your stomach.  
> Neither be lazy in mind,  
> nor have many thoughts.  
> Be committed to taintlessness,  
> independent, having the holy life as your aim.  
> Train in solitude & the contemplative's task,  
> Solitude is called sagacity.  
> Alone, you truly delight & shine in the ten directions.  
> On hearing the fame of the enlightened  
> — those who practice jhana,  
> relinquishing sensual pleasures  
> — my disciple should  
> foster all the more conviction & conscience.
>
> Know from the rivers in clefts & in crevices:  
> those in small channels flow noisily,  
> the great flow silent.  
> Whatever's not full makes noise.  
> Whatever is full is quiet.  
> The fool is like a half-empty pot;  
> one who is wise, a full lake.  
> A contemplative who speaks a great deal endowed with meaning:  
> knowing, he teaches the Dhamma, knowing, he speaks a great deal.  
> But he who, knowing, is restrained, knowing, doesn't speak a great deal:  
> he is a sage worthy of sagehood; he is a sage, his sagehood attained.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-04-21. Score: 0

Pay everyday's attention to:

1. listening meditation lesson from tipitaka-memorizer.
2. observing the 91,805,036,000 vinaya-rules.
   1. keeping to violate the prohibited rules, such as denying money, denying sex activity, etc.
   2. keeping to do the procedure rules, such as memorizing [bhikkhunissayamuccaka-course](https://unmixedtheravada.blogspot.com/search?q=course), go to bowl, keeping the monk robe, etc.
3. keeping the balancing between the virtual, the concentration meditation and the insight meditation to enlighten nibbāna.
4. develop the knowledge from [bhikkhunissayamuccaka-course](https://unmixedtheravada.blogspot.com/search?q=course) to tipitaka-memorizer.


---

