I met this young monk in a Tibetan monastery at Pokhara. Beside being a graceful boy he turned out to be a dog lover too and his pup was kinda cute. Being a part of the Sangha,right from this age he lives on mendicancy, ideally eating once a day and keeping just five things- the traditional robe, a razor, a needle, an alms bowl and a water strainer as his personal belongings! Perhaps he's a sramanera as of now and by twenty years of biological age probably he'll ordain as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk). It's never easy to lead such a life... don't believe me? Well, try spending a day without your smartphone and you'll realize it yourself.
Monk from the childhood?! :O
ReplyDeleteNot exactly Pankti... by 20 yrs of age he'll be a full fledged monk if he doesn't back out :-)
DeleteOf course he won't because he doesn't know any other way :) Ignorance is bliss. A free choice would be the one when a kid from an urban city takes the path of sainthood :)
DeleteWhen i read that he can keep only 5 things and thought to myself which would be my list of 5 things, i ended up as 5 is too less. I agree its a difficult life or perhaps we have widened our comfort zone too much. Needless to say its a wonderful click Anunoy.
ReplyDeleteShweta, everyday my resolution of living a minimalistic life fails... yet I never give up :-P
DeleteReally difficult
ReplyDeleteExactly Jayapriya :-(
DeleteI've seen just kids as monks in the Pemyangtse Monastery of Sikkim... and they always look so contended...
ReplyDeleteYou're right Maniparna... subsequently I'll post photos of younger boys aspiring to be monks :-)
Deletenice emotions.....
ReplyDeleteThanks Prasad :-)
DeleteSuch calm and content eyes.....rare in a child of today!
ReplyDeleteNot just child Datta... you won't find much in adults too :-P
DeleteI never knew monks could only keep 5 things.. I met a wonderful monk in Ladakh and he told me a lot about Budhism . They had a school for all the young monks where they were taught reading, writing and meditation
ReplyDeleteNothing can ever beat the peace you get at a monestry
Ritika, if you ever manage to visit Kalimpong you can see many such beautiful institutions... I assume, McLeod Ganj would be having such schools too :-)
Deleteand yes, like you I too find peace and much more satisfaction in a monastery than our Hindu temples :-/
DeleteAn hour without the smartphone is a challenge...a day would be a Nobel-worthy feat !!! :D
ReplyDelete