The Call to Monasticism
Zach and I were both so moved by the honesty and vulnerability we heard from Sayalay Khanticari’s talk. As we reflected on it following the discussion, Zach noted how profound the impact with monastics in Myanmar had with someone who up to that time had only interacted with lay practitioners and teachers.
“I wouldn’t trade my three years as a monk for anything!”
“As dedicated as we might think some people are in the Goenka organization with volunteering to teach or run a center, there's a whole other level where someone's like, it's 100%!
And the reason I bring that up is because that's exactly what [Sayalay Khanticari] said, when she met U Pandita, that here's this monk-- first it was just monks she met, and she saw how they're operating at a meditation course or international meditation center, that they're just, it's 100%. That's all they do!
And then she has a teacher who’s a monastic, and just how inspiring that was and how much trust she had in that and of the depth and breadth of this person's experience. That played a role in her Dhamma life, just having monks and nuns around her that were totally dedicated! And then of course, in her own journey as well.
It makes me sad to hear people discouraged from the monastic life. It's not for everyone, and it's not perfect, there's problems. At the same time, like I wouldn't trade my three years as a monk for anything! Like I was just thinking about this the other day and talking with friends: I miss it sometimes.
And as much as I try to dedicate, I have an intention to be mindful all the time and still practice all the time. But that environment, there's something very special about it. There's a reason that the Buddha set it up. It's very clear to me from my experience, when you actually graze in that field... It's so rich, just those conditions are very special. And if you're called to them temporarily or for longer, I couldn't recommend it more, you know?
And we hear in these podcasts in these stories of monastics, and lay people too also have great stories to tell, but it's not an ‘either or’ kind of thing, or ‘this is the pinnacle’, but it's something available that I think is extremely special. And I like to play that up, you know, for anyone that's interested, that this is available, and it's something very rich.”