Calling all monks/ex-monks

[Matt23]

Ola!  

I've been seriously considering becoming a monk for the past 2-3 years.  I probably won't do it for life, but I'd like to try it at least for a year or two in my life.

I still haven't decided which tradition I'd go to (maybe Zen), but I'd love to hear any stories or advice any Westerner has had in becoming a monk in an Asian country like Japan, Nepal, India, or Sri Lanka (etc.) and the process involved.

Would you recommend any monasteries in particular that cater more to Westerners?

Would you advise to stay away from any specific monasteries due to any toxic culture within that monastic community?

Would you recommend any country for Westerners to study in that are more accommodating than others?

Would you recommend any traditions in particular?

 

Thanks for any help!

[Sahil Pandit]

@Matt23 What has your experience been like in the past with this kind of life style ? 

[Matt23]

I haven't really experienced it.  I'd like to try a month or multi-month stay in the years to come to see how it goes.  

Whenever I come back to my home town for a visit and stay with family (where I feel like all my basic needs are met and I feel relatively safe and secure) I have so much more motivation to do meditation and other self-inquiry and spiritual techniques.  That makes me think that kind of lifestyle might suit me.  At least for a time to gain experience and practice.

[Girzo]

Quote

Some of my favorite places to go on retreat are: The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts; Bhavana Society in High View, West Virginia; the Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre (MBMC) in Penang, Malaysia (teachers vary there: check before going); and Gaia House near Totnes, England. Worth mentioning are the Mahasi centers in Burma (Myanmar), such as Panditarama in Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), and particularly Panditarama Lumbini in Nepal, to which I haven’t been but know many people who have. All these are easy to find on the internet. For those who are really into Mahasi Sayadaw style practice, as I am, the three-month retreat at IMS, or a few weeks to months at a place such as Panditarama, Lumbini, or some of the Thai or other Asian Mahasi centers, are highly recommended. There is also Tathagatha in San Jose, California.

I often marvel at the things we spend our time and money doing. As Kenneth once said, “If you had to flip burgers for thirteen years to save the money to do the three-month at IMS, it would be well worth it.” I prefer more pragmatic centers due to various cultural factors, such as their tendency to be less comfortable talking openly about states and stages, but IMS has helped a lot of people, including me. Burma is a great place to go for the real deal, but there are some issues that need to be carefully weighed involving the government, the oily food, the cultural barriers, the water, the heat, the parasites, and the malaria-carrying mosquitoes. I personally haven’t been to Burma as of writing this, though I have been to plenty of places with similar issues, and if you can avoid these, you may just live a bit longer.

- Daniel M. Ingram, Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha