Monastic life in America

• Buddhist aspect
• Faith and having a clear confidence in the Buddha when ordaining
• Situating oneself within a certain Buddhist tradition that is affiliated with a specific Asian country
• Monastic aspect
• How becoming a monastic places one in a close relationship with the Three Jewels
• One follows the Buddha’s example
• One has the time and ideal external conditions to learn the Dharma and put it into practice
• The possibility of boredom if one doesn’t use one’s time skillfully
• Living in community and being a member of the Buddhist sangha
• America today aspect
• Special challenges of being a Buddhist monastic in a secularized Christian society
• The special role of monastics to dispel the illusion of where happiness is to be found, challenging mainstream consumerism
• Questions and answers
• Has our culture lost the sense of its origin as far as Christianity goes? This sets us up for a lot of bias.
• If you (Bhikkhu Bodhi) were seeking ordination today in the Theravada tradition, where would you go and whom would you seek to study with?
• What does it mean to be guided by community principles but not to be engulfed by a group? Can you give advice on that?
• How do we convince our loved ones about leading a homeless life so it will not be too painful for them?
• How can somebody let go of attachment to their parents or children?
• How do we avoid going to the extremes of proselytizing or just hoping the world will notice?
• I’m having trouble with rebirth—can you say something about that? Without believing in rebirth would you have chosen a monastic lifestyle?

Exploring Monastic Life 2008: Session 11 (download)