Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
Post Reply
Jhana4
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: U.S.A., Northeast

Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by Jhana4 »

Someone on a local mailing list recently posted a link to ATI about how to interact with monks, what their rules are, etc. Disappointingly, it turned out to be a whole book. Something I don't have time for. Is there a SHORT guide that just covers most things to be aware of?
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
User avatar
Bhikkhu Pesala
Posts: 4646
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Be mindful :)
BlogPāli FontsIn This Very LifeBuddhist ChroniclesSoftware (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
Jhana4
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: U.S.A., Northeast

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by Jhana4 »

Yes that is short.
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
User avatar
Bhikkhu Pesala
Posts: 4646
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

It might be better to ask what kind of dealing with monks you had in mind.
BlogPāli FontsIn This Very LifeBuddhist ChroniclesSoftware (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
Jhana4
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: U.S.A., Northeast

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by Jhana4 »

What questions you can ask them,
What topics of conversation you can bring up,
What is expected that you do for them and not, etc
to start things off
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
User avatar
cooran
Posts: 8503
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:32 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by cooran »

Hello Jhana4,

Attend a local vihara and take note of how the other lay people behave towards the monks in both formal and non-formal situations.

With metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
User avatar
appicchato
Posts: 1602
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:47 am
Location: Bridge on the River Kwae

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by appicchato »

cooran wrote: Attend a local vihara and take note of how the other lay people behave towards the monks in both formal and non-formal situations.
+1...in addition, ask them (the monks) the same questions you've presented in the above...
chownah
Posts: 9336
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:19 pm

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by chownah »

Jhana4 wrote:What questions you can ask them,
What topics of conversation you can bring up,
What is expected that you do for them and not, etc
to start things off
In terms of conversation, somewhere in the sutras is a list of topics of conversation which are suitable for monks conversing with monks. Maybe someone knows where that sutta is. I am not saying that you need to stick with only things on that list but it might give you some insight into what things are best.....maybe not......
chownah
baker
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:12 pm
Location: Nassau, Bahamas

Re: Dealing With Monks: A Short Guide?

Post by baker »

A sit a day keeps the dukkha away ... should help anyway, I'll give it a try.
Post Reply