stay in monastery as a lay person

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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sona
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 2:44 pm

stay in monastery as a lay person

Post by sona »

Hello,
I don't have any experience in this field.
but I'm thinking about staying in a monastery as a,what you call, lay person.
What is exactly 'lay person'?
Do they pay for the food,lodging and retreats? If so is the price fixed?
Do they help monks when they work?
Please excuse me for this stupid quetion. _()_
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TheNoBSBuddhist
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Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Loch Lomond, via the High AND Low road....

Re: stay in monastery as a lay person

Post by TheNoBSBuddhist »

Hello, and welcome to the forum!


A Layperson is a person who follows a particular calling without being ordained as a monk, priest, or nun.

An ordinary person, like you and me, who chooses to devote themselves to practice anyway.
Could be married, could be single, any age....

Many monasteries offer retreat periods for laypeople.
During these times they offer teaching of the Dhamma, and sessions of meditation.

You live the time according to their rules, generally waking when they awaken, following the day as any monk, might, and learning about monastic living without actually being ordained.

Now, as to what happens, when, and how, well, that would depend on where you are, what monastery is closest to you, which tradition they belong to, (Theravada? Mahayana which 'houses' Tibetan, Zen and Pure Land....) and whether they indeed offer such retreats to the public.

This is just an example, but in the South of England, you have the Amaravati Monastery.

This is their website:

http://www.amaravati.org/

Other monasteries probably have similar websites about themselves, with all kinds of information and contact details.

:namaste:
:namaste:

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.



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Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap."
‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....
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PsychedelicSunSet
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Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:04 pm

Re: stay in monastery as a lay person

Post by PsychedelicSunSet »

sona wrote: What is exactly 'lay person'?
Lay Person usually refers to a "non-ordained member of the church." So in the case of a Buddhist lay person, it is a non-ordained person who has a Buddhist practice.
sona wrote:Do they pay for the food,lodging and retreats? If so is the price fixed?
Most monasteries (at least the one's I know of/have researched) do not require you pay any money. You're typically expected to follow the eight precepts, and will have to do some work, such as cooking, cleaning, or some manual labor. There are however retreat centers (which are not monasteries) which have no fixed ordained members, which require a payment. Often the payment is on a sliding scale, so people with less money can still go. An example would be the Insight Meditation Society.
sona wrote:Do they help monks when they work?
If you mean "do they help the monks while they're staying at the monastery", then the answer is yes. They'll typically be expected to fulfill certain tasks that the monks are restricted from doing by their vows. If you mean "do laypeople help the monks while they are not at the monastery, and are out in the world working/having a job" then the answer is sometimes. Monks live off of the generosity of laypeople. It is often said that laypeople provide monks food for the body, and monks provide laypeople food for the mind. However it is not expected that laypeople will give the monks anything, and any thing/help they offer the monastics is done out of their own free will. See this article on Dana.
sona wrote:Please excuse me for this stupid quetion.
No questions are stupid. To quote another member on this forum, "we're all learning here."

:anjali:
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sona
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 2:44 pm

Re: stay in monastery as a lay person

Post by sona »

Oh, thank you for the goog replies !
It was a great help !
_()_
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