You don’t have to dress like one or sit on a cushion for hours on end, meditating. That what monastics do, women and men, day in and day out. They step into the stream of awakening’ in doing so pointing the way for us all. Simply being who they are and doing ordinary things. Deliberately. Moment by moment.
“A monk,” Thomas Merton once wrote, “is someone who lives like a monk.” So, slip on your imaginary robe right now and be a monk. Sit still, click, watch and listen:
https://youtu.be/YaAJROHAtn8
Why not give it a try? Pick a routine task — whether you’re bound to a bed, working at a desk, washing dishes, drinking tea, or checking messages while waiting. Give your full attention to that task, be a monk in a brown robe. Nothing special.
Feel your body. Notice your breath. Be aware of distractions and let them be. Do this thing as if it’s the most important thing of your life.
Prescription: Repeat as needed.
This video comes from the teacher and residents at Birken Forest Monastery (“Sitavana”) near Kamloops, British Columbia. May their practice of generosity bring peace to all.
Best. Advice. Ever.