Joining Monastery

[TheHofman]

Yo what up fellows. I need your help finding a monastery which I could join. Duration: at least 1 year. Other creiterias: Vegetarian or preferably vegan. Not Zen-Buddhist monastery (Stage blue). Anywhere on planet earth. Not much else, lets keep it as simple as possible. Thankful for any help. 

[PenguinPablo]

So more like Theravada?

Thai forest tradition - would look into these guys

Edited December 1, 2019 by PenguinPablo

[TheHofman]

@PenguinPablo Thanks. Was not aware of this branch and the other main branches of buddhism. Do you know any specific monasteries I could join ? Having a hard time finding them on the net.

[Gili Trawangan]

I did a meditation retreat in Thailand, here: https://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/index.html

It was great, and they did have foreign volunteers working there, they have retreats every month.

[ajasatya]

@TheHofman Not sure why you think Zen is stage blue. It's known as "the direct path" for a reason. In fact, Zen would be my best bet since it has several centuries of improvements.

[Hello from Russia]

30 minutes ago, ajasatya said:

@TheHofman Not sure why you think Zen is stage blue. It's known as "the direct path" for a reason. In fact, Zen would be my best bet since it has several centuries of improvements.

The problem with being known as "the direct path" is that every mystical\religious tradition says about itself that it is the most "direct path". At least in my experience. At least it is the case with Christian Orthodox (I  grew up in a household) and with Islam. In Chistianity they often say (i've been told that) that, sure, you can go study\pursue other religions and even get results with it, but Christ way and Christian's way is the most direct, you'll be just wasting time with other traditions. 

So from this point of view, imo, it doesn't really say anything. Although I respect Zen a lot and I think it indeed is more straightforward and more "to the point" than many other traditions

[ajasatya]

@Hello from Russia Zen is known as "the direct path" by many Oriental traditions, not only Zen. Zen is basically Zazen. Zen meetings happen so that people can practice silent meditation. The goal of the linguistic part of Zen is to drive people away from rationality and language itself and to frame the importance of practice over any form of theorization.

[ivory]

You might find some luck here:

https://www.dharmaoverground.org/dharma-wiki/-/wiki/Main/FrontPage#section-FrontPage-Retreat+Centers+and+Places+to+Practice

[silene]

I would say it depends on the individual monastery how traditional/conservative it is. Eg some Zen, Tibetan & Theravada ones are linked to the Buddhist hierarchy which can be stage blue and steeped in Asian culture, if that's what you want. Similarly with Hindu monastics. Then there's more modern and liberal ones, like Plum Village in France (founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen master). Or here in the UK we have Gaia House which is more Insight meditation based https://gaiahouse.co.uk. On their website it says they want people to join:

"Join our residential coordinator community! We’re on the hunt for a Kitchen Coordinator, a Reception Coordinator, a Maintenance Coordinator and a Household Coordinator! Serving as a coordinator can be an incredibly special and unique experience, offering the chance to practise and work within a Dharma community setting and providing a rich base for deepening practice. "

However this isn't a traditional monastery with celibate monks & nuns in robes etc. So it depends what you actually want. What is your spiritual path, if you have one? You sound very open minded. Most centres you can join are quite focussed, eg if you join the Hare Krishna community it will just teach their approach. A year is quite a long time to commit, so my advice is to prepare yourself, try out and research the huge variety of spiritual paths first, and find what rings true for you, before joining a monastery.

Edited December 1, 2019 by silene
Spelling.

[pink]

https://scontent-den4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/77145891_2520425778053364_8941704353551482880_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ohc=TIBxj65U1ekAQnrqbtdajLIiT_agBKMgLK6W1ww9iF39B_z3yadEDxkdQ&_nc_ht=scontent-den4-1.xx&oh=4f71eb656001de09aff5ab26ffbaba9b&oe=5E7D65D4

 

[Nahm]

8 hours ago, TheHofman said:

keep it as simple

“The body is the temple”