On the 28th February, literally an hour before the US attacked Iran, Steve entered a monastery and surrendered his phone, the clothes he was wearing, his backpack and everything in it, for 30 days. He’s been living as a monk in a forest monastery in northern Thailand for 13 days already, unaware of anything happening in the world, the same amount of days as this latest ‘war’.
For 30 days he and 14 other men in the programme will wake to the sound of a gong at 4am, start their day chanting and then meditating together, and fill their days with life lessons from the resident Buddhist monks, attend to monk-life chores and basically go inside themselves while sharing this profound experience together.
Some timing huh!
At first it was hard for me. There was turmoil in my mind. It happens to all of us, yes? When world chaos like this happens. Sadly, it’s all too familiar.
I wondered if Steve has the right to know what’s going on? In this era we all instantly know what horrors are happening over there, and everywhere. What sort of violence might it lead to wherever we are in the world – should we prepare ourselves? And shouldn’t we all pray and send good vibrations to all those who are suffering right now? To care?
I also wondered if Steve should be aware that because fuel prices are going up his income potential this year is likely to be affected? And that both the increased cost and danger might impact our travel plans to work and visit family overseas? Somewhat first-world problems, right? But also real considerations.
So it was hard at first, not to have him beside me to talk about it all. But I soon let go.
It’s a blessing for him. Steve, who was a soldier for 37 years (including tours in Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq & Afghanistan), is now completely out of the loop. No doomscrolling social media. No whatsapp. No emails. No listening to podcasts or seeing the news.
I’m grateful.
I was honoured to attend his Hair Cutting and Ordination ceremonies last weekend. This is an authentic experience of being a monk (albeit a newbie), for a month. It’s considered high merit and honourable in the Buddhist tradition and Thai culture. During the ceremonies these strong and courageous men’s tears flowed a little, their chanting resonated, their faces shone with vulnerability and humility.
Some of the men in this cohort are young Thai men. Their families beaming with pride. Others are from Asia, the US, the UK and Europe. Their ages range from 18 to 57 (Steve’s the oldest) and they come from all sorts of backgrounds.
I was able to talk with Steve for a while at the ceremonies, but other than that he’ll have zero contact with anyone outside of the monastery, including me. When we chatted he told me a bit about his journey so far, the sharing circles, the mentoring and lessons from the teaching monks, the journaling, his alone time in nature, some things that were coming up for them all, the brotherhood that was being cemented. Just one week in and already they were experiencing transformation.
I am so proud of him.
And for his sake, I bit my tongue and didn’t tell him anything about the world news.
The aim of this programme is for the men to learn simple but hard things. Like how to let go, how to slow down, how to forgive, how to calm the mind, how to find clarity. They are there to deepen their meditation practice and to develop lifestyle habits that will help them find the path and walk towards inner peace.
Steve told me the resident monks bring to the group a wealth of real world experience, pre-monk career histories and notable education in all types of disciplines as well as Buddhism. This international monastery’s mission is to help find world peace through inner peace.
For me, I spent a week in a meditation retreat, the same one as Steve and I attended last year, which is attached but separate to the monastery he’s in now. I joined monk talks and meditations that helped me find stillness during this time when we are all, once again, living in chaos and fear. The wisdom of Buddhist philosophy has resonated with me for many years now. It’s so relevant and applicable to any situation and any time of life. It’s always nice to be reminded of the dhamma.
And it got me thinking. I wonder if our world ‘leaders’ ever meditate. Honestly, wouldn’t the world be a better place if they all attended a meditation retreat and learnt some solid, basic goodness from ancient wisdoms? If they filled their souls and bodies with loving kindness?
Don’t you agree?
Or even for them to do a full-on retreat like Steve’s doing. Imagine if ‘men’ like Trump, his administration team, Netanyahu and Putin – leaders who can’t reach agreements at negotiation tables and instead lead us forever onto battlefields – could live as monks for a while. It’s a futile dream, I know, but methinks the world would be a better place.
🧘🤲ॐ💙☮