How to practice like a monastic in lay life

[Kyle Sorys]

Dear Venerable Sirs,

For the longest time, I have been curious on how a monk goes about a typical day and how I could develop a similar routine in lay life. Could you please describe in detail the daily routine of a monk, specifically the morning and evening practices. Also, I would appreciate any advice you can give on how a layperson can incorporate monastic practice into his or her life. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for this forum. It is truly a valuable resource and I cannot thank you enough for the time, effort, and guidance that all of you provide.

With much metta,
Kyle

[Ajahn Brahmali]

Dear Kyle,

If you really want to practice like a monastic, you are probably better off becoming one!

Anyway, here are some basic ideas on how we live: get up at a suitable time to practice meditation. If you wish to get up very early, make sure you go to bed in good time so that you get enough sleep. I know, this is just common dsense, but sometimes people get too idealistic.

At the monastery we then do some physical work for 2-3 hours, 4 days a week. This is mixture of self-interest and charity work. This is great to keep the body in reasonable shape, and it gives one a sense of contentment that one is doing something for others. This is very useful as support in one's meditation practice.

We study the Buddhist scriptures (suttas) and sometimes learn Pali, the language of the scriptures. This is the inspirational and intellectual aspect of monastic life. Then there is meditation when you are not doing anything else. The number of hours one meditates per day varies a lot, and depends on one's schedule otherwise.

On the material side, we have one or two meals a day (both before noon), live a celibate life, do not use entertainment and otherwise have a simple lifestyle.

For most people it is impossible to live lay life like a monastic. That's why there is monastic life. Then there is the seclusion of a forest monastery and the extremely important spiritual friendship of monks who have gone a long way on the path and other fellow monastics. If you want to live like a monastic, the only option, really, is to become one!

Wit metta.

[Kyle Sorys]

Dear Ajahn Brahmali,

Thank you for the reply. I understand that to fully practice like a monastic, I need to live that life. I often aspire to become a monk but just don't see how that is possible given my current situation with health issues and student debt. I asked the above question because I'm looking to develop a more structured morning and evening routine that resembles one of a monk. When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? How about after that? What about walking meditation and chanting? I occasionally chant from a chant book on accesstoinsight.org but would like to make it a regular practice. What specific chants do you recommend a practitioner such as myself perform each morning and evening? Also, how do you suggest one go about studying the suttas? I assume just reading and familiarizing oneself with them is the main key, but do you have any tips beyond that? Apologies for all the questions but I would really like to emulate what you and all the other monasitcs do on a daily basis. It is such an inspiration to me. Any further advice you have on how to develop a more structured practice, especially a morning and evening routine, would be much appreciated.

With much metta,
Kyle

[Ajahn Brahmali]

Dear Kyle,

I start the morning with meditation, but I don't do any chanting. If you wish to start the day with meditation, make sure you are fully awake before you sit on your cushion. Perhaps you need have a cup of tea or coffee first of all.

If you enjoy chanting, you can do that too. I would recommend chanting in English so that you understand what you are saying, or at least familiarize yourself with the meaning of the Pali. This can then be an excellent way of reflecting on the Dhamma. The Metta-sutta is great, as are the Mahamangala-sutta and the Ratana-sutta. I always recommend chanting the suttas of the most ancient part of the Pali canon. You can also do walking and chanting together. It's really up to you. Anything that makes you more peaceful, kind, and knowledgeable about the Dhamma is a good thing.

A good place to start studying the suttas is Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's anthology "In the Buddha's Words". The translations are very reliable and there is a lot of material such as introductions and endnotes to help you comprehend the content. Beyond that you can simply start reading the Nikayas one by one.

Good luck!

With metta.