Buddhism was founded by Gautam Buddha and he founded the order of Buddhist monks and nuns. The daily life of Buddhist monks is laid out in such a way that it makes them refined to increase mindfulness and wisdom. The Buddhist monks are not allowed to have any personal means of support. So, they need to seek alms which make them contemplate and understand the things that are really necessary in life.
In this article we will know how Buddhist monks live.
The daily routine of Buddhist monks is pretty much the same every day. Buddhist monks live a life of simplicity and monastic dedication to the Buddhism religion.
Every day Buddhist monks wake up at 4 am and they meditate for an hour. Then they chant for the next one hour.
At 6 am the monks walk in the neighborhood barefoot. At this time local people offer them food which is also known as alms. After collecting alms they return and pray in the building which contains the main Buddha image while the food is being prepared.
At 8 am a monk hits a gong several times indicating that the food had been cooked and it’s time to eat. Then monks sit together and the food tray is brought to the elder monk. Everyone prays and "krap" (krap is closing the palms of hands together and lowering the body to ground) three times. Then the monks start having the meal. Monks eat a little bit of each plate so that each person who had offered food can receive some merit. After finishing the breakfast they make a blessing for world peace.
The second and last meal of the day is eaten before noon. At 11.30 am monks enter the Sala and eat the food that is leftover from the first meal. Before sitting to eat monks pray towards the Buddha statue in the Sala. While eating two monks share one tray.
At 1 pm monks go to school or university to study Dharma. They study up to 6 pm.
Monks who do not study, meditate in the afternoon. At 3 pm they do laundry and clean temple.
At 6 pm the monks pray again for two hours in the building which contains the main Buddha image.
At 8 pm the monks retire to do homework.
Besides these duties monks are also given specific duties for the proper running and maintenance of the temple and its surrounding.
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