Buddhist Tasks
Many people ask me, "What is a Buddhist monk’s daily routine? What does their day look like?" I answer their question by telling them that every monk’s routine is different. How the routine is set out varies from temple to temple. As a rough guide, I tell them that the general routine usually consists of the following:
Monks get up at about 3.00 am, 4.00 am, or 5.00 am. They have breakfast at 7.00 am. At some temples, the monks eat one meal a day, so they eat brunch. That is at about 9.00 am, or 10.00 am. After breakfast, they do morning chanting and meditation. In some temples, the monks do morning chanting and meditation early in the morning at 3.00 am, 4.00 am or 5.00 am. They eat lunch at 11 am. This is last meal for the Theravada monks. From afternoon onwards, they don’t eat solid food. They only drink water, or a cup of tea. They finish their day at 6.00 pm by performing evening chanting and leading meditation. In the time between these activities, they complete the following main tasks:
Study: Monks can study from two perspectives on life which can be described as two different worlds. Firstly is the outside world, for example studying from works of others, such as reading scripture, listening to teachings, attending school, colleges, or university. Secondly is the inside or internal world. For example, monks can study or observe their own sensations, emotions and feelings, so that they can understand what type of people they are. If they discover some habit of theirs which is not good for themselves or others, they change it for the better.
Practice meditation: Throughout his life a monk practices meditation and, in Buddhism, there are many types of meditation and methods of practice. Monks just learn them and put them into practice in their life.
Teaching people who want to understand the Buddhist way of life: The Buddha told his followers to convey his words to the world. He said, "Go monks, teach the world to understand my words. But don’t teach them to believe." In Buddhism there is no conversion. The Buddha’s advice just gives freedom to the world to learn and practice his teachings.
In summary, following the Buddha’s advice, in the early days of Buddhism monks were required to fulfill two main tasks; study Dhamma and practice meditation. As time progressed more people wanted to follow the Buddhist way of life. Therefore, out of his loving kindness and compassion, the Buddha added one last task which was to teach people to understand his way of life. This is an excellent addition, because if we want to follow something, we must understand it first. Otherwise, we can fall into danger, or believe and practise the wrong thing. With right understanding, we can make progress in learning and practice. These three tasks are not only limited to ordained monks, the lay people, or Lay-Buddhists can follow them as well. Lay-Buddhists are equally devotees of the Buddha and they should follow as much as the same monastic routines, or tasks as they can.
It is said that a good student, or follower should learn to understand for him or herself; should experiment and put his or her understanding into practice and help others to understand. These are good tasks, aren’t they?
