The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Buddhism by Bradley Hawkins

Author:Bradley Hawkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DK Publishing
Published: 2010-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Life of a Zen Monk

Many of the monks training in the monastery will be there for only a relatively brief period of time. Only a few monks choose to dedicate themselves to the quest for enlightenment and spend their entire lives in the monastery.

The training schedule in Eihei-ji is not for the weak. Although monks in Theravada countries tend to have their own separate living space, monks in Zen monasteries often live in dormitories. Monks are awakened before sunrise and bathe in cold water. Then they proceed to the shrine room and conduct the morning worship service.

Because the earliest writers on Zen in European languages emphasized meditation, often to the point that they ignored or downplayed other aspects of Zen practice, many Europeans and Americans have assumed that Zen is without ritual or scripture. In fact, as is the case in other schools of Buddhism, Zen has many colorful and complex rituals designed to pay homage to the Buddha.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.