I love this surrealistic photo of a aged senior monk passing down wisdom to a novice in the forest where he meditates and resides.
I love forest monks. May they all live long and fulfill their spiritual goals.
Tsem Tulku
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very peaceful and natural..
yes, the forest monks are very special and holy. I love their tradition of meditating in the forets.
tsem tulku
I admire the tradition of forest monks. A friend of mine recently took monk vows for about six months. He said even though it wasn’t easy, it was one of the best things in his life that he’s done for himself and for his parents who have suffered quite a lot. He said that contrary to people’s misconceptions about taking vows, he actually felt very liberated and free during that period of time.
This photo is so so beautiful. Like Dawa Tsering said, it is very peaceful and natural and, I would like to add, very pure. No mind-games, it is what it is – one person humbly passing on the knowledge and mantle to the next generation.
When we can gain so much from such a simple picture, I guess it must be the power of the monk vows and wearing robes. After all, everyone all over the world knows that when you come across someone wearing robes, they are worthy of respect. I don’t know why other people respect monks, but I respect them because we can always trust what they say (like the young monk above trusts the older monk). They have integrity and always do what they say they will. That is something anyone from any religion or tradition can appreciate.
There’s a beautiful movie about Forest Monks in Thailand called “Buddha’s Lost Children” which Rinpoche screened for a few students awhile back.
It’s very interesting to see how close all traditions of Buddhism really are – their methods may differ but their compassion, kindness and love for their students is always consistent. This is the heart of Dharma, after all. It’s quite amazing – this documentary is about how a thai monk chose to set up a monastery in one of the villages bordering Thailand and Cambodia (I think), where society is especially tough and “gangster-ish”.
It chronicles his many efforts to bring Dharma to the people there, and the small motley crew of young child monks that he has taken under his wing to nurture – a beautiful revelation of how Buddhist teachers will work so tirelessly to bring Dharma where there is no support, no money, no nothing. This is how much they are dedicated to bringing benefit to others, no matter where they are.
The forest monk tradition i believe was established by renowned Thai meditator Ajahn Chah and produced many respected monks such as Ajahnbrahmavamso which have big followings in Asia and Western Australia.
I am not so sure of the suitability of their well known novice monks program for younger people like teenagers. I have accounts from two parents whose teens went for such a retreat and a few years later when they went abroad for further studies they returned as Christians saying Jesus message of love is more relevant,joyous and more open.
This may not be the norm but modern day youngsters used to affluence may find the Theravadan training to reduce attachment difficult to apply or to re-adjust once they leave the program.
The ethereal quality of this photo is amazing because it exemplifies the passing of Dharma wisdom from master to student and therefore, it reflects Guru-disciple relationship. A Guru, steeped in his years of learning and spiritual practice passes on his Dharma insights unto a worthy recipient. The little monk resembles us spiritual infants and by the little monk bowing reflects our humility, acceptance, tolerance and perseverance to receive Dharma teachings from the Guru.
The amazing blessings from devoting to a qualified Lama would speed up one’s attainment of full Enlightenment especially when combined with Tantric practices like Vajrayogini. Hence, maintaining such a spiritual relationship is paramount in one’s spiritual practice. This surrender to the Guru becomes a joy and it lead towards spiritual awakening and it is not blind faith because that would imply the Gurus are there to control us for their own self-interest. Hence, qualified Gurus always have the student’s spiritual maturity in mind and would do whatever it takes to bring about awakening.
I believe that the forest monks know much more than certain monks as they know what suffering truly is and they work very hard to become enlightened so that they do not have to suffer any more of the infinite hardships of the prison of Samsara. I also love the picture of the old monk transferring his knowledge to his novice. It reminds me of Kung Fu movies. The monk shows his care for his student in the picture. He transfers all he knows to the novice monk because he knows his time might be up sooner or later so he must provide the last bit of information to his best student so that the student can pass the knowledge to his students and so on and so on. The old monk shows great trust in his novice as when the passing of this knowledge is done, the novice will become the old monks successor. This is another example of true guru devotion!!!
I like this picture very much also, it is serene and re-assuring. An old monk is passing knowledge on to a yonger one that listens with great respect and devotion. In buddhism the tradition of teacher-student is very important, and the lamrim (steps of the path to enlightenment) states that the root of the path is “guru devotion” (guru can be translated as teacher), this devotion is more than a relationship between a student and a teacher in a worldly sense, this is to be understood within the context of spiritual enlightenment, with the higher aim being BUDDHAHOOD. At one point, the faith in the guru is crucial, what faith is that? The faith in the guru having achieved qualities of enlightenment. Why? Because it acts as a cause for us to develop the same qualities. Two aspects in this:
1. If we did not have the potential to be a buddha, we could not recognize one.
2. Because we have recognized the buddha qualities in another being we awaken these qualities in our mindstream.
Forest monks knowledge and experiences they get maybe are different from the monks that have book knowledge. I have notice most forest monks are from the Theravadian School of Buddhism. They are usually Thai monks. Forest monks get their realizations I think from their meditations and contemplations. In my early years in Dharma I know of an Englishman who was ordained in Thailand as a Theravadian monk. And he goes into the forest for more than 3 years. I also remember a Tibetan monk Gen Nyima who stays next to Rinpoche’s Ladrang in Mundgod. I understand he was in the forest for more than 30 years. When he came out from the forest he is able to heal people. He uses a blow pipe to blow on you to bless and heal you. Many Tibetan lay people come to him for healing and blessing. Many sick people come carried by their relatives.
Once one has understood how to observe the various phenomena which arise in the consciousness through the five Khandas, and to see their impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and absence of an inherent quality which is able to be called a self, and to maintain mindful awareness of what is occurring within the heart always.. be it a feeling, a thought, or any Dhamma (Phenomaena), then we have all we need to progress. With Mindfulness, we will spot the impurity within the clinging to notions and feelings, and see the Akusala Dhammas within such activity (Kamma), and thus cultivate our reasons for shying away from such inclinations. Purification and True Sila can only come from Wisdom and Understanding, and the strength of will to persevere against all odds, and conquer ones own heart.
I learned this as a Forest Monk