My call to monkhood
Anthony Umanzor
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Opinion
For some time now I have contemplated to idea of abandoning the cycle one faces here in daily life, the momentary joy, confusion, stagnation, and search for the momentary joy again, in exchange for an inner fulfillment that does not depend on any circumstance. Such a self-removal has led to me to the thought of becoming a monk to fulfill my goal.
A monk is a person who has withdrawn from the world for spiritual reasons. The reason to live a life of renunciation is simple for me, to remove any diversions from finding my true self. A person who smokes and then gives up smoking for a healthier lifestyle gains much more than he or she is renouncing, the same goes for someone who to takes on the philosophies of a monk.
Realizing you true self means understanding our unity with the whole of creation and its creator and with that comes the end of delusion and the door to infinite wisdom and happiness. I do not see a life of a monk as passive or cowardly like some might, rather I understand that it is meant to uplift humanity by uplifting oneself first and showing others the way.
Being on my own spiritual journey, I now see how diving inward can bring about new meaning to a person's life. The feeling of a greater cause for living has definitely taken root deeply in my heart and has made me see things quite differently.
Although I whole-heartedly believe it is possible to live a spiritual life in a society like ours, the discipline to do so must first be attained. The monastic lifestyle gives me that opportunity by removing distractions and utilizing ancient techniques of mediation for growth.
Renunciation reflects the removal of inner conflict as much as it does external conflict, and quite frankly a fast pace life produces a mind very similar. What causes a person to breakdown into depression, commit suicide or console a psychic for life's answers? It is no surprise when people fail to find happiness and fulfillment in a life they've built themselves.
A lifestyle aimed at spiritual advancement, like that of a monk are established in the likeliness of the great masters of the past like Christ and Krishna whose teachings are revered as a transcendental science.
Many around the world are still discovering deeper understandings of the profound teachings of past masters, and I believe humanity will only evolve in a pace according to the amount of enlightened persons it has.
I can't speak for anyone else but the thought of uplifting humanity through our own spiritual awakening seems like the ultimate duty in one's lifetime. A life enthralled in the routine of delusion is a life never really lived at all.
A monk is a person who has withdrawn from the world for spiritual reasons. The reason to live a life of renunciation is simple for me, to remove any diversions from finding my true self. A person who smokes and then gives up smoking for a healthier lifestyle gains much more than he or she is renouncing, the same goes for someone who to takes on the philosophies of a monk.
Realizing you true self means understanding our unity with the whole of creation and its creator and with that comes the end of delusion and the door to infinite wisdom and happiness. I do not see a life of a monk as passive or cowardly like some might, rather I understand that it is meant to uplift humanity by uplifting oneself first and showing others the way.
Being on my own spiritual journey, I now see how diving inward can bring about new meaning to a person's life. The feeling of a greater cause for living has definitely taken root deeply in my heart and has made me see things quite differently.
Although I whole-heartedly believe it is possible to live a spiritual life in a society like ours, the discipline to do so must first be attained. The monastic lifestyle gives me that opportunity by removing distractions and utilizing ancient techniques of mediation for growth.
Renunciation reflects the removal of inner conflict as much as it does external conflict, and quite frankly a fast pace life produces a mind very similar. What causes a person to breakdown into depression, commit suicide or console a psychic for life's answers? It is no surprise when people fail to find happiness and fulfillment in a life they've built themselves.
A lifestyle aimed at spiritual advancement, like that of a monk are established in the likeliness of the great masters of the past like Christ and Krishna whose teachings are revered as a transcendental science.
Many around the world are still discovering deeper understandings of the profound teachings of past masters, and I believe humanity will only evolve in a pace according to the amount of enlightened persons it has.
I can't speak for anyone else but the thought of uplifting humanity through our own spiritual awakening seems like the ultimate duty in one's lifetime. A life enthralled in the routine of delusion is a life never really lived at all.
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