My few weeks at a monastery in Tibet

Life in the city is busy with full of distractions, these distractions are feeding our mind and we can't see it clear unless we give some time to ourselves. The best way to see ourselves is not in a mirror but by staying alone with ourselves and being aware. 

A few days ago a question popped into my mind.

When the body gets dirty, we can take shower.

When the mind gets dirty, where can we take shower?

I would like to share my little experience at a monastery in Tibet for a few weeks. I hope it gives some benefits to all the Travelers. May merit brings world peace and happiness to all beings. 

As great Nagarjuna said: if you want to be at ease, forsake learning. If you want to learn, forsake ease.

As great Shantideva said: A person who always thinks about others, even if he is in hell, he will feel like he is in heaven. A person who only thinks about himself, even if he is going towards the path to enlightenment, will feel like he is going towards hell. 

Above great proverbs tells us that we cant expect happiness without taking some suffering.

Going to a monastery on the mountain in the winter was not easy if we compare to living in a city where as long as we have money, anything can be a few clicks away.

It was difficult to adjust at the beginning, difficulty water in the toilet, no shower for nearly a month and no any friends to chat, having potatoes for weeks and cold wind of the winter but I would like to call this as one of the best gifts I have given to my self in this whole year. 

In city life, we can wash our body every day when it gets dirty but we have difficulty in washing the dirt off our minds.

When people are in a business, people might say I paid this and pay me this from the mouth but the actual price no one says truthfully. Even if they do, they might get closed business in a few days or weeks. 

In the business world, everyone goes a little zigzag and that is naturally making our minds dirty. It becomes dirtier and we have no time to clean. People start to drink beer or go out for fun at night hoping things get better but it only works for a few hours and the next day dirt is there again and we play with our self and that is how life works in the city.

Heart disease, stress are making the Spiritual business better. Many fake Gurus and people even use so much wisdom of Buddha without giving single credit to him and selling it with copyrights, they are living a nice life but that is also for some time only since everything is impermanent as Buddha said.

People love to talk about Buddhism, especially the high teachings when they are feeding their ego every day. It is very easy to discuss Buddha Dharma when you are having the best meals and giving everything your mind order to you but when you go somewhere in a remote place like a mountain, things are different. You cant feed everything your mind order to you and it's great that you see how slave you are of your mind. That is already some improvement.  Now we are seeing this someone who likes to say there is no self and no mind and yet that someone is obeying everything someone orders.

A person asked me: what is feeding Ego?

My answer was: Anything that makes us become more selfish, anything that lets us go far from the truth is feeding Ego. 

My intention was just to share my experience at the monastery but when you write, all these things come randomly.

Photo: Mandala

I spent a few weeks alone and I have found that it was one of the best times of the whole year since I was fully focused on myself. Most importantly completely focus on my thoughts.

As great Jetsun Milarepa said: One can throw a stick to Dog many times and Dog will still go to catch it but one can only throw a stick to Lion one time and after that Lion turns at the thrower. 

These teachings from Great Yogis are so useful when you stay alone and you even appreciate your breath which you don't even care when you are busy in the city. You appreciate the taste of potato without salt. In the city, there is so many Masala in that potato that you even don't know what is the taste of potato.  

We become more appreciated and that is the main key to happiness.

We suffer because we think next is better since we have so many options to choose in city life and thinking next is the door to suffering but when you are in remote, there is No many Next, you have to adjust and you become more Now instead of Next. 

Lying on the bed, having some pizza, and watching movies are the habits we acquire in City life and these habits naturally make us lazy. Lazy can't help anyone, not even to ourselves.

Staying at the mountain without movies and pizza has given me a chance to change my habits to waking early and sleeping early. Trying vegetarian for weeks and eating less is healthy for both mind and body.

At least for a few weeks, I am not hurting anyone since I am alone.

Instead of movies, I am getting chances to read books and chances to do more breath meditation so I find this as one of the best gifts I have given to myself for the entire year.

I would like to recommend everyone who is like me, working busily in the city life to find  7 - 30 days somewhere peaceful for a time to get know about our self. 

Thank you for reading about my few week's experience at a monastery in Tibet. Once again may merit brings world peace and happiness to all beings.