Stay in a monastery

“I entered my cosy bedroom, and the first thing that I noticed wasn’t the breath-taking view from the spectacularly clean space, but the sudden shift in energy that I was feeling. There was an irrefutable positivity in the atmosphere. No amount of luxury could compete with the peaceful environment of the monastery. The next few days, I spent time with the head monk of the monastery, Sonam La, who remains a good friend even today. We would sit together and he would educate me about the tenets of Buddhism. Apart from the teachings he preached, what struck me most was his nonchalance about his revered position. In fact, he was as enamoured by my modernised life as I was by the simplicity of his.”

“At 4.30am the next morning the bell went in the corridor, and I got up and headed back to Dhamma hall for about an hour of chanting and meditation. I had’t quite sussed out the way to sit on the floor properly yet, so spent most of the time thinking what my life would be like if I lost both my legs and the use of my back, both of which were on fire with pain and discomfort. I was lucky to get the opportunity to really stretch out my legs and get the blood flowing again as morning chores was at 6.15am. No scrubbing toilets or waxing cars for me, just a little bit of hovering. Breakfast at 8am, then usually free time up until the meal at 11.30am, then afternoon tea at 5pm. Evening puja at 7.30pm.”