Everyone Should Try Living Like the Monks
There is a way that almost anyone in 2024 can live the life of a monk for 10 days.
I’m not actually suggesting you find a monastery nearby and ask whoever opens the door if you can move in for a week, but you can have 10 days with a similar daily schedule, delicious food, and a comfy bed…all made free by the charity of others.
What is it?
Vipassana on its face is a silent retreat with around 11 hours a day of intense meditation. Although it has existed for more than 25 centuries, it’s still quite undiscovered, especially in the West. The practice teaches one to develop self-control of one’s mind and ultimately guides them down the path to happiness. The traditional ten-day course can give even more than that, however.
While the technique used and the principles followed by the students of Vipassana can be more than enough to take in, the fundamental experience is a unique detox, in several ways, from a society that seems to be moving a mile a minute.
Brief Disclaimer
Before diving in, I want to give a brief disclaimer that I’ve only completed one ten-day course and am in no way qualified to teach the methods of Vipassana, nor am I claiming to have found “the truth” in a little over a week. I solely want to share what I’ve learned from my Vipassana experience and hope doing so will inspire you to dig a little deeper into the ancient technique, and maybe even try it yourself!
A Hard Reset
Traditionally in tech, a ‘hard reset’ refers to using hardware (i.e., a power button) to restart whatever device one uses. In software engineering, the term has been extended to include any kind of forceful reset, which we generally try to avoid. This is because computers and other pieces of complex technology usually need to go through a series of checks before resetting safely, and hard resets skip these steps, sometimes leading to memory loss and internal damage.
Being a software engineer myself, you might imagine how strange it was for me to embrace the concept of a hard reset these ten days. Instead of resetting a data base or server, however, I was resetting my brain.
Hit the Ground Running (Sitting)
As a computer might be caught off guard by a hard reset, a majority of first-time Vipassana students will face some forceful readjustments in their first few days. There’s no easing into this retreat. Intense daily mental concentration for elongated periods of time is accompanied by an overwhelming silence and deprivation of sensory stimulation.
Even in such an isolated environment, one will initially struggle to empty their mental space. Turning off the mind chatter is one thing, but keeping it off can be very difficult. Fortunately, that’s what this course is here to help you do.
Cognitive Curl Ups
Developing this technique trains certain muscles of the brain. Muscles that enable one to control negative emotions, curb unhealthy cravings, and accept reality as it is.
Buddhism stresses that one should avoid giving personal desires the time of day, whether desiring pleasant sensations to last or unpleasant sensations to stop. Vipassana helps you first to identify these sensations and then to observe them objectively, as a part of nature, rather than in relation to yourself. Doing so separates one from the causes of misery, freeing them to be happy regardless of their situation.
Upon learning about this practice, I originally was slightly dissuaded: “I know I shouldn’t crave 24/7, but a little indulgence here and there is what makes life worth living for!”
You Can Still Eat Ice Cream!
An important realization I had during this course was that striving for nirvana doesn’t mean one can’t still enjoy the pleasures of life. Nothing in the practice discourages pursuing a career you are passionate about or even savoring that bowl of ice cream…it just stresses avoiding craving more ice cream after that bowl is finished.
Unintended Consequences
Beyond the teachings of the course, there are several other inherent benefits of being locked away from society’s chaos for ten days.
No Phones
Some say we are already a species of cyborgs because of how entwined these little pocket computers are in our lives. They deliver info blasts in the morning, act as void fillers throughout the day, and provide an endless array of numbingly therapeutic scrolls at bedtime.
Losing your phone for ten days might be challenging, but being stripped of one of the things we are most attached to serves as an oxygen source in a world submerged underwater (not to mention it’s necessary for the course’s intended benefits to take effect). Without connection to the rest of the world, there’s no FOMO, no distractions, and no expectations from external sources.
No Sensory Stimuli
To further develop an environment of isolation, you are barred from individual entertainment as well. You’re not even allowed to read or write, let alone catch the latest hit on Netflix. Your senses are stripped bare in order to maximize your focus on the practice. If you plan properly and let those who matter know you’re doing this, your mind is free to embrace the beauty of nothingness.
Deep Thinking
I only truly appreciated the importance of nothingness after the retreat drew to an end…as much as I wanted to convince myself I could sit for a half hour and focus my energy on thinking something through, it’s nearly impossible in the age of the Internet.
Although the course schedule is dominated by meditation, there is still some free time each day. Time which I used to think through deeper things that I haven’t had the chance to dive into with the old pace of life — relationships, personal identity, and whether my life is headed in a direction I’m happy with.
Gratitude
Depravity has a unique way of reminding us of what we take for granted, especially the simpler things that are ubiquitous in modern society but were perhaps once luxuries or beyond imagination…things like an intricate fantasy novel, a complex musical piece, or constant social connection with those we care about.
I hope to continue this practice, but even if it wanes over time, I’m grateful I had this ability to reset, if even only for 10 days. It reminded me that despite the seemingly endless turmoil of our world today, we are living in the best time of our species’ existence.
