How many hours each week are spent in solitary confinement?
The word ‘confinement’ suggests being shut up in a room somewhere. Our life is based on contemplation and reflection – these are individual, solitary pursuits but don’t involve physical confinement. Theravada Buddhism was set up by the Buddha in such a way (specifically in relation to the need to collect alms food), that monks practising in isolation are not common; there is always some relationship with the laity and other monastics. In the monastery I live in we have a period of silent retreat during January and February (winter) when the whole community devotes a lot of time to formal practice. Quite a lot of this time I would be on my own – in my room or sitting in the temple or going for a walk. In a sense I am ‘confined’ within my own body and mind in that I don’t engage socially with others. Do you feel that the monastic life is introvert and world-denying? In Buddhism we say that ‘the world arises right here, in this body and mind’. All your experiences are totally personal and
Related Questions
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