-18- Characteristics and Benefits of a Forest Monastery
~ By Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
A forest monastery has to have characteristics like these here; then people can benefit from the arrangement. As a matter of fact, the terms ‘village monastery’ and ‘forest monastery’ have just appeared recently. In the old days, there were only forest monasteries, and all of them were beyond a village or town boundary. During the Buddha’s time, towns were enclosed by walls. At nightfall, the gates on the walls were closed. The ārāmas (monasteries) for the Buddha and the dwellings for other ascetics were all out of town, that is, forest-based. When people live in a forest, surrounded by trees and nature, their thoughts are different from those occurring when they are in a town. The forest is more peaceful and quiet. That’s why ascetics and monks in the Buddha’s time lived out of town, or in forests. Nowadays, monasteries are situated in towns or villages. Some are difficult to distinguish from the compactly surrounding houses of lay-people. But they are still called monasteries.
When you come to a forest, or a forest monastery, you think about how the Buddha lived and befriended nature in those days, and you can meditate better than when you are in a city. Of course you can meditate in a city, or in a theater, too, but with more difficulty. You are considered very proficient if you can meditate well in either place. Anyway, meditating in a forest is supported by a better environment and is easier than in a theater.
That’s a benefit of a forest. It tells why we try to preserve nature – or the characteristics of a forest – as best as we can. We hoped our monastery would be one similar to those which commonly existed in the Buddha’s time. They were simply called ‘monasteries,’ while they actually were forest monasteries for monks who behaved like forest dwellers. They facilitated the training of mind. You can meditate at home, but the environment may not be so supportive. If you’re really smart, you can mentally turn your home into a forest by just closing your eyes and assuming that you are sitting among trees. However, households are usually full of noise from cars outside and other sources, which may not be controllable. If that’s the case, you may have difficulty meditating, and then you realize that households are not so good for meditation as forests.
On the other hand, I would like to ask that you not feel sorry if you cannot come to a forest. Try to shut off your ears, close your eyes, and tune out your other sensory perceptions while at the same time assuming that you are sitting in a forest. You can meditate like this in your bedroom. If you already have had a chance to come to a forest, try to remember how you felt and bring this feeling back home with you, and you can mentally turn your home into a forest without much difficulty. That will be useful, and you can be a proficient meditator. A person with a well-trained mind can mentally turn daytime into nighttime and vice versa. Even when he sits in the bright sunlight, he can feel like he is sitting in the dark. If your mind is well-trained, you too can mentally turn a town into a forest or vice versa. So don’t give up your practice. Most people hold on to the idea that they cannot meditate in a household or in a town. They stop practicing and end up learning nothing. As for you, don’t give up; try as best as you can. Take that experience of staying in a forest and bring that feeling back home. Turn the town into a forest. Staying in a forest is good for meditating, but it may not be too easy for you, and you may not seem so smart. To be really smart, you have to be able to mentally turn wherever you are into a forest and meditate there.
We still have a forest and preserve it as a useful facility as mentioned. With it, we don’t have to fight or invest much for quietness. We can easily stay in tranquility and solitude without having to invest or make an effort. This shows the characteristics and benefits of a forest monastery.
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“24 Benefits of Suan Mokkh,” is a series of weekly posts published to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the foundation of Suan Mokkh in May 1932 in Chaiya, southern Thailand.
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For other Dhamma teachings by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu (audios, free ebooks, interviews, poems), please visit Suan Mokkh – The Garden of Liberation.
Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives collection (Ref. BW-07-072_003)