Staying in a buddhist monastery?

[Cookie Monster]

Hello bums. I've been thinking about clearing my karma with the vajrasattva mantra lately and then I had a dream sort of confirming that.

So I take that as a good omen.

Can anyone recommend a buddhist monastery where I can do just that?
Has anyone here stayed in a monastery and have some experience to share?

It seems many meditation teachers/meditators stay in monasteries at some point but I must admit I know little about this...

 

edit: I live in Norway. I could go to Asia - but not the US.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Ocean Form

[Vajra Fist]

2 hours ago, Ocean Form said:

Hello bums. I've been thinking about clearing my karma with the vajrasattva mantra lately and then I had a dream sort of confirming that.

So I take that as a good omen.

Can anyone recommend a buddhist monastery where I can do just that?
Has anyone here stayed in a monastery and have some experience to share?

It seems many meditation teachers/meditators stay in monasteries at some point but I must admit I know little about this...

 

Most monasteries have week-long or 10 day retreats. The Goenka vipassana lineage is probably the most common in that regard, but if you're interested in vajrayana specifically the Samye Ling monastery in Scotland is very well regarded. Not sure about temples elsewhere in Europe or in the US

[Michael Sternbach]

Ocean Form,

 

I never stayed at a Buddhist monastery, but I meditated with the monks in a Zen temple in Kyoto back in the day.

 

Before that, I once joined a sesshin with a Western Zen monk/teacher conducted in a hotel. It included several hours of zazen practice  over a number of days.

 

I know that some temples and monasteries in Japan offer lay/foreign practitioners the opportunity to join a sesshin as well. A Google search will bring up various options.

 

However, it's quite possible that you could find something like that in your area too.

 

Cheers 

Michael 

[Mark Foote]

I've done a lot of short sesshins at Soto Zen Centers around Northern California.  The practice at these centers is generally summarized as "just sitting".  Mantra recitation would probably not be welcomed, even if you're not reciting out loud--it's  just not their thing.

There are a lot of Shambala centers in the U.S., but my brief experience there (attending a few Saturday sittings and lectures, basically) tells me they would likely prefer you follow their method of instruction and practice, which I don't think includes the mantra (even though it's a fundamental practice in Tibetan schools, according to Wikipedia).

Goenka centers definitely do not allow anything but the practice they recommend.

Ok, here you go--I just googled "vajrasattva mantra Tibetan monastery USA" to find this:

https://www.drepung.org/

 

[refugeindharma]

Where are you currently based? This would be a good thing to know to be able to suggest monasteries closer to you. 

Usually you either stay at a monastery when they hold several day to week long retreats that focus on a specific practice.

 

Or you go and request if you can stay at a monastery and help out/volunteer during this period whilst following their normal daily schedule. Daily schedules vary wildly based on the tradition and head monk/nun who runs the place.

 

Most monasteries who are open to having lay guests generally hold perhaps single-day weekend events every week (or hold retreats every now and then). This is a good opportunity and way to get to know the monastics and also for them to get to know you, thus making it much easier for them to approve of you doing a short-term stay.

 

Some are quite open to guests of any background without much knowledge of the person, whereas others are more selective; after all this is like letting a guest stay at your own house for a few days/weeks. Have a search online and find some monastery websites and whether they have any protocols to apply for short-term stays, generally it's a short form to fill out asking about your intentions, past meditation experiences, status of your physical and mental health etc etc.

 

Best to be open and honest about your plans with the vajrasattva mantra and what you wish to do/accomplish, and honestly, probably better to go to a monastery that is within the tradition that practices with this mantra or is aware of it (although this is not entirely necessary)

 

[Morphius]

Look up Ajahn Acahs monasteries this could give a great real life experience and would be very cheap. S

[Gerard]

On 7/12/2021 at 11:09 PM, Ocean Form said:

edit: I live in Norway. I could go to Asia - but not the US.

 

Thailand & Burma. Really good monasteries there and at one point if you do well and like living in them you could be transferred to centres in the West. 

 

Start here:

 

https://retreat-infos.de/Download/RFAE2010.pdf

 

Good luck!

 

 

[unreasonablyreasonable]

Perhaps stay away from Burma at the moment given there is a war going on but apart from that as Gerard said there is an abundance of monasteries in Thailand.  Not sure about Tibetan lineages though.