How To Become A Monk In Singapore

At 24 years former, Venerable Shi You Wei already knew what he wanted to do in life.

It was to become a monk.

However, the former National Academy of Singapore (NUS) student was on a semester-long commutation program then, and still had a number of hurdles to overcome earlier he would become who he is today.

Right at present, still, the 43-yr-onetime abbot (a.thou.a head of the monastery) of Buddhist temple Di Zang Lin sits earlier me.

Only likewise that, Ven. Shi is likewise a licensed union solemniser, the religious advisor for Nanyang Polytechnic Buddhist Society, and a business organization administration caste holder.

Saving upwards money for monkhood

The conclusion to pursue monkhood at 24 was neither fleeting nor fragile.

In fact, it stemmed from a thoughtful place -- one that foresaw a predictable, routine future that he didn't want.

Just Ven. Shi was not running away from the ix-to-5 life. Instead, the then-youth was actively chasing a path he plant meaning in.

"I was thinking if I were to alive a life where we earn money at the start of the month and spend it all by the end of the month, it's kind of the same routine everyday. I wanted to practice something more meaningful than that."

Simply Ven. Shi's parents were not on lath with his choice for various reasons, with i of them being the expectations he had to uphold as the eldest son of the family.

"For Chinese families, they would unremarkably think that the eldest son would have to bear the family lineage, so there was a bit of a concern at that place."

For the uninformed, ordained Buddhist monks and nuns are required to remain celibate.

And and so there were other concerns like who was going to have care of him in one case he's older, and whether he was making the decision on a whim.

"They idea information technology was an impulsive decision and asked me: 'Would you lot last long enough?'"

As his parents were still unconvinced, he went on to finish his degree and worked for a couple of years in a managerial position at a nursing dwelling, and then some other few years in a secretarial position for a private organisation.

"I was planning to go into monkhood and then I needed to save up a bit of money, or at least give the money to my family. It'south to let them know that I'g not running abroad from normal living, that I can survive. Information technology's but that I chose a dissimilar kind of path."

Abrupt "promotion" to head of the temple

Ven. Shi renounced his laity (or "ordinary life") to officially get a monk five years afterwards, when he was just 29 years old.

Photo by Fasiha Nazren

In order to obtain college ordination, his tonsure master sent him to Taiwan's Chung Tai Monastery in 2005, the very year he was ordained.

Tonsure masters are senior monks who are also mentors to the younger monks.

However, that period was brusque-lived as Ven. Shi had to return to Singapore in 2006, following the demise of his tonsure master.

Returning to Singapore to essentially manage a temple was definitely an overwhelming experience for Ven. Shi.

"When I was in Taiwan, everyday was a stock-still routine where I just had to follow instructions. But when I got back to Singapore, suddenly I was the head of the temple."

Serving the community

Eventually, Ven. Shi managed to ease into the role and introduced some changes into the temple, including giving away annual bursary awards to needy students and forming the DZL Volunteer Corp, which helps to deliver free dinner and ration to needy families weekly.

The needy residents of Marine Terrace are one such case of the temple's beneficiaries.

Ven. Shi with bursary award recipients. Photo from Di Zang Lin's Facebook page.

While it's not easy to run things on such a calibration, Ven. Shi stresses that seeing the beneficiaries grinning and waiting eagerly is worth all the effort.

"There was this oldah po (grandmother) who chosen me and asked: 'Are yous coming? We're waiting for your food!' Instances similar this reassures u.s.a. that there's somebody who needs united states, that what we do is of help for someone else."

Just similar running any organization

And as one would expect, working in a monastery is slightly different from an role job.

A day in a monastery typically begins at 4:30am and is packed with religious chores like daily prayers and the changing of offerings.

The day usually ends late into the evening, betwixt 7pm to 9pm, where devotees come up to pray or seek advice from the monks.

And then there'south besides personal chores that the monks have to settle -- like their laundry, for example.

Otherwise, running a temple, according to Ven. Shi, is exactly like running whatever other organisation -- pregnant his business degree definitely didn't go to waste.

"As a registered charity, nosotros still accept to churn out a lot of reports and I still demand to check ledgers and balance sheets. There'south however some fiscal planning involved."

Facebook and Instagram for the modern monk

Besides the operations and direction side of things,  Ven. Shi too receives the occasional tough request pertaining to death, which includes funeral arrangements and end-of-life advice.

And in that location were moments in his line of duty which required him to see dead bodies.

"I remember going to a funeral of a deceased who died of a drowning incident. It was very different seeing his photograph and and so seeing his body as a drowning victim. The boy was a Chinese national studying in Singapore, so it struck me fifty-fifty more."

Another challenge on the job is to find the correct balance as a monk in the public middle, versus the traditional expectations of a monk.

To keep up with the times, for example, Ven. Shi has started managing his own Facebook page.

"I don't have an Instagram business relationship still, only I'm looking into that.With technological advancement[southward] and noesis, blind religion has been replaced by the need to testify show for some of the concepts of Buddhism.

Hence, in that location is a claiming of distinguishing between what is fact and what is false news and that is why getting the lay people to be empathetic readers is of import."

And of course, sustaining the educational activity of Buddhism and finding new monks for leadership roles have been a struggle as less local youngsters are willing to take up the robes.

Sacrifice personal fourth dimension for others

Upon renouncing laity, Buddhist monks have to surrender certain things including wedlock, a meat-based diet and entertainment, amidst other things.

But for Ven. Shi, the principal sacrifice he had to make was to give upward his personal time for his devotees.

"When we renounce our laity, we're essentially giving up our life for the sake of others. Information technology'south difficult to turn people down considering they wouldn't be looking for us if information technology wasn't a need. When there's a need and we plow them down, where else tin can they become?"

Some other thing he had to become used to was not being able to spend as much time with his family unit.

This is because monks are not encouraged to spend too much time at abode, for fear that they may long for the life of a layperson.

Chinese New Twelvemonth, for example, is now celebrated differently.

"I would just go back dwelling house when the temple doesn't take any events going on, a few days earlier or later the celebration. I'd come up back in the morn to sit effectually, conversation and eat something with them."

But when he does have a sliver of time to himself, he seeks solace in meditating and having some quiet fourth dimension to himself.

"Why did you go a monk? Did your girlfriend ditch you?"

Whenever Ven. Shi travels in public, he shares that he will often receive stares and the occasional unsolicited question.

"Some accept also come up to me and asked: 'Why did you become a monk? Did your girlfriend ditch you?'"

And he gets especially more stares when he drives around to run errands.

Afterwards all, seeing a monk decked in an orange robe and with a clean-shaved crown driving a automobile isn't a common sight.

"People accept asked me how I can afford the car. The truth is, the motorcar belongs to the temple and is likewise driven past the other temple staff. Information technology'southward more cost-efficient compared to taking a cab and I become to fit more things into a day's schedule."

Ultimately a fulfilling job

While being a monk remains an underrated job (in fact, some might not even see it equally a job), Ven. Shi has never regretted the decision he made at a rather young historic period.

"The lives we change, the lives we touch and the dharma we teach keeps me going. The moment people learn something that they can use in their daily living, at least in that location is value in our beingness here; it's how we effect and affect others."

To him, the sacrifices he has fabricated to impart the teachings of Buddhism makes the job all the more fulfilling.

"We are like a lamp: Nosotros burn ourselves and everybody else gets to enjoy the lite."

Top image past Fasiha Nazren

Source: https://mothership.sg/2019/05/becoming-buddhist-monk-singapore-degree/

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