Path to enlightment.

Buddhist monk returns to life after four years in retreat Here!
And...Here!
Enlightenment (spiritual), a final blessed state free from ignorance, desire and suffering.
• Buddhism is one of the world’s most tolerant and logical faiths, marked out by its non-violence and lack of dogma
• There is no worship of a God, Individuals seek their own path to enlightenment, or Buddha-hood
• Buddhists do not believe in a pre-ordained fate, everyone is offered the possibility of change
• Buddhism is essentially positive: it regards people as naturally good
• There are three main aspects to Buddhist practice: doing no harm; wholesome actions; and training the mind through meditation

Day in the life


3.45am Gong wake-up call

3.45am-6.20am Shower, then first session of solitary meditation

6.30am-7am Group prayers

7am-8.30am Breakfast. Monks use this time to have a nap, walk or do some chores

8.30am-11.45am 3 hours and 15 minutes of meditation in own room

11.45am-1.30pm Lunch. Food is vegetarian and plain. Sometimes the monk on cooking duty would make a birthday cake for someone

1.30pm-3.35pm Meditation

3.45pm-4.45pm Group meditation practice

5pm-6.30pm Group chanting

6.30pm-7.30pm Evening meal. Once a month the monks would receive letters from home

7.30pm-9.45pm Meditation in own room. No books or novels are allowed other than Buddhist texts

10pm-11pm Prayer in own room

11pm Bedtime. The monks sleep upright in a meditation position in their prayer box, or lie on a blanket