There are many people who don’t want to (or cannot) ordain. However, the prospect of working 9 to 5, having bills to pay and all the responsibilities and duties that society imposes on you doesn’t seem attractive either. The average lay life often feels like “every single inch of you is somebody’s claim” to borrow a line from poet and lyricist Kae Tempest in their song “Salt Coast”. At least that’s my impression.
I’m interested in exploring ways of life for lays who are serious about stepping outside ‘mapped territory’. What are some possible options? Part-time jobs that allow you to have time for practise and study? Going self-sustaining in the countryside? Extended stays at monasteries?
I chose Walden as a thread title because this work by Thoreau had a profound impact on me when I read it as a teenager. I always thought that
seclusion/ solitude (at least temporarily) and
time sovereignity are vital aspects of life.
I have some ideas and experiences that I could share but I would like to see what people come up with.
Is there a ‘middle way’ between living like a monastic and lay life?
A similar and very inspiring thread can be found here:
Some places (for example Antaiji in Japan) allow for extended stay in monasteries free of charge / contributing by working for the monastery. Quite a few Theravadin monasteries also have such accommodations I’m heard but I can’t say any places that I know.
Personally I’m pursuing the “Work with texts and translations and beg for a funding” approach. I’ll let you know how it works out.
Serving and residing in a Wat is a great way for a layperson to be immersed in daily dhamma.
DIY out of community is fraught and high risk of disappearing into akusala practice. It can also have high rewards after serious training. It allows some low cost of living options eg tiny house off the grid allowing part time work and lots of mediation time. Best I heard of was working only 24days in a year covering all expenses; but with no car, no new clothes, no holidays and very basic food via bulk purchase of dry staples with all fruit/veges/goats milk home grown. The goats did the mowing/brushcutting/weeding and fertilizing. Hard core. Not sustainable with any health issues or aging. Not recommended except in exceeding rare circumstances.
There is a webpage Go Fund Me. But you need to entertain your sponsors, keeping them up-to-date and stuff
Sounds very interesting. I know of a couple who live close to a monastery where I live and are associated with it. They basically do that and live off the land. It’s hard work! I also see aging and illness as two major potential dangers to that kind of lifestyle. If you don’t have enough savings, you’ll end up living on welfare.
I think there are more options for lay people especially if you don’t have kids. It’s also possible (though pretty hard) to turn back time in terms of technical devices. There’s a lot of potential for cutting down and reducing distraction.
Got any special skills or knowledge? Basically, if a person isn’t independently wealthy or retired, then they would need to find a niche in the consultant or creative class to have that kind of freedom. It’s not very secure, although some manage to get themselves into cozy arrangements as contractors for large companies. The difficult thing is that the existence of such people is under constant attack. The bean counters are always trying to eliminate us from their expenses reports … the latest assault is AI tools replacing creative people. Basic writing is automated now. Art is automated. Music is also automated to more and more of an extent. It’s crazy times … Artisan work can still work. They don’t have blacksmithing or glass bowing robots yet …
Anything hand crafted with specialty and care is booming, to be honest…
Intellectual creativity still brings money, but yeah, just not under “cozy arrangements as contractors” anymore. It’s all social media and finding your own specific niche. Basically, you need to be really obsessed with what you’re doing in a unique way enough to play the numbers game.
All said and done, it’s probably even harder and more stressful than a 9-to-5. To be honest, most menial 9-to-5 jobs sound more cozy than catering to Instagram comments…
In terms of income generation for lay aspirants looking at supporting a lifestyle of less consumerism and more bhavana in the woods, the core revelation in budget balancing may be how expenses can plummet.
Living a minimalist lifestyle with modest expenses can allow living at ease on a much lower income.
For those wanting early retirement with home ownership or savings, the passive income from renting or investment would ideally meet all living expenses while increasing the investments. That allows a financial gain with a risk free option of returning home if circumstances or preferences change.
For those with minimal resources needing to work, the human service sector eg in home aged care is a growing sector that is AI resistant. It will be some time before robots can take over in-home care. Rural areas are likely to have strong demand in the foreseeable future. The aging population and real lack of services in rural areas predicts a growth sector. Part time work schedules fit in with time for bhavana. This work may not be well remunerated financially but is rewarded with important benefits for a Buddhist in terms of Right Livelihood, developing patience and compassion while contemplating aging sickness and death.
For some in their 50’s made redundant by AI this service career option could make the difference between long term unemployment and a new life.
I think the Buddha expected laypeople to work and contribute to society. Wrong livelihood for a lay follower is defined as business in weapons, beings, meat, poisons, or intoxicants (AN 5.177). The Buddha gave several teachings on living a good lay life which includes learning and becoming skilled in a profession (AN 8.54).
Living a lay life that is more renunciate-inclined is possible. Wake up early before work to study and practice. During work, practice when it is appropriate—any human interaction is an opportunity to practice metta, for example. After work, study and practice some more. Go on retreats and visit monasteries when you can. Gradually, happiness increases, suffering decreases, and an abundance-mindset becomes established. Human lay life is seen as a potentially good place for practice instead of an impediment. Sure, it’s not the ideal lifestyle for practice that monasticism can be, but it can still be excellent since laypeople can attain the penultimate stage of enlightenment.
Another option is to study and train for a high income profession, work hard, pay off your debts, save money, become wealthy enough to retire early, and set up more ideal conditions for independent practice. And you can still live a renunciate-inclined lifestyle in your working years.
So far there have been some good suggestions. I have never volunteered at a monastery though I know people who have. Maybe I should try that out. To go more ‘renunciate’ and work less, one can have a passive income (there are e.g. ETF’s that support companies that invest in sustainability and ethic labor/economy). With the prospect of having to work another 30 years, I think cutting down on expenses to save money for later is a good idea - so that’s hashtag minimalism.
I have a qualification that allows me to get better paid in the sector I work in (which is otherwise helplessly underpaid) and have found one of those cozy contractors
but as @cdpatton said:
In my case it’s called supply and demand and the supply-part has to do with government funding.
Right now business is ok but the government has already decided to cut funds in the sector I work in.
That would have been a great advice to my younger self Right now I can’t see that happening.
That’s a good suggestion and I actually thought about that. There surely is a huge demand in many societies.
Care to elaborate what you mean by akusala practise? Do you mean like becoming some sort of outlaw if the dhamma practise has not been firmly established?
Without long and excellent training, meditating alone for extended periods can easily lead towards unskillful practice. Meditation is not an automatically beneficial process. Plenty of meditators have got lost. Usually without any awareness they were heading down the wrong track, but rather with confidence they were on the right path. Such is māna. Most of us benefit from contact with a teacher and community to keep us on track with feedback.
Furthermore any social isolation is a risk factor for mental issues..
This is well know in the monastic community, just as it was 2,500 years ago. Funny how little people change.
So staying in a monastery has multiple advantages. Its good to begin asap with eg a stay for a week. If there is a Forest Monastery with actual forest you can benefit from both worlds. When is your next vacation due?
See MN81 Ghaṭikārasutta. About a disciple of a former Buddha who was a potter and supported his parents and the Sangha without using money.
Ghaṭīkāra has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha. He doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or consume beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants. He has experiential confidence in the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha, and has the ethics loved by the noble ones. He is free of doubt regarding suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. He eats in one part of the day; he’s chaste, ethical, and of good character. He has set aside gems and gold, and rejected gold and currency. He has put down the shovel and doesn’t dig the earth with his own hands. He takes what has crumbled off by a riverbank or been dug up by mice, and brings it back in a carrier. When he has made a pot, he says, “Anyone may leave bagged sesame, mung beans, or chickpeas here and take what they wish.” He provided for his blind old parents. And since he has ended the five lower fetters, Ghaṭīkāra will be reborn spontaneously and will become extinguished there, not liable to return from that world.
In theory, whenever I wish because I’m a freelancer but I have to fulfill my contracts first, so that’ll be July at the earliest. There actully is a small forest monastery pretty close to where I live so that might be a good start. Thanks for the advice!
I’ve heard that some monasteries have people permanently living on the property as some kind of janitor: They help with anything that comes up: repairing stuff, driving the monastics from A to B, handling money etc. Sounds great.
Being a freelancer you might have the privilege of being able to deepen your practice on uposathas. If you were able to take the 4 quarters moon days either staying at your local forest monastery or in a location away from your normal distractions; then that would equal 52 days of retreat a year. Which is a lot more than most lay people manage.
This is the in-between which the Buddha recommends.
Finding a community to do this in person with would be best, but if not maybe you can form a group online to keep accountable and share experiences with.
Yes, I have a comparably high flexibility regarding my work schedule so this can be done! I never thought of it that way! It makes sense - thank you for pointing this out!
When the pandemic kicked in and everything was shut down, I was able to stay at an old farmhouse in a village for about a month due to lucky circumstances. No TV, no kitchen, no fridge - hardly any distractions. Just working (remote), reading and taking walks in the surrounding woods. It was wonderful!
If there’s one thing the pandemic was good for is that companies realized that a lot of work can be done as remote jobs (at least partly). This can save a lot of time (e.g. less commuting).
