How to Become a Monk | All you need to know about Monkship
There has been lots of mystries about monks that many seem to be unaware of. Many people have wished to become monks and others have always related monkship to high religious asceticism.
Definitely it is of utmost importance people get to know the definition of basic terms related to monkship and understand the necessary steps on how to become a monk
Who is a Monk:
A Monk is some one who abstains from activities in the society to only focus on religious activities. Monks are mostly males and a very few females become monks.
Wikipedia in one of its articles explained a monk as a person who practices religious asceticism by living monastically, either alone or with any number of other monks.
Benefits of becoming a Monk
One will ask him or her self why becomming a monk is important and why one should become a monk. The truth is that there are always benefits, of becomming a monk, pretty funny right ?.
Actually the main reason of becomming a monk is to work under a higher religious authority. For example becoming a Buddha or catholic monk is almost equated to as serving God or a country.
How to become a Monk
This is the area most readers will be intrested in. In the above outline the benefits and meaning of a monk was explained in details but to cash into the listed benefits you actually need to know hoe to become a monk.
Below are what to do to become a monk
- living in spiritual, physical, and philosophical devotion to your chosen faith
- Deep commitment to spiritual growth and development
- Involvement in daily study
- Engagment in prayer sessions several times a day
- Embodiment of your faith in every aspect of your life
- Dedication to celibacy
Below are steps you must follow in your quest to become a monk:
Living in spiritual, physical, and philosophical devotion to your chosen faith:
The main duty of a monk is to concentrate on religious activities of the proposed monk chosen faith. Considering this as one of the most important reason one wished to become a monk, he or she must there fore devote to his or her faith.
The Catholic monks aim is to serve God and the Buddhist monks is to serve Buddha of which one of the one must restrain from any wordly distractions or his or her desires.
Deep commitment to spiritual growth and development
Critical i must confess. But the truth is that if there is no growth or development there is never progress and this applies to Monkship as it applies to normal life.
It is required that every person who wish to become a monk must be commited to grow and develope spiritually. That is to say if there no plan to develop spiritually you have to forget about been a monk.
Involvement in daily study
Monks are also known for their prudent study rate. To get the numbers right a monk is expected to study on the average of 12 hours a day. studying for 12 hours is tantamount to studying through out half of the day.
Imagine studying for this long in a quite and lonly place, lol.. You can stop imagining now because this is the reality of becoming a monk. Infact monks are always seen as the most wise and intelligent set of people in the universe.
Engagment in prayer sessions several times a day
When you have religion you must have prayers in association. Monkship is all about religion that means you must be very good in praying.
All monk aspirans should note that Mass and the worship of God formed the heart of a monk’s life. Communal prayers averaged about five hours per day, while private prayer and contemplation could take up to four further hours.
Embodiment of your faith in every aspect of your life
Now, in this case every monk must always have a dedicated faith. That is to say he or she could be a conc believer of the faith such a person is practicing. Every monk must always represent his faith even in his or her phisical appearance.
For example Monks in the Roman Catholic church wear a tunic, a cincture, a hooded scapular, and, for the Liturgy of the Hours, a mantle (novices) or a cowl (professed monks).
Dedication to celibacy
This might not sound so sweet to some but one of the main characteristics of a monky is cilibacy. Which means all monks dont get married. some times mokship is said to be similar to nunship which is known among the women.
The main reason why moks dont marry is so that they will not have any family related distraction that could be associated with the monks propsed spouse, or even children.
Important questions asked about Monks
Do monks accept gifts?
Not necessarily. Monks do not believe in most conventional ways of life. However, monks can accept gifts in form of food items for services rendered.
Are there monks in the USA?
Yes, there are monks in the USA. Both Catholic and Buddhist monks.
Can I learn how to become a monk online?
There are lots of tutorials online that can help you learn. You can also, join a meditation class.
What do I have to give up to become a monk
Material goods and all worldly possessions.
Can I become a monk if I have been previously married?
Yes, you can. You will need to, however, get a certificate of annulment from the previous marriage, and also complete all obligations you owe to your children if any.
Conclusion
I believe you must have learnt alot about becoming a monk ranging from the who a monk is, how to become a bonk and importance of monkship. The Ball is now in your court if you wish to continue becoming a monk.
Please do well to use the comment section to write what you feel about this post. Also Endeavor to share, because many might want to be a monk today!!!
Last Updated 2 years by
