30-day Experience
This 30-day ordination programme will equip you with a comprehensive foundation for living the life of a monk and improving your meditation practice. The training will take place at the International Forest Monastery (iMonastery), designed as a true refuge for international men seeking peace and tranquility walking the path of Dhamma. After the 30-day program, monks can join the Monk 4 Life program, for 3, 6 or 12 month certification programmes to become Meditation Instructors, or stay on day by day as long as they wish.
A forest monastery specially designed for training international monks.
Safe and secure, it is a sanctuary for those ready to go deeper into meditation.
Along with meditation, you participate in monk activities such as alms round for food and the walking Tudongkha.
These activities focus on the essential concept of a monk’s life – less is more – and help you live more like a monk.
Monk Life After 30 Days or More
Although 30 days might seem like a long time for those who need to take leave from work, it’s impossible to fit everything about a monk’s life in just one month. Based on our feedback, many participants felt that time flew by rapidly. While some decided to come back later, others chose to stay on for an extended period. With that in mind, we also provide an extension to the 30-day Monk Life should participants decide to stay longer.
The extension allows for meditation in a secluded environment for extended periods with proper weekly meditation coaching support. Lectures on the secrets of the mind, habit development, life purpose, law of karma, the monastic code, and selected Buddhist texts by qualified teaching monks are also available daily. In addition, participants also get access to ‘long-term monkhood development’ and additional training programmes to become mentors, teaching monks, and certified meditation instructors with 3, 6 or 12 month certification programs in co-operation with an Open University based in the U.S..
The new monks who decide to extend their stay at the International Forest Monastery in Chiang Mai, Thailand, get the following support:
- Accommodation
- Daily Dhamma Talk
- Opportunity to become an observer and facilitator for the subsequent training batches.
Participants do not need to decide to extend before or upon arrival. Instead, they can observe the monk’s life and see if this is what they want towards the end of the 30-day programme. Further information is also available during their application interviews.
Things to Bring
- Water bottle (Insulated water bottles are recommended)
- Brown, open-toe slippers
- Personal toiletries (razor, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste etc.)
- Yellow/orange face and body towel (we recommend a microfibre towel)
- Digital Watch
- Flashlight
What is Provided
- Sleeping bag
- Personal storage box
- Box of toiletries
- Monk robes
- Notepad and other stationery
- Monk Life white T-shirts and pants
- Socks
- Winter clothing suitable for Monks