Ask the expert

I decided to interview a monk that I know because I am very interested in Buddhism and the way that Buddhists think about life.

We spoke a lot about the concept of karma and how it is perceived. This is what he had to say in a simplified version.

Karma in Buddhism is action.

Action in the form of thinking.

Every act has a result and no act can be lost.

If you perform positive karma it will continue.

Karma should be understood in a positive way.

Produce a thought of loving kindness, compassion and understanding.

Karma shouldn't be something negative.

We spoke a lot about the benefits of mindfulness and the benefits that meditation have on your life. He also recommended a book to me called 'Why Buddhism is true' by Robert Wright, the science and philosophy of meditation. I really resonated with this book and used it as a reference to inspire images in my publication. He also explained to me that many ancient drawings and depictions of monks and the coming of Buddhism are all meticulously calculated and using maths every detail is drawn to a specific proportion and meaning. I also got inspiration for images from buddha statues that I own as primary research.

He also emphasised that 'the habit doesn't make the monk (habit being the clothes), we live in a world conditioned to look only on the outside and not really see. This is a most wonderful life, take that awareness and make us older people proud, we have lived and yours is just starting'. I found this conversation to be helpful and personally connect me to the work that I am creating.

Furthermore on the monk that I interviewed and his story: in bold is my thought process

At the age of 29 I decided to finally live a more spiritual path. And for the next 6-7 years I was spending more and more time with Tibetan monks. It felt very familiar to me on a lot of levels (this bought to me the idea of reincarnation and karma).

My reasons for wanting to become a monk were clear, it was my deepest resonance and something I felt I knew very well. A place where one could have the most simple transcended wisdom outside of the chaos we live in and think as normal, this is known as samsara. (Is thinking about our energy, karma and well being essential? Does it make you feel better? Living your life a mindful simple way? Something that a lot of people with today's pressures in society struggle with.)

My family did not take this very well, my late mother was beside herself as it wasn't what she wanted and had planned for me. In some families the control and projection of the parents and the approval we often are a part of and maybe crave or seek as we grow up is a thing again to observe in society and around us. (I felt what he was saying was cohesive with the imagery of people sitting, peacefulness, meditation.) In simple terms I took the decision when I was spending time with younger monks (19 years of age), they had just arrived to Europe having never left the monastery. I was very much about to leave my life behind and go to India to learn Tibetan and become a translator and join the monastic path. But I saw a great lesson in the young monks. They were awe struck and everything was new to them, they realised that everything was not the monastery, they were faced with modern ways of living. I remember one exclaiming how many years he was in the monastery and he now felt some never felt before sensation of extra freedom.

I said to him, this is a polluted world of great suffering that of samsara. I've been living here all my life and it's not the great shining light that you may perceive. in that moment the reflection in his eyes told me all I needed to know. Wherever you are the illusion of the mind is present to observe in us all. (This really stood out to me because it made me think about how there is no right way of living but to be mindful and live a life as present as you can, some circumstances are unprecedented, but you can use your karma as good to create a life of fulfilment).

He said that he is inspired by a Buddhist monk named Shantideva, he sent me videos about his way of living and mantras that he exclaims in his everyday living.

Remember that in some cultures and times family honour, education and other factors also led to children being taken to a spiritual path. I have a cousin who was a catholic monk (helped me to think about how many different kinds of monks there are in different religions.) , an uncle who was to be a priest and a close family member of my mother who was a bishop. In Tibet many devotees saw great honour in the path for the whole family. In some countries now, who have a different flavour of Buddhist path, people often become monks for short periods not for life, some do even when they retire.

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