Question asked by Luna
Hello! I have a lot of questions regarding Gaden Shartse Monastery since I am planning to become a monk there:
《1》How does on become a monk there? Do you just go up to them physically and ask? Or is there an online part you have to do like tests or whatever?《2》Is it necessary to learn Tibetan and Hindu in order to stay there? I only speak English and Mandarin.《3》My parent cannot speak English, and being in America, it would be hard to sustain themselves. Would Gaden be able to provide any shelter for people in similar situations?《4》What is the schedule like? Like what do monastics usually start there day off with, what do they do at this hour, etc?《5》If I can't become a monk, could there could I be able to stay there as a lay person to help cook, clean, etc?《6》As individual monastics, do we need to have a personal and individual donater/sponsor or do monastics generally depend on whatever donations they collectively recieve?《7》I'm planning on becoming a monk in my 20's, after college, is there anything else I should know?《8》If there seems to be an obstacle because of language, finance, etc, do you know of any Gelug Monasteries in the world which English-speaking monks can attend? Especially any monasteries in the USA.
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I thank you from the bottom of my heart since becoming a monk is a really crucial wish that I have in life. Because so far, getting jobs, going to college, and such is only my second priority, becoming ordained, is my first.
Dear Luna,
Thank you for your questions.
1. To become a monk in any monastery, you need to contact them directly. Each monastery may have differing requirements for potential monastic candidates. Before this, however, you should already have some form of Dharma training because you don’t come from background of knowing about monasticism. It will be a big shock to the system if you go there without any previous training.
2. The curriculum in most monasteries is taught in Tibetan. Hence a firm grounding in Tibetan is recommended to enter a monastery such as Gaden Shartse.
3. Monasteries do not provide shelter or accommodation for the monks’ parents.
4. The schedule for monks varies depending on your specific role. Each monk has specific roles and responsibilities assigned to ensure the monastery runs smoothly. This could be something as simply as cleaning, cooking, to something such as assisting with administration.
5. Lay people are not usually permitted to stay within the Monastery unless visiting for a short period. Rarely do some monasteries give exceptions.
6. All monastics have their basic necessities covered by the monastery. However, most monks also have sponsors. Again, this varies between monasteries.
7. First you should have a firm grounding in the Dharma and also find someone from the monastery you wish to attend to explain more about monastic lifestyle and what you can expect.
8. For this, you can search online to find those nearest to you that offer something along the line you are looking for.
In short, you need to contact the monastery directly and inquire about everything you have asked here with them directly. We wouldn’t be able to give much information about the workings of another monastery simply because we are not aware of their policies, etc.