lifestyle of a monk:
"I usually get up at about 5 a.m. and then take a shower. I then
prepare myself to go out on the alms round. It takes a while for me to
put on all of the robes. I then leave at about 6 a.m. When I come back,
I put all the food on a tray and sort it out. For example: curries,
desserts and drinks. We then give some food to the Buddha image and do
some chanting. After that we just eat until we are full. I then usually
go back to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes I walk around the temple
grounds and chat with other monks. Sometimes we watch t.v. We do this
until lunchtime which is about 11 a.m. We cannot sit down for lunch
later than 11.30 a.m. Most people think we cannot eat after mid-day.
But that isn’t true. If we don’t get up from the table, we can actually
eat all afternoon! But no-one is going to do that because that is
crazy. In the afternoon I might sleep again or chat with the other
monks. Sometimes I watch t.v. In the late afternoon, when it has become
cooler, we then do our chores. We sweep around the temple and water the
plants. At 7 p.m. I go with a group of other monks to the big meeting
hall to chant. Not everyone goes. It is your choice. We chant for about
one hour. After that, my group of monks usually goes to sit by the
river and drink and chat. When I say drink, I mean soft drinks! We are
not allowed alcohol. We chat there until about 9 p.m. Then we go to
bed."