Priests, nuns, and monks take a vow of celibacy when they are initiated into the Church. Celibacy is often dictated in other religions as well. Most religions advise both the males and females to remain celibate until they take marital vows.
Celibacy for religious and monastics (monks and sisters/nuns) and for bishops is upheld by the Catholic Church and the traditions of both Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy. Bishops must be unmarried men or widowers; a married man cannot become a bishop.
In fact, the Buddha instituted the celibacy rule for monks and nuns—a fundamental practice for dissolving sensual passion—in direct response to a monk whose family persuaded him to sleep with his former wife.
You will be asked to take the lifelong vows of a Buddhist monk and you will be ordained as such. You will be asked to commit to a celibate lifestyle and relinquish your material goods. Stay for five years.
To become a monk you need to be a confirmed and practising Catholic, a man over the age of 18, in good mental and physical health, if possible involved in the life of your parish or something similar, unmarried, with no dependents.
How much does a Monk make? As of Jun 12, 2023, the average annual pay for a Monk in the United States is $43,926 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $21.12 an hour.
Novices often ordain at a young age, but generally no younger than eight. Samaneras live according to the Ten Precepts, but are not responsible for living by the full set of monastic rules.
Admittedly, the five precepts that lay Buddhists agree to follow say that one should refrain from drinking alcohol and it is also one of the basic rules that novices and fully ordained monks are responsible for following.
Monks are forbidden to divine either good fortune or future tragedy by observing heavenly omens, thereby deceiving both the tennō and the people. They are also forbidden to possess and study military tracts; to commit murder, rape, robbery or other crimes; and to feign enlightenment.
“Do monks get days off and vacations?” This is a very common question that most people ask us as monks. Monks in simple vows are allowed one week of vacation and monks in final (solemn) vows are allowed two weeks vacation every year.
The monks go on alms round in the morning and the only other activities of the day are morning chores, breakfast, and the main meal. At 7:00 pm, the community gathers for pūjā, meditation, the taking of the precepts by the laity and a Dhamma talk.
They spend a lot of their time devoting themselves to their religious practices, such as prayer, mass, reflection, or meditation. In their free time, they will often exercise, cook, forage, or do various tasks around the monastery.
“From now on”, the law stated, “it is up to monks [to decide whether they want to] eat meat, get married, or grow their hair”. A similar law for nuns followed soon thereafter.
In Buddhism, tonsure is a part of the rite of pabbajja and also a part of becoming a Bhikkhu (monk) or Bhikkhuni (nun). This involves shaving the head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven.
Virginity, specifically, is not mentioned in the Canon. On the other hand, Buddhist monks and nuns of most traditions are expected to refrain from all sexual activity and the Buddha is said to have admonished his followers to avoid unchastity "as if it were a pit of burning cinders."
There is also a wide variety of ages, from age 15 to 79, though most of the monastics are in their 20s and 30s. Though our monastic Sangha represents many countries, we are predominantly a Vietnamese community from a Vietnamese Buddhist tradition.
Every monk must take a vow of chastity. No one should own anything. Monks must pray together seven times a day.
NO TOUCHING
Do not touch people you meet and shaking hands is considered bad manners. Also, do not touch monks ever.
Monks are famously celibate, but celibacy doesn't just mean you're not having sex. It means you're not interacting with other people in a way that could be considered romantic. The Sanskrit word for monk, brahmacharya, means “the right use of energy.”
Monks, for example, are not allowed to get married nor have children. They leave their family forever and get a new family in the monastery.
There are no rules against bathing in hot water for monastics. The only rules about bathing concern frequency and playing in water. In fact, there are a few examples in the monastic Vinaya where monks are specifically said to bathe in hot water.
There are about 270 female monks across Thailand and they were all ordained abroad, Dhammananda said, adding that her monastery houses seven of them. In contrast, Thailand has more than 250,000 male monks.
Aside from prayer a monk needed to be industrious to help the monastery survive. During the day, Monks worked in the monastery garden, helped with the cooking, cleaning, and laundry, and did other jobs that the abbot - the chief monk - gave them to do.