It is also not uncommon for monks to sleep sitting up, but this position is not as common as the others. Monks teach their trainees how to sleep correctly in order to get the most out of their rest. This means sleeping on a thin mat and keeping a simple bed.
The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. With the ninth precept, Buddhists refrain from lying in a high or luxurious sleeping place. Monks take that a step further and aim to sleep upright to reduce the need for sleep.
From what I gather by looking at schedules of different monasteries and sesshins and the few books I have read on Buddhism, it seems that monk sleep from 5 to 7 hours but very rarely did I see the usually recommended 8 hours. Most monks wake up early and meditate for 1 to 3 hours and do the same at night.
At the end, every monk eats only two times a day and from 11.30 am onwards he can not touch food until the next day's breakfast. At 1.30 PM school resumes until 5.30 PM, when everyone meets in the temple to pray the Buddha and by 7 PM they are all in bed.
In Thailand's Buddhist temples, people normally sit with the right foot on the left thigh, the left foot under the right thigh, and the right hand placed upon the left in your lap with thumbs touching. But you can sit in any position you'd like and use a cushion or a chair.
We generally avoid hugging monks and nuns and lamas, especially if they are of the opposite gender. For greeting, it is common to put our hands together, with thumbs tucked inside, and bow our heads. The bow in the image (above) is a normal one, while for a very high lama, we would bow more deeply.
4.00 am - The monks wake up and meditate for one hour, followed by one hour of chanting. 6.00 am - The monks walk barefoot around the neighbourhood while the local people make merit by offering them food. 8.00 am - Returning to the temple, the monks sit together to eat breakfast, then make a blessing for world peace.
The buddhist monk's daily schedule consists of going on alms round in the village, doing our chores as a mindfulness practice, meditation, and chanting. The monk's life is small paced and we have time to reflect and contemplate.
The monks only make two meals a day, one in the morning and another before noon. After the second meal, they do not eat solids and spend the rest of the day only with liquids while studying, practising meditation, and other activities related to the temple, community, and self-development.
Traditionally, those alms are calorie-rich foods, either processed or homemade – with the Buddhist faithful wanting to offer something of high value and taste. The monks are also forbidden from eating anything after 12 p.m., having only one or two meals a day between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon.
When Luy presented his findings, monks often attributed their long lives to a regular daily routine. "Many also pointed to a smooth transition into old age," Luy comments. Ongoing responsibilities were often considered beneficial by elder monks.
For bedding the monks will need a mat, a woolen blanket and a light covering as well as a pillow.
In the Buddhist tradition, a monk's vow of silence is a way to practice proper speech. Monks feel that they would avoid saying something negative by avoiding revealing anything that comes to mind. For them, speaking with silence is a way to practice nonviolence.
The practice of sleeping upright is more common within certain cultural groups. For example, the BBC has profiled a Buddhist retreat in Scotland , during which monks slept upright every night for a period of up to four years.
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.
According to the Buddhist monastic code, monks and nuns are not allowed to accept money or even to engage in barter or trade with laypeople. They live entirely in an economy of gifts.
Spoken conversations between monks are permitted, but limited according to the norms established by the community and approved by the Order. "Silence is the mystery of the world to come. Speech is the organ of this present world. More than all things love silence: it brings you a fruit that the tongue cannot describe.
If a novice chooses to leave during the period of the novitiate, no penalty is incurred. He may also be asked to leave at any time if his behaviour does not conform to the monastic life, or if the superior discerns that he is not called to monasticism.
To lay people the Buddha advised that they should at least avoid sexual misconduct (See Theravada definition below). From the Buddha's full-time disciples, the ordained monks and nuns, strict celibacy (called brahmacarya) had always been required.
Monks of the church have been required in the single and virgin, however, he proved that there is no prohibition of monk's marriage or having sex in the Bible. He insisted on that whether they marry or not should be left freely by each person.