A Monk in the City
advertisment
Related Content
- It's a Monk Eat Monk World (22/04/2008)
- Pret a Monk (13/04/2008)
- All You Need is Love, Monk (07/05/2008)
- Monk and the Office Rottweiler (30/05/2008)
- City Comfort for City Women (16/08/2007)
- Anxiety in the City (10/01/2008)
When Zen started to trickle through to the West in the last century, it was in the traditional Japanese sense. Monastic living, away from the hurly burly, dudes in robes with bald heads. But as Zen has taken root in the West, something new is forming.
The new practitioners are moving towards a new hybrid, doing jobs, getting married, having kids. So monks are becoming un-monk like.
There are even monks in the City!
It's a nice little paradox.
Zen is really nothing complicated at all, it's just the study of the self. To study Zen is to study the self. At first, you sit down and turn your mind inwards. Drilling into the workings of your own mind, a bit of inner exploration. And what you find is that it starts to affect other parts of your life as well.
Most of us have come home from work in the City, or woken up in the morning and wondered "What does this all mean?", or "Who am I?" or "How can I be happy?" Of course some people never ask and ignore these questions. Some find ways to blot them out, replacing them with 'stuff' - driving towards the next bonus, getting that project done, focusing on the kids, the lover, friendships.
None of these things in themselves are bad things, but they don't immediately answer the question of who we are, or what we are doing cramming ourselves on to the tube/bus/train every morning. But a little meditation on the tube can work wonders, a little letting go, a little relaxation, jammed in someone's pits. It just takes a little of what we call practice. You can do it anywhere - on the trading floor, in the restaurant, sitting at your desk, waiting in a queue at the bank, or if the markets continue to tank, the DSS. It's just dropping into a different state of mind. Peace!
So as a monk in the City, it's about learning to live life joyfully and freely, with absolute you-ness. You just need to know and be the true you. In all your lovely complexity! My me-ness at this moment means that I wear a suit rather than robes. No need for the buzz cut.
In the coming weeks, I'll be giving you a few tips that will hopefully put a well-needed spring in your heart as well as in your step, and help you roll with the punches that come with City life.
There are even monks in the City!
It's a nice little paradox.
Zen is really nothing complicated at all, it's just the study of the self. To study Zen is to study the self. At first, you sit down and turn your mind inwards. Drilling into the workings of your own mind, a bit of inner exploration. And what you find is that it starts to affect other parts of your life as well.
Most of us have come home from work in the City, or woken up in the morning and wondered "What does this all mean?", or "Who am I?" or "How can I be happy?" Of course some people never ask and ignore these questions. Some find ways to blot them out, replacing them with 'stuff' - driving towards the next bonus, getting that project done, focusing on the kids, the lover, friendships.
None of these things in themselves are bad things, but they don't immediately answer the question of who we are, or what we are doing cramming ourselves on to the tube/bus/train every morning. But a little meditation on the tube can work wonders, a little letting go, a little relaxation, jammed in someone's pits. It just takes a little of what we call practice. You can do it anywhere - on the trading floor, in the restaurant, sitting at your desk, waiting in a queue at the bank, or if the markets continue to tank, the DSS. It's just dropping into a different state of mind. Peace!
So as a monk in the City, it's about learning to live life joyfully and freely, with absolute you-ness. You just need to know and be the true you. In all your lovely complexity! My me-ness at this moment means that I wear a suit rather than robes. No need for the buzz cut.
In the coming weeks, I'll be giving you a few tips that will hopefully put a well-needed spring in your heart as well as in your step, and help you roll with the punches that come with City life.
Here Is The Writer : MonkintheCity
Monk in the City works for a large investment bank. He went to Asia in his 20's for a bit of jaunt, realised he knew very little about anything useful, stayed a lot longer than expected, and returned with sore knees from meditation and a head full of quirky ideas. He has a soft spot for dance music and a pint, and suffers from karaoke flashbacks.
view more articles by MonkintheCity
