What a monk taught me

Recently, I stumbled upon a video 'a day in the life of a Buddhist monk'. Call it serendipity or divine providence, because I was constantly planning to de-clutter my life but lacked inspiration. This video was proffered by YouTube as 'recommendation'. It is spooky how YouTube always knows what you want! Anyway-

??It was insightful and thought-provoking on more levels than one. There are some points that tucked me from the inside. For a while now I have been pondering the futility and the ordeal of carrying around all the 'possessions' we think we need. I am not suggesting that we should all strive to live the frugal life of a roadside mendicant. It's just that we could do with so much less.

The monk on the video has just 8 belongings and that includes the 3 modest robes, alms bowl, water filter, a belt to keep his robe in place, and a razor to shave his head every day.

??Getting rid of hair has greater significance than a mere renunciation of worldly pleasures, hair being a superficial beauty aspect than a mere body part. Hair also symbolizes our vanity. We spent oodles of time grooming and preening at it, squander wads of money buying products to have it silky and smooth and shiny. A receding hairline at the onset of 30s is a major cause of concern and anxiety for many youngsters, of all genders. I myself wallow in self-pity seeing all the locks of hair that litter the floor of my bedroom, not to mention the cringe moment when husband or in-laws find a long strand of brittle hair in any of the dishes; my shame dangling on its ends. Tonsuring your head is also one way to get rid of all baggage that comes along with hair-including anxiety and stress due to hair fall. All our possessions are in fact nothing but that; baggage we carry, willingly, almost unwittingly.

??Yellow is the color of a monk's robe. It stands for renunciation. A fallen leaf's color is yellow. It signifies how a monk leaves behind his family, relationships, life, hair, and even normal clothes. A monk never earns a penny. The protagonist monk in the aforementioned video has been a monk for 17 years, and he hasn't earned a dime, ever. In spite of it, he is most content.

??Buddhism is all about compassion and being grateful. Its foundational belief is that all sufferings stem from desires. Hinduism is completely in consonance with this edict. The holy book of Hindus, Srimad Bhagavat Gita too, says desires and wants are the root cause of all human sufferings. Alleviate oneself from worldly desires to assuage one's agony.

??Another aspect I found attractive in the video is the practice of walking meditation. How the monk religiously follows walking meditation to delve deep into one's own mind, to acquire a stillness, in pursuit of sustainable tranquility.

This video has given me an impetus to de-clutter my life. It has put paid to all my plans of a 'wardrobe revamp'; instead it's going to be 'wardrobe de-clutter.

PS: I'll give tonsuring my head a miss!