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The Ideal Monk, according to the historical Buddha, is one who possesses true courage. The Buddha once said: “There is no fear for him who hath no wants.” The ideal monk is not only self-possessed and courageous, but also seeks for himself greater enlightenment from the wiser than himself and he does what he can to instruct others who are less advanced in the Way than he is, whether they be fellow monks or laymen.

The ideal monk, according to the Buddha, seeks to promote harmony in his Order, and does not limit his good will only to the Order, but rather he often sends out thoughts of love and goodwill in all directions and does what he or she can for others in an active fashion when the opportunity arises. Once a year, during the Buddha’s lifetime, a large number of monks were sent out on missionary expeditions, and some of the more advanced monks in the Order were put in charge of separate monasteries or even large regions. A part of the work of the monks on these expeditions and in these separate divisions consisted in spreading the doctrine.

But in order to have courage, the Buddha taught that self-discipline was needed and comes from the perfection of the monk’s own character. The Buddha held the view, which was a universal view of India at the time, that one’s first duty was self-development, and that this is the condition of one’s being able to to do anything of importance for anyone else and that in the measure in which one does become spiritually perfect one’s influence will spread to others without great effort on one’s own part. So, the ideal monk seeks first the perfection of his own inner life, insight, self-control, spiritual freedom, and he becomes a master of himself. As the Buddha taught…

“the monk has his heart in his own power and is not in the power of his heart.”

Inspired Source: The Pilgrammage of Buddhism, by Dr. J.B. Pratt

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