Monks at the Neydo monastery, whether adults or young, go through a fixed day-to-day schedule. Any typical day, begins with a wake-up call at 5 AM & the puja of “Goddess Tara“. All the monks then, gather up for a healthy break-fast with the sound of the bells at 6, as it is the most important meal of the day. The classes begin at 7 with an English language class. The Buddhist philosophy class begins at 8 and everyone gets a short 30 minutes’ tea break at 10.
The classes resume at 10:30 until the lunch hour. Lunch is called at 12 PM and once again all the monks gather up to have a proper meal to walk through the day. An hour is spared for all the monks to stretch and rest. The youngsters play, have fun and make the best out of it. The day classes begin at 2 and end at 3:30 for a short evening tea break. At 4, the evening puja of “Mahakaal” is performed; and then a debate-discussion session is held to shine lights into the teachings and philosophy of Buddhism and Neydo traditions. The youngsters take a special interest in these sessions as they receive more insights into the teachings through real-world enactments.
6 and its dinner time, everybody gathers for one last time, for the last meal of the day. After 7, the monks indulge in self-study and research onto the topics they are curious about. These are important hours to the monks, as they question, doubt and then find-out. The bed time bell rings at 9:30 and every monks need to be in their rooms by 10.
As you can see, the life of a monk is quite simple and mostly dedicated to learning the ways of Buddhism. Results of which, you always see a monk joyous in their own world.
At Neydo, if you wish, you too can experience a day in the life of a monk: eat alongside, participate in their learning and practices and gain insights into life’s true purpose.