Monk
Japan, 2023
Photo journal and performance
Monk
Japan, 2023
Photo journal and performance
During my time in Japan I joined a Zen Buddhist mountain monastery and their intense training schedule to learn what it's like to live like a monk.
Every morning we would start singing sutra’s at 4 AM, followed by long meditations throughout the entire day, ending with 'yaza', the final meditation done outside. And even though I was always so tired at this time of day, it was my favorite part. Lit by moonlight I would wrap myself in a sleeping bag, sometimes hearing a fellow monk snore in the background or tanuki's trashing the graveyard, and I would realize.... wow, how incredibly grateful am I to be alive.
Every morning we would start singing sutra’s at 4 AM, followed by long meditations throughout the entire day, ending with 'yaza', the final meditation done outside. And even though I was always so tired at this time of day, it was my favorite part. Lit by moonlight I would wrap myself in a sleeping bag, sometimes hearing a fellow monk snore in the background or tanuki's trashing the graveyard, and I would realize.... wow, how incredibly grateful am I to be alive.
During my time in Japan I joined a Zen Buddhist mountain monastery and their intense training schedule to learn what it's like to live like a monk.
Every morning we would start singing sutra’s at 4 AM, followed by long meditations throughout the entire day, ending with 'yaza', the final meditation done outside. And even though I was always so tired at this time of day, it was my favorite part. Lit by moonlight I would wrap myself in a sleeping bag, sometimes hearing a fellow monk snore in the background or tanuki's trashing the graveyard, and I would realize.... wow, how incredibly grateful am I to be alive.
Every morning we would start singing sutra’s at 4 AM, followed by long meditations throughout the entire day, ending with 'yaza', the final meditation done outside. And even though I was always so tired at this time of day, it was my favorite part. Lit by moonlight I would wrap myself in a sleeping bag, sometimes hearing a fellow monk snore in the background or tanuki's trashing the graveyard, and I would realize.... wow, how incredibly grateful am I to be alive.
