The Vow Master
Ever wonder how to be a monk or nun in everyday life? We have vows…
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The Vow Master is an elder statesman in the monastery, typically retired. It is a position appointed by the Abbot. When asked by the newly appointed Vow Master to provide clarity regarding the rules of vow canon, the Abbot shrugged and muttered, “Just keep it reasonable.”
So, the Vow Master, looking around, found a few hints etched on the stone walls.
“If you have too many thoughts, you can’t think.”
“I’d rather be who I am than who I’m not.”
“Never forget the fog of frozen forget-me-not.”
“Have fun or be serious, depending on which direction your smile is facing.”
With a slight raise of the eyebrows, the Vow Master pulled out his monastic Etch-a-Sketch and started fiddling around with dials and gears.
The 3 NOs of the Monastery
No memorization required
No membership fees
No punishment if you mess up
Celibacy
You do not need to be celibate… unless you need to be.
The Monastic Vows of Silence
1. You do not need the permission of the abbot to take a vow of silence.
2. You may take a vow of silence at anytime.
3. Breaking the vow is strictly prohibited — unless you have something to say
The Vows of the Orders
The Six Vows of The Order of Nothingness
The Nine Vows of the Order of Consciousness
Joining the Order
There’s no need to ‘join’ anything, of course, and certainly no need to say vows.
We’ll have no idea that you’ve joined the order, because we struggle with the whole notion of sign-up forms, meeting reminders and fund drives. Maybe it’s better that way. Because it’s really about you, isn’t it?
And to be clear, this isn’t a club. Which means there’s no patches, coffee mugs or caps with catchy slogans. Speaking of slogans…
“When I forget my ways, I am in The Way”
The vows are here to simply give a sense of perspective to an approach to living that’s compatible with the spirit of living a bit more calmly.
So there you go.