Students arrived at the Buddhist monastery set in the serene Hampshire countryside and were greeted by a Buddhist monk. They presented him with a gift of shower gels (as the monastery don’t receive monetary donations) which he received with a ceremonious bow. We all removed our shoes and had a look around, we were then invited to sit down on small cushions on the floor where the monk spoke to us about his lifestyle. We discovered that some monks choose to live at the monastery whilst others live independently in the local woods as a part of their worship and oneness with nature.
Students displayed great respect whilst sitting and listening to the monk talk about his lifestyle. They were shocked to learn that monks don’t play football, and only eat one meal a day. The students recognised the monk’s calming nature and the fact that he enjoyed silence and used it as a time to reflect. Students noted that it was a very difference pace of life to a day at school. Our trip concluded with a collective meditation.