plus, i felt like i was already up. sooo instead of getting up and doing something i envision morning people do (going to gym, trading stocks, yoga,), i remember laying around watching the catholic network (i'm not catholic at all. i've been to mass once. no, twice--gigs don't count) in awe of the nun's daily schedule. i thought it was so fascinating, so wonderful, so inflexible but in a comforting way-- calmly set in stone, no biggie. i was of course thinking, i could apply..hmm-- and i could save/gain more time because i'd skip the vespers, bell-ringing, chanting, etc... sh*t, how productive would that be? it sounded really good, even the prayer/meditation parts.
this particular schedule i was entranced by had tasks, meals, rest, EVERYTHING designated in really small precise increments, no minute left out== i can't remember, so, i'll make something up... [after prayer, breakfast prep, breakfast, clean-up let's say..] 9:00-9:20am Scrub Kitchen floor; 9:20-9:30 tea/rest; 9:30-10:00 work outside; 10:00-11:00 prayer/study, 11:00-11:15 wash up, 11:15-12:15 lunch preparation.... all the way til lights out.
it's totally awesome, isn't it? it's really like that magnet ("Jesus is Coming. Look Busy.") (sorry, sacrilegious.)
anyway, i admire it andof course question it--the most extreme isolated-type religious life. it's full life-commitment (especially in those closed-convents--total isolation from the world--not even leaving for good works, community activities) and full withdrawal. a life away from life. or society. (and Mad Men). God is stability, everything, all you need. one needs no other outer influence? nuns and monks are human, right? in this blog, a nun's life , sister julie (at vatican city, no less) describes the celebration of Pro Orantibus Day (November 21)-- as a sort of THANKSGIVING for those closed-institutions--well, her post is entitled In Praise of Cloistered Religious, so duh.. She writes that November 21 is the "occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of so many persons who, in monasteries and hermitages, are totally dedicated to God in prayer, silence and hiddenness." (italics, of course, my addiction, i mean addition) i never thought hiddenness ( to hide, to run and hide, hide-away, in hiding) was the word to use, since there's sort of a wimpy pejorative undertone to it, or even a sneaky did-something-bad implication to the word. oh well. in this context, it is a virtue. and she totally addresses the questions about hiding out, "abandoning the 'real world'"-- i like how she writes about it, able to step out of her world (in figurative way, har of course) andinway that manages to avoid any defensive (psshht, such a HUMAN characteristic) tone--she answers the question WHY? why do people, regular people choose to leave their family, career, amatory obsessions (not me) "to shut themselves off forever behind the walls of a monastery and deprive others of the contribution of one’s talents and experiences?" her answer: "These [people]..witness that in the midst of daily vicissitudes, at times extremely convulsive, God is the only support that never falters, the unbreakable rock of fidelity and love." and that is...All, Folks! [ i'd like some certainty, i'd like a feeling--feel left out.]
i guess if you feel that, maybe you don't even ponder the question, "Am i blocking out the world..?" or do a cost/benefit analysis, or even really think much at all. cuz it's at the least a feeling. and at the most a vision ?when they are 'called' to God, that's not literal..right?. i always assumed it was a non-verbal-type invitation, right? (seriously, i am not being glib; i want to know).
well, i guess who wouldn't cherish an unchanging, unfaltering support and love--- people who feel that stability...that would be the greatest. if one feels this "unbreakable rock of fidelity and love" that one feels no need to defend or explain even--something transcendent, beyond words, i imagine--then there's no room for my doubts and suspicions about running away, hiding from multitude opportunities to sin and be bad, my evil question i don't deserve to ask, Can you really serve the community, the WORLD, HUMANITY, better through prayer? i'm not being cynical; i really want to know. i want the details. i want to know the distinctions --being virtuous, feeling virtuous..but once again, it ain't a BRAINY thing, so i'm just frivolously chatting about it. like, what did i hear (dr. cameron on House)---
"Penguins might as well speculate about nuclear physics"---umm something like that.
anyway, long tangent, back to my topic of schedule, my BEST FRIEND (i'm so drawn to you! ur like so organized and perfect!) / WORST ENEMY (quit reining me in and making me feel bad! i hate you!):
oh here's a buddhist nun's schedule (tibetan, no.india) i found on the internets: do you find it interesting ? i'm never joining a convent or even going on a retreat (well, never say never right--e.g. eugene lim, librarian, buddhist) but i find my idle hands/mind drawn to a schedule ("through winter"!!) where rotation of rising, meditation, work, study, is pre-set--like, those decisions are removed for you. so you can like...focus. god, i really write like i'm from so-cal. well, i am. so like shut up.
every monday through saturday in winter
5:00 – 5:30 am...............Prostrations (Dapel and Nangpel)
5:30 – 6:00 am...............Individual meditation or Tea
6:00 – 6:30 am..............Group Prayers
6:30 – 7:30 am...............Cook and eat breakfast, Set up for teachings
7:30 – 8:30 am...............Listen to Recordings of Teachings
9:00 – 12:00 pm[*]........Tibetan Language Class (Damcho and Dapel)
......................................Formal Practice Session (Nangpel and Drolma)
(11 – 12 pm)....................Cook lunch (Two people)
12:00 – 1:00 pm..............Lunch
1:00 – 2:30 pm...............Cleaning kitchen, Rest, Other chores
2:30 – 4:30 pm[†]..........Translation Work (Damcho)
......................................Tibetan language study, memorization (Dapel)
......................................Formal Practice or editing (Nangpel)
......................................Formal Practice (Drolma)
4:30 – 5:00 pm...............Yoga or other exercise (Optional)
5:00 – 5:30 pm...............Tea break
5:30 – 7:30 pm[‡]...........Translation Work (Damcho)
.......................................Tibetan language study (Dapel)
.......................................Formal Practice (Nangpel and Drolma)
7:30 – 8:00 pm...............Group shamatha Meditation (Optional)
8:00 – 9:00 pm...............Group Practice
9:00 pm..........................Individual Practice, Translation or Rest
check out these tibetan nangcheng nuns (not your usual drab nuns +they are magical)
they are rigorous: The nuns’ daily routine captures a timeless scene from the past. A typical day starts around 3:30 a.m., as the nuns wake and immediately start their first three-hour practice session. After a short break for breakfast, they resume their second session, ending at lunch. The third session occupies the afternoon, and after a light evening meal, they complete their fourth practice session. They then continue sitting throughout the night, practicing dream yoga.
they are magical: Many of the nuns are accomplished masters of difficult yogic practices such as tummo (the yoga of inner heat). They perform yearly rituals for the public that include a long procession around the center in the dead of winter in sub-zero temperatures, with only a sheet wrapped around their bodies. During the night, hundreds of the most adept nuns wet their sheets repeatedly in buckets of melted snow and continue their procession, drying the sheets again and again with the inner heat generated by their yogic practice. This very rare and awe-inspiring event, as well as the realization of the elder nuns, has gained them respect and renown throughout Tibet. In a culture where female practitioners have struggled to gain respect, these nuns have risen to a high level of status, with many monks and lamas seeking their teachings and instruction.
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