The robe of a monk is a sign, not just for the person who's going forth, but
a strong sign for society as well. It is a sign that there is spiritual aspiration
and that there are beings who are very serious about this; there is truth and
people are seeking the truth. This is a very healthy thing for society to see:
a robe. Sometimes we mix up other religious perceptions with what Buddhism is.
A monk isn't a priest. It's not like a monk is some kind of intermediary with
truth. Each one of us has to discover truth for ourselves. So a monk or a nun
practices in this particular way with the intention to realise truth. In the
same way, lay people are practising in their environments with their conditions.
A monk doesn't ordain to become a teacher or a counsellor or a lecturer. The
primary intention is the realisation of nibbana. From that, teaching or counselling
in a community can take place but that's secondary. If there isn't that primary
intention of realising nibbana then it becomes corrupted and the monk is just
speaking from books rather than from wisdom and insight. The realisation of
nibbana isn't selfish. It's kind of like the selfishness that puts an end to
selfishness. Then from that you get monastic beings trying to share their insights
with the lay community.
Not everyone has the vocation of being a monk or a nun but everyone has a bit
of the monk or nun in them. So we can look at the monk or the nun as a kind
of archetype, an image of someone who is seeking truth. Each one of us has different
ways of trying to realise truth. A society which supports a situation where
men and women who really want to do that are given the opportunity is enriched.
And a society which does not have that and where those energies are not allowed
to flower or are thwarted suffers a great loss. Just like a society which allows
great artists to flower or good plumbers or good ecologists or whatever it might
be. These are all important parts of a healthy society.
Sometimes people ask, 'what if everyone wanted to become a monk or a nun?' And
my joke is, 'what if everyone wanted to become a hairdresser?' I don't think
it's ever going to be a problem. What we're trying to do here is to develop
a community where the community includes the monastics and the lay people. Where
spiritual aspiration, the love of truth and goodness is encouraged, honoured
and brought strongly into consciousness. This is that kind of sanctuary and
the kind of ceremony which reminds us of that possibility.