THE MONASTERY SETTELEMENT

Case study of the Buddhist monastery BY- ANUSHA FATIMA

MAULANA AZAD NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BHOPAL

INTRODUCTION A monastery is a complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, whether monks, and whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, and may also serve as an oratory. In England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks (men) and nuns (women). In modern English, they are also known by the gender-neutral term "monastics." The word monk originated from the Greekmonachos "monk", itself from monos meaning "alone". Monks did not live in monasteries at first, rather, they began by living alone, as the word monos might suggest. As more people took on the lives of monks, living alone in the wilderness, they started to come together and model themselves after the original monks nearby.

BUDDIST MONASTERY : TIBET CHRISTIAN MONASTERY : FRANCE

MONASTERIES AND THEIR DIFFERENT NAMES

Monasteries are generally called vihara (Pali language). Viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple.In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat. In Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung.

A monastery may be an abbey (under the rule of an abbot) or a priory (under the rule of a prior), or conceivably a hermitage (the dwelling of a hermit). It may be a community of men (monks) or of women (nuns). In Eastern Christianity, a very large or important monastery is given much higher dignity.The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, There has also been, mostly under the Osmanli occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for the common good. SIZE AND TYPOLOGY Monasteries vary greatly in size

comprising a small dwelling accommodating only a hermit

In the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds.

A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a dormitory, cloister, refectory, and library.

Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospital, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing.

SMALL HERMIT: CHINA LA FUIT BUDDHIST COMLEX : THAILAND

CASE STUDY- THE BUDDHIST MONASTERY

INTRODUCTION

Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism in the history of religion. It is also one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns are considered to be responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people .

History and development

Although empirically unproven, traditional stories in some Buddhist schools assert (based on the Pāli Canon) that the order of Buddhist monks and nuns was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime over 2500 years ago. The Buddhist monastic lifestyle grew out of the lifestyle of earlier sects of wandering ascetics, some of whom the Buddha had studied under. It was not really isolationist or eremetic: the sangha was dependent on the lay community for basic provisions of food and clothing, and in return sangha members helped guide lay followers on the path of Dharma. Individuals or small groups of monks – a teacher and his students, or several monks who were friends – traveled together, living on the outskirts of local communities and practicing meditation in the forests. Monks and nuns were expected to live with a minimum of possessions, which were to be voluntarily provided by the lay community. Lay followers also provided the daily food that monks required, and provided shelter for monks when they were needed. Some Buddhist schools assert that during the Buddha's time, many retreats and gardens were donated by wealthy citizens for monks and nuns to stay in during the rainy season (although there is as yet no archaeological evidence to support this claim - evidence only exists for such monastic enclosures at a much later date)

TYPES OF BUDDHISTS

1.THERAVADA

Meditation

Practice in a monastic community

Not genially available to the broad public

Mostly practiced in south east Asia

2. MAHAYANA

They are open for people to join them

Developed their own idea of Buddha- being a spirit rather than a human being

Mainly practised in China, Japan and Korea

3. VAJARYANA

Enthuses the magical and mystical aspect of Buddhism

The believe in power of kindness – medicating techniques

STRUCTURE OF BUDDHIST MONASTERY

Two kinds of living arrangements for monastics, as detailed in the Mahavagga section of the Vinaya and Varsavastu texts:

1. AVASA: a temporary house for monastics called a vihara. Generally more than one monk stayed in each house with each monk in his own cell, called a parivena.

2.ARAMA: a more permanent and more comfortable arrangement than the avasa. This property was generally donated and maintained by a wealthy citizen. This was more lavish (as suggested by the name – Araama means both pleasant and park). It generally consisted of residences within orchards or

parks.One of the more famous Arama is Anathapindika's, known as Anathapindikassa arame, built on Prince Jeta's grove. It had buildings worth 1.8 million gold pieces built in a beautiful grove, with the total gift worth 5.4 million gold pieces .After the par nirvana of the Buddha, the Buddhist monastic order developed into a primarily cenobitic movement. The practice of living communally during the rainy vassa season, prescribed by the Buddha, gradually grew to encompass a settled monastic life centered on life in a community of practitioners. Most of the modern disciplinary rules followed by monks and nuns—the Patimokkha—relate to such an existing, prescribing in great detail proper methods for living and relating in a community of monks or nuns. The number of rules observed varies with the order; Theravada monks follow around 227 rules. There are a larger number of rules specified for bhikkhunis.

STUPAS

Stupas are solid structures that typically cannot be entered and were

constructed to contain sacred Buddhist relics that are hidden from

view (and vandals) in containers buried at their core or in the walls

TEMPLES

place of worship somewhat similar to a church

Local temples are essentially self sufficient and rely on their own lands and support from the local lay community to keep going. Property belongs to the

community. There is not a hierarchy of priest, bishops and archbishops like there is Christianity.; Buddhist temples usually contain numerous Buddha statues. The central Buddha images are often surrounded by

burning incense sticks and offerings of fruit and flowers. Some contain the ashes or bone reliquaries of popular holy man. Many Buddhist temples face south and sometimes to the east, but never to the

north and west which are regarded as unlucky directions according to Chinese feng shui. Many

temples are entered through the left door and exited through the right

MONASTERIES

which contain living quarters and meditation cells for monks.

BUDDHIST STUPA :SANCHI BODHGAYA TEMPLE BUDDHIST MONASTERY: TIBET

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANS OF MONASTERY

The monk built AVASA settlements consists of the following elements

Storeroom

Kitchen and ware house

Place for walking around

A big hall for gathering

Temporary shed for festive occasion

Well

STRUCTURE OF A BUDDHIST MONASTERY : ITS COMPOSITION

Source: Buddhist monastery: architecture and transformation

Evolution of Buddhist architecture

SOCIOLOGY AND THE BUDDHIST MONASTIC LIFE

In most religions the life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic

community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care. Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on the traditions involved and the local weather, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime.

The life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products, by donations or alms,by rental or investment incomes, and by funds from other organizations within the religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Buddhist monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research, which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities.Buddhist monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration. Monks and nuns are expected to fulfill a variety of roles in the Buddhist community. First and foremost, they are expected to preserve the doctrine and discipline now known as Buddhism. They are also expected to provide a living example for the laity, and to serve as a "field of merit" for lay followers, providing laymen and women with the opportunity to earn merit by giving gifts and support to the monks. In return for the support of the laity, monks and nuns are expected to live an austere life focused on the study of Buddhist doctrine, the practice of meditation, and the observance of good moral character. The relative degree of emphasis on meditation or study has often been debated in the Buddhist community. Many continued to keep a relationship with their original families.

The disciplinary regulations for monks and nuns are intended to create a life that is simple and focused, rather than one of deprivation or severe asceticism. Celibacy is of primary importance in monastic discipline, seen as being the preeminent factor in separating the life of a monastic from that of a householder. Depending on the tradition and the strictness of observation, monastics may eat only one meal a day, provided either by direct donations of food from lay supporters, or from a monastery kitchen that is stocked (and possibly staffed) by lay supporters.

Unlike Christian monastics, some schools of Buddhist monastics are not required to live a life of obedience to a superior. However, it is expected that monastics will offer respect to senior members of the Sangha (in Thai tradition, seniority is based on the number of rains retreats, vassas, that one has been ordained). The Buddha did not appoint a successor, nor did he specify rules mandating obedience in the monastic code. Individual groups of monastics are expected to make decisions collectively through regular gatherings of the community, at which decisions regarding violations of monastic rules and the dispositions of communal property are to be made. Individual relationships of teacher/student, senior/junior, and preceptor/trainee may be observed among groups of monastics, but there are no formal positions, nor is there any authority to give orders or commands invested in senior monks. An abbess or abbot, typically a senior monastic still young enough to be active, is usually responsible for the day-to-day administration of the monastery, and may appoint others to assist with the work. In some traditions, the abbess/abbot is chosen by a vote of the monastics in a monastery. In other traditions (Thailand, for example), the abbot is chosen by the lay community.

BUDDHIST MONK PRAYING AT AVASA BUDDHIST MONK STUDYING

MONASTISM AND SOCIOLOGY- CONCLUSION

A great French sociologist “ Durkhein ” defines sociology as the study of social institutions like schools, church, etc. sociology deals with how the people interact with each other and in turn how they respond to the society as a whole.

In planning context, Albert J. Reiss has defined, “sociology is the study of social aggregates and groups in their institutional organization, of institutions and their organization, and of the causes and consequences of changes in institutions and social organization.” Thus monasteries plays an important role in the organized formation of a society by encouraging qualities like generosity, kindness and thinking for the well being of each and every individual . Nevertheless, planning deals with making of policies and laws for the well being of the people. Thus enhancing monastery settlements and giving it an important place in a society will definitely help in a peaceful and prosperous growth of society as a whole encompassing every individual be it rich, poor , black or white. The aim of people in a society should not be just their welfare,they should not be selfish to their needs but taking care of each and every individual of the society- should be their sole motive.

REFERENCES

https://en.buddhism and its evolution.org/Monastic_settlement

http://www.history.upenn.edu/coursepages/hist086/material/sanchi.htm

http://www.buddhanet.net/stupa.htm