The Monk Life Project is a 30-day ordination program designed to provide practitioners with a foundation for meditative practice and monastic life. Based in Thailand at the International Forest Monastery in Chiang Mai, it’s specifically tailored for international participants. The training is delivered by English-speaking monks. “The project aims to make ordaining as a Buddhist Monk accessible to people from all over the world, with the length chosen to be around the time most people can take holiday off work yet get the most benefit out of their ordination,” according to the iMonastery website. After completing the 30-day program, participants either return to their home countries or can join the Monk4Life Program at iMonastery Pak Tong Chai (near Bangkok), which is meant for more dedicated practitioners with a longer-term commitment. There’s also a 24-month program offering accreditation as a mindfulness and meditation instructor. The Monk Life Project has been launched by the large, sometimes controversial, modern Thai Buddhist movement, Dhammakaya, which has built a massive headquarters in Bangkok.
There are other monasteries (not affiliated with Dhammakaya) offering an experience of Buddhist monastic life for foreigners, but without the Monk Life Project’s model of “packaged” 30-day ordination courses. One of the most reputed is Wat Pah Nanachat (The International Forest Monastery), established by the late Ajahn Chah specifically for English-speaking people, which offers the possibility of continuing to full monk ordination to those with a genuine intention to stay longer. As with Dhammakaya’s international outreach, the Monk Life Project is promoted through an online ecosystem (sites, social networks, media reports) on the market of international meditation retreats and training. The iMonastery website even includes a “PR scoop” section. Last February, the Norwegian daily Dagbladet thus published an article about Swedish footballer Kevin Lidin, who suffered injuries forcing him to suspend his career in sports and who then became involved in the Monk Life Project, which he now promotes. For those unable to travel to Thailand, Dhammakaya already launched as early as 2013 a European Ordination Program. (Sources: La Liberté, Nov. 24; Monk Life Project, https://monklifeproject.com; iMonastery, https://imonastery.com; Dhammakaya Temple, https://www.visitdhammakaya.com/; European Ordination Program, https://www.monkslife.org/)
