Monk Christian is a 22-year-old from Norway who was previously working at a restaurant two years prior to his first ordination in May. This is his second ordination program.
Regarding the search for peace, “It all began with meditation. When I was younger I experienced the world very differently. As I got a bit older. The way I experienced life when I was younger was so pure, so amazing, and such a joy to be alive every day. The older I got and the more serious high school got to be. Life got to be more serious and not so light as it used to be. Somewhere along the way I lost the purity, innocence and lightheartedness of being a child. Life got a bit dark. I got hardened. I suddenly started to feel I had lost something from when I was younger. I had an existential crisis. Really depressed and got a bit anxious about life. Everything started to get a bit heavy.
I was searching for what I’d been missing. I didn’t know why I felt this way. I had a lot of great friends. Life wasn’t objectively that bad but something was missing. After a while I discovered meditation. Something about meditation sparked an interest. Something there. There is something with this that was what I had been searching for. I started to feel more aware of what was going on and my own impurities. I started to see I have a core of light inside me that became very dirty over the years. The core of light gets dirty. The light inside of me didn’t really shine that well anymore. With meditation, everything began to soften and I got a bit lighter. There was something there. I went back and forth between meditation and life. Still very confused about what I was doing in life and where I was going.
After high school, I went to a folk high school in Norway. A school where you go with many different people across the country. You travel and get to see the world, and meet a lot of different people. We do everything together like a monastery. Be out in nature. Ski wilderness travel. Right away I met Andreas. We got into meditation. We started talking more about iMONASTERY and how we could join. Three years later here we are.”
Regarding the first ordination, “when I was staying at the folk high school I still was quite unhappy. I felt quite empty and that something really fundamental was missing. I had lost myself. Not just my personality but something deeper was missing. When we both finished school we kept talking about meditation and Buddhism and what the life of a monk was like.
After a few years felt we need to take some action. I discovered more and more about Buddhism and I thought this is what I’ve been searching for a long time. You clean your mind every day, you shower away the dirt you have been accumulating every day as a monk.
After a while, I looked up a lot of YouTube videos. Different documentaries of monks. There was a video on how to join a monastery. It led me to the monk life site. It looked well laid out. There were a lot of testimonials. To see like-minded people with the same ideas and the same view on life got me more interested. I decided to come though the timing didn’t quite fit for Andreas. I was accepted and booked a flight to Thailand.”
Regarding his first ordination, “The group I was with was very special. We got along right away. Everything was so new. From Norway, I’m so introverted. Quite an adjustment period to adjust to the culture. After we started to get to know each other there was a feeling of familiarity. Everyone is so compassionate and so kind. We just felt really safe. Everyone is looking for the same thing or we all have the same values in life. Coming together and discovering the light and beauty that is within. It was just amazing.
The first time I ordained I was very emotional. Felt like I was able to let go, and forgive. Everyone that I ever had any grudges against, anyone I ever had any anger against, it was really cathartic. Once ordination began, we got deeper into the teachings. Everything resonated more and more. The more I meditated the more I felt that answers would come up inside of me. What I was searching for.
One month taught me a lot but I didn’t feel like it was the end. I really wanted to come back. The last few days I realized what I was looking for was purity, a pure mind. Getting back to innocence. The compassion and love for life. I really started to feel a lot in the last couple of days. I felt a lot in the last couple of days. Compassion and love for life. Which I really started to feel a lot in the last few days of ordination. Compassion, love, peace, calm, and purity. In the last couple of days, I knew had to continue, but I also had to come home.I knew I wanted to come back so I could continue learning and see what more I could get out of it.”
Regarding his religion Monk Christian doesn’t identify with being a Christian though his family was Christian “but they weren’t very strict.”
Regarding coming here a second time to ordain he states, “It has been surreal. A lot of fun. More relaxed the 2nd time. Less shock and less adjustment period. This time I just want to continue where I left off.”
Regarding his changes after the first ordination he states, “It wasn’t actually until I went home that I realized how much I had changed. Suddenly out of nowhere I just felt so much more at peace, calm, and so much more compassion and space inside me not just for myself but for everyone else. Just so much more understanding and patience for everyone. Apparently, I had gotten some good energy and a lot of people noticed. Things started to get better.