Monk Domingois from Spain with a background in human resources. He has been meditating since 2015 and has been a certified mindfulness and meditation trainer with World Peace Initiative since 2019.
I have been meditating since 2015. I became a trainer because it went with the flow. I found it very useful for the mind and the people. I think it’s a very useful tool to delve in yourself and help yourself to become a better person. It is difficult to access the mind and I think meditation is a very good tool for it. I believe honestly it is not the only way. I also know people who can delve into themselves without meditation but it’s a very good tool it if fits your cup of tea. It’s perfect. But in my case it’s very useful.
Meditation has brought many benefits into his life. He states, “I don’t have headaches anymore. I used to have headaches about 1-2 times a month. And now I don’t. I think this is because of the effects that meditation has on me to be more patient, more calm, be able to understand what happens around me. Why do I make my decisions, why do I say what I say, why do I feel what I feel. With years of training and continuous effort you get to see yourself better. Meditation is not the only reason why I have improved but it has helped me.”
Regarding what brought him to meditation, “I wasn’t dealing with any difficulties in my life. I am a very happy person usually. Very positive person, resilient, of course I have breakdowns. I was just lucky to know about the peace revolution and the opportunity to go to Thailand. Then I started to meditate. And because I didn’t find it negative or terrible then I started and got a chance to go. And that was the origin of it.”
Venerable John has been his teacher for 8 years. During the hair clipping ceremony Venerable John was the presiding monk who cut his hair. He states, “I was very happy that it was Luang Pi John and he was very nice. He guided me and helped me to be calm and relaxed.”
Regarding his reason to ordain, “I was invited to go to the peace architect training in December and therefore I also got the chance to ordain. So I thought ok I’m going to try ordination. I wanted a new experience. I have been a peace architect and I thought this would help deepen my meditation experience or maybe having a different overview. That’s it. I’m happy I got the chance to come.
Regarding his experience after joining the program for 11 days, “The monks are very nice. They are amazingly kind. Everyone has a different temperament. You can understand how they live. They have their hierarchy. It’s very interesting to see how monks work from the inside. This is a different experience. We are having like 5 star food everyday. We eat very nice food. Learning a lot. For me it has been hard to stay away from home. But in terms of the experience here it has been very supportive for all of us.
Regarding his own personal development. “I think my meditations have jumped already from the daily life. Mainly because of the time we devote to meditation that I don’t devote in my daily life. It’s impossible I work 9 hours a day. The second thing is the environment. it’s very calm, peaceful, it’s very hospitable and helps you not to think too much. Thirdly the guidance of the monks. With the guided meditation. Even though you can do it at home or listening to podcasts. But having questions, right in the moment, when the monks are right in front of you, it’s very helpful. I’m very very happy.”
Regarding his religion, “I’m from a Western religious background purely. My religion is Catholic. I am not Buddhist but I am here to learn. My experience here is to learn the experience. To learn about other religions. About their beliefs and to learn the goodness of these people here in this tradition. And how they put it into practice. For me it is very interesting to learn yes. It is a very enriching experience.
I am seeing what is positive in Buddhism. I do it for other religions and that can be applied to my life. If you drink from only one place the knowledge becomes stale. But if you are able to apply it to your life. I am a very pragmatic person. I like to apply my own way. If I can find something positive to drink from here, for example from meditation, then I do it.”
“I am open minded. I have my beliefs but I don’t think that I have the only one truth. I am ok to learn and listen and I think that everyone has to find their own truth. I luckily have my only one.”
Regarding advice to men interested in ordaining, “If you are an open minded person and you are able to accept how other people live their religion and you are able to understand. Then that’s totally ok. If you are able to take what works for you and leave what doesn’t. This will be a nice discovery for you. I wouldn’t advise to do it if you are broken because maybe you will be lost. I think firstly need to try to settle yourself and try to find what this program can bring you. Not jump and say like give me solutions. Because you might be disappointed. You might be disrupted by what you feel. This is a very good program for someone who wants to develop themselves but please don’t be like give me a solution to my life. Because maybe you are disappointed and then you think this is not what I expected. But if you do it with the approach of gaining something or learning something. Or something that helps you to find your way then correct. Correct. This is my approach.