What does “tudong” mean?
What is a “tudong monk”?
Ajahn Chah meditating under his glot, he is an highly esteemed Buddhist master from Thailand, founder of many forest monasteries, including the well-known international forest monastery Wat Pah Nanachat
The [Thai] term “tudong” is derived from the Pali term “dhutanga” and refers to thirteen practices allowed to the Sangha by the Buddha that “go against the grain”. This list of ascetic practices includes eating one meal a day, eating all food from almsbowl and living at the root of a tree, and concludes with the most demanding: abstaining from the posture of lying down. The tudong practices play a prominent role in the forest monasteries of northeast Thailand, and many are embedded in a daily life of the monastic communites. Monks take on particular tudong practices for limited periods in order to help them break out of their “comfort zone”, and to energize their minds when caught in a rut.
Venerable Ajahn Mum, a prominent figure of the Thai Forest Tradition and the dhutanga monks, Ajahn Chah trained under his guidance for a short period of time; event that had a deep influence in L.P. Chah spiritual path.
Outside monastic communites, the word “tudong” is most often used in reference to a practice in which monks walk through the countryside, spending the nights under their mosquito-netted umbrellas (glots). Tudong monks will sometimes determine to walk from one monastery to another; at other times they will choose a route that enables them to visit well-known teachers in order to request advice and encouragement. Many seek out remote areas to test themselves in a unfamiliar and uncomfortable environments, facing up to their fears of spirits and wild animals, meditating in solitude on mountains and in caves.
More questions and answers HERE
Source:
- Without and Within – Ajahn Jayasaro
