The old monk's complaints

The young scribes didn't care anymore. The old master who had spent seventy Springs in the monastery was worried. He had talked to the administrators but they didn't share his concerns. We cannot risk death or injury among young scribes, they had told him, or else the families will refuse to send their children to us. But then, he had argued with them, they won't care anymore they don't care if they get any alms they consider going to the householders and begging to be some sort of game. Without real threat of pain suffering and pain they won't learn what it means to be a human spirit, they won't grasp the meaning of pain suffering and they won't appreciate sadhana, he had said to them. No, they said, can't do that. The monastery needed to survive another survive years as it had survived th past thousand and that was possible only as long as parents sent their children for a lifelong service to the dhamma. It was for the purpose of spiritual understanding but they also hoped they'd have a good healthy life. If they died because if starvation or illness the parents would rather their children worked in the farms and help in the household.

There was no seriousness about any of the venerable  spiritual regimen. The chants were technically right but there was listlessness in the utterings, no appreciation of the words behind them. Their actions were kind but not out of compassion of their hearts, merely because they had been instructed to, because it was expected if them. If kindness were removed as a requirement for monkhood, he was afraid, there would be no difference between the householders and the trainees. It was as if monkhood was another career choice like deciding to become a farmer or a tradesman or a moneylender, every action was yet another thing you had to do because your job demanded it, not because it was the right way to live your life. Such attitude was not conducive in fostering kindness and compassion among the disciples but the senior masters paid no attention to him.

Had he been younger he would have taken his favourite disciples to start his own monastery, that lived by the old rules of deep compassion and respect not listless following if a table of rules. He was too old too frail now he did not have disciples enough to do it. And truth be told, he did not have the gumption and physical energy to go out begging and asking for alms and food to feed himself. He had no other options.