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Cultivating People Like Cultivating Trees
The task of cultivating people, especially young monastics, is likened to planting a young tree in the soil of the mind. Ordaining early—at seven, eight years old, or even at two or three—helps the soul remain pure, making it easy to sow wholesome seeds. The cultural, social, and spiritual environment must be suitable, just as grafting a Camellia flower onto acidic soil (terre de bruyère) requires protection from rain and sun, the addition of iron when the leaves turn yellow, and staking the trunk so the roots can take hold firmly. Parents and teachers are also the gardeners, watering, nurturing, and protecting so that the human tree grows strong, happy, and spiritually secure.
The main challenge lies in the first year of monastic life, when old habits—waking up freely, eating at will—collide with the precepts and strict decorum: waking up at 3–5 a.m., not eating outside of community meals, always staying with the sangha. The Dharma door of contemplation is like using a microscope to look deeply into consciousness—comparing life before and after ordination, recording suffering, happiness, fear, and stability—helping to clearly see old habit energies and to nourish the roots of understanding and love. Perseverance, relying on the sangha, the teacher, and the Dharma door, brings a security greater than worldly freedom, creating the conditions for body and mind to be at ease and stable.
The stages of adaptation for a monastic:
- First year: feeling the clash between old habits and new discipline; old habits may cause discomfort, but this is the stage of “plowing the earth,” clearing away thorns and weeds
- Second year: the roots of the mind gradually take hold, the tree of the mind begins to absorb nourishment, with less suffering
- Third year: roots are firm, the tree puts forth leaves, flowers, and spiritual fruits—the fruits of mindfulness, solidity, ease, and the gaze of loving-kindness—become clear and can be shared with the sangha and society.