The Businessman and the Monk (Doing vs Being)

One Night on a Train

One Friday night in the city a monk boarded a train. He sat next to a window and stared out into the night sky, losing himself in the glow of the moon. Before long a businessman sat down beside the monk and yanked him back to earth with a wayward elbow. The business man apologised for the bump. The monk turned to the businessman and smiled. They had seen each other on the train several times before but never exchanged a word. The smiling monk intrigued the man in the suit. There was something strangely appealing about the almost-bald man in the funny dress. While most people on the train projected an energy that was a curious blend of anger, anxiety, fear and exhaustion, the monk was different. Completely different. In the chaos of a busy train carriage, he was a picture of calm. The curious man turned to the monk and spoke:

BM: What are you doing for the weekend?
Monk: I’m being.
BM: Being what?
Monk: Just being.

The businessman was perplexed.

BM: What does that mean?
Monk: You don’t know?
BM: Not really.
Monk: It’s the state I’m in when I’m not doing.
BM: How do you do that?
Monk: I don’t.
BM: Don’t what?
Monk: Do.
BM: What?
Monk: I don’t do, I just be. It’s in the absence of doing that I find myself being.

For a moment the businessman considered the monk’s words.

BM: Oh… what’s it like?
Monk: Peaceful.
BM: But what do you do when you’re just being?
Monk: Nothing, that’s the point.
BM: You must be doing something?
Monk: Nope.

The businessman smiled; he hadn’t expected to hear the word ‘nope’ from a monk.

BM: I don’t get it.
Monk: That’s because you’re addicted to doing.
BM: What do you mean?
Monk: Somewhere along your journey you’ve learned that life is about doing but perhaps in all your doing you’ve missed out on a crucial and beautiful part of the human experience: being.
BM: But can’t I just do? Why do I need to… be?
Monk: Because if you’re always doing, you’ll never have time for being. And if you never have time for being, you’ll never discover who you are beyond what you do. Sometimes we fill our lives with so much doing because the notion of simply being scares us.

The businessman was simultaneously confused and captivated.

BM: Go on…
Monk: Well, sometimes it’s important for us to do and I sense that you, my friend, are an excellent doer.
BM: (smiling and pleased with the praise) Yes I am.
Monk: Good for you. Doing is necessary for survival. However sometimes – not all the time – but sometimes, it’s more important for you to simply… be. Being is renewal. Being is drinking from the well. It’s re-connecting with your spirit. Listening to that still small voice. It’s where your true self resides.
BM: My true self?
Monk: Yes, you will never find your true self in your doing because what you do is not who you are. Just as your image in a mirror is not you but merely a reflection of you. Or more accurately, a reflection of your physical self. Which, of course, is not you at all. You are neither your behaviours – that is, your doing – or your physical self. Although they both tell us something about you, you are much more than both of those things.
BM: Then who am I?
Monk: You are the awareness that understands and sees what you are not.
BM: (looking confused) Huh?
Monk: While your physical self survives as a result of all your doing, your spirit is nourished and your mind is healed when you are simply being.
BM: My brain hurts.
Monk: Then just be my brother, just be.

The businessman put his head in his hands and closed his tired eyes for a moment to consider what the monk had said. A few seconds later he lifted his head, opened his eyes and turned to ask the monk another question. The monk’s seat was empty. The businessman turned to look about the carriage. The monk was nowhere to be seen. He turned to the woman sitting in the seat behind where the monk had been.

BM: Er excuse me, did you happen to see where the monk who was sitting next to me went?

The woman stared blankly at the businessman.

BM: The monk in the dress? Did you see where he went?
Woman: The seat next to you has been empty since you got on the train. 

Questions for Discussion:

1. What on earth is this post about?
2. Are you more monk or businessman?
3. What can the monk teach us?
4. Do you know how to just be?
5. Have you discovered who you are beyond what you do?

Peace

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