Does anybody want to be a hermit-monk?

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I don't think I could live that sort of life, even if I believed in something strongly enough to.

A hermit-like existence? Yes.

A monk. No. Definitely no.

I love being off on my own, alone in quiet places. Just NOT in a monstary.

Monk as in monk like and not to be an actual monk of a religious order. Organized religion is one of man’s most politicized social structures. Some times I think that the point of the organization is less about faith than it is about rank. Joining such orders would make the notion of being a hermit something of an oxymoron. How can you be a recluse when you are tied up in inflexible relationships with other people?

It is possible to build a monk like existence in our world though. Even in the developed world, if life is pared down to its essentials, it can be had for very little cost. One could choose a hermetic existence by living simply provided that you have some nest eggs to count on. Interest, dividend and investment income from a small capital base can be used to support an austere life and free the individual from having to face the pain of running into a brick wall everyday because your co-workers think that you are weird. Such a life is not possible if one is married and has children. It is not right to force such a life on the young. But I have known married couples who are childless to have chosen this path, although it is rare to find two people who share such values. It is best and easiest if one is single and happy to remain so. Hence there is no need to worry about dating and such because these relationships are unlikely to add to your happiness and might even make your life as a hermit impossible. You could choose to date but doing so would not be very hermit like would it?

The discussion is idle but I have thought about this quite a bit. There is even a village in China that I have planning to spend more time at. They work the terraces for food and I think I can join them. There is electricity and with a simple GPRS phone I can hook up my laptop to receive a data connection. Conditions are simple but at night the Milky Way can be seen and the jagged peaks of the mountains silhouette against a star lit sky. The whole village is built on a rocky outcrop and the houses are made of stone. The rooster calls in the morning and the donkey brays in the afternoon. I can be a hermit lodger because as an outsider I am free from the village politics.

We should form a community of ascetic Aspie monks!

Hermits, even hermit-monks, don't live in convents and monasteries.

"In every religious tradition, the individual has been advised to withdraw within the self, separate from the world, in order to achieve inner peace, if not insight. What has differed among these religious cultures is the degree to which this inwardness is permitted, even cultivated. Eastern cultures have encouraged, respected, even admired the decision to become a hermit. In the West, the primacy of social and external life has often opposed or put strictures and sanctions on hermits."

I am naturally withdrawn, in many ways I am separate, and for the most part at peace with myself. Whether a Zen/Buddhist monastery would accept me, respect me, or not, would be up to the individuals there. If the above quote is true at all, I think I could get along fine at a Zen/Buddhist monastery. I would say I have a better chance of being respected there than I do in any western institution, anyway.

But, there are things that hold me back from seeking out joining a monastery or becoming a hermit. People I care about. And I'm somewhat materialistic. I would have a hard time giving up my video games, movies, and music altogether.

Provided I could still get access to a doctor for my medicine, apart from that I would be fine.
I have absolutely no qualms with living off the land. I think that I would probably end up off in the middle of nowhere, living out of some little whole in the earth, but I would definitely be happy.
My mum has this fear that I'm going to become a hermit, and she keeps going on and on about how bad it is for me....

Bad to be a hermit? It is not like a hermetic existence would harm anyone else. Let us assume that we will be good hermits and live off the land which basically means that we eat what we work for as opposed to smooching off anyone else. The sum total of our existence would not add to the material accumulation of man’s mad enterprise but that ought to be a good thing. We would work only to the extent that we fill our needs as opposed to working for some illusory gain or chimera goals only to be cheated by ultimately by death and decay. Life would be lived as Socrates suggests in preparing for death. Is that not what religions teach and the reason why man finds religion so incomparably compelling? For death makes meaningless the consciousness of living.

If it were possible to support ourselves financially or materially, what harm would there be to a reclusive existence?

if i could stock up on enough kitty food............. totally.

have had thoughts of living out in woods for a long time.

Id love to live such a lifestyle, especially with the meditation and physical disciplines.. but I am too talkative to live a silent contemplative life, too hyper as well.

Has anyone here fantasized about living similar to the Amish?