Are you being a monk?

Question

Even if you are a monk, if your practice of the Way is not intense, if your aspiration is not pure, how are you any different from a layman? Again, even if you are a layman, if your aspiration is intense and your conduct wise, why is this any different from being a monk?

-Hakuin, "Zen Master Hakuin"

Answer 1

The Bible equivalent is:

Micah 6

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

9 Listen! The LORD is calling to the city—
and to fear your name is wisdom—
"Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

It is not inherently *monastic* to seek to follow the path to the closest degree one is ABLE, NOT merely on the human level, but WITH GOD'S HELP. Layperson and minister BOTH have the SAME charge--and RESPONSIBILITY--on THAT account!

Best wishes to all who with His help do their BEST to follow God's path! :)