The Buddha Said ...

Head Nun once remarked that some of the nuns in the temple were going around with  "castor oil faces".  I guess she meant they had sour, unhappy expressions on their faces as though they had been forced to live a nun's life

"If you're not happy being here as nuns, the doors of the temple are wide open.  You can leave any time." she said.  "I don't mean to be unkind but if you want to live the teachings of the Buddha, you have to learn, among other things, to be grateful.  You don't know how lucky you are to be able to hear the Dhamma everyday and as the Buddha said, you have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy."

It was quite a mouthful to swallow for some of the younger nuns.  Though they had indeed come to the temple voluntarily as novices, somehow they still could not detach themselves from their past life of ease and worldly comfort.  One of the nuns once confided in me that she was miserable because she hated vegetarian food and was very tempted at times to sneak out of the temple to get a burger!! Unfortunately for that young nun, she gave up after six months and opted to return home to her burgers.

I was very disappointed with her but as Head Nun said, it was mostly likely that it wasn't her calling to be a nun.

With Metta,
Da