Buddhist feeling at home in West Orange

Almost four years after moving into town, Empty Cloud Monastery has gotten into a rhythm in West Orange.

The Buddhist monks, who have lived in the former Catholic monastery on Ridgeway Avenue since December 2019, have joined the community since they relocated from New York City and have built their own.

Founded by monastics Ayya Soma and Bhante Suddhaso, the monastery practices Buddhism in many different traditions – Thai, Sri Lankan, Burmese and Chinese, among others. There are usually a group of monastics who travel in and out of the monastery; right now there are six permanent residents, plus a rescue cat named Stan.

“It’s been really good for the most part,” Bhante Suddhaso said in an interview with the West Orange Chronicle at the monastery on Sept. 22. “People are welcoming and friendly and open-minded.”

He and monastic Ayya Soma founded Buddhist Insights in 2016 in New York. Eventually, they wanted more room away from the crowded city but still wanted to be accessible to other monastics and laypeople who wanted to practice with them. West Orange turned out to be a happy medium.

“We didn’t want to make it impossible for people to practice,” Ayya Soma said, adding that many monasteries tend to be located in very rural locations. “They tend to be in the middle of nowhere, so it can be a challenge to make it accessible for people.”

Bhante Suddhaso has experienced that firsthand. He grew up in Denver; when he lived there, there was only one monastery in the area. It was on the other side of
the city and would take him over an hour to get there, so he didn’t go very often. Empty Cloud being accessible to those in the city by train and in an area where
a lot of people already live helps alleviate the problem a bit.

“We have the best parts of New York without the drawbacks,” Ayya Soma said.

Empty Cloud doesn’t operate in one specific Buddhist tradition, but there are rules its monastics follow: they took a vow of poverty and therefore don’t use money (the nonprofit has a bank account for mortgage and utility payments, but individual members can’t access it). Supplies, most notably food, are acquired by free will donations from visitors. Volunteers bring the monastics food each day and can stay for lunch if they want; the monastery resident can’t make requests and eat what is brought unless there are medical concerns.

According to Ayya Soma, the monastics will sometimes go out into nearby communities and make it clear that they would appreciate donations, but they don’t directly ask. Word of mouth is the best form of help – so far they’ve never not had enough food.

“People learn this and always say, ‘Oh, really? Can I bring you lunch?” Bhante Suddhaso said. “Most people really like giving. In order to give there has to be a receiver, and that’s a really joyful experience for a lot of people.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most people to stay in their homes only a few months after Empty Cloud opened in West Orange. But the neighbors made sure the monastics had enough to eat and other supplies while everyone was quarantined. Otherwise, life went on as usual on Ridgeway Avenue.

“Day to day, it was kind of our dream,” Bhante Suddhaso said.

A normal day at the monastery varies depending on the time of year and what the community wants to do, but typically everyone wakes up by 5 a.m and eats breakfast. At 5:30, they meditate as a group until around 7 a.m. Around 8 .m., they participate in a class or teachings. They do work around the residence from 9 to 11 a.m. and then
break for lunch. The afternoons are left open for personal time: the monastics can go for walks and spend the rest of the day doing what they want, with some caveats.

“There’s no music or TV,” Bhante Suddhaso said. “The idea is that we’re putting our time to good use.” The monastics lead teaching livestreams that anyone can tune into online as well.

The community that Empty Cloud has built within itself has grown since it moved to town as well.

Bhante Vaddha is a novice in training; monks typically spend a year learning under monastics when they enter a monastery. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio and was living in Argentina when he watched one of the livestreams. Already looking for a monastery to join, Empty Cloud was one of a few he visited while searching.

“It’s relatively similar to where I was raised,” Bhante Vaddha said. “You can go to different places and (meet) a lot of different people.”

That’s been one of the highlights of his time at the monastery so far. Bhante Vaddha has been a part of the community for six months and has been at Empty Cloud for three; the first three months he was part of a group of traveling monastics in Italy.

“It’s been beautiful being here and meeting people,” Bhante Vaddha said.

To learn more about Empty Cloud and to contact the monastics, visit www.buddhistinsights.org or www.facebook.com/buddhistinsights/.

  Buddhism, Empty Cloud, Monks, West Orange