The Taiwanese Monk living in the real world.

Living Peace in the World

Throughout history, monasteries have served as sanctuaries of silence, reflection, and discipline. Monks, in their simplicity and devotion, symbolize peace, detachment, and spiritual clarity. They remind us of what is possible when one lives beyond the distractions and entanglements of the material world. Their presence has often been more than personal—it becomes a beacon, a symbol that humanity can look toward when seeking calm in times of unrest.

Yet, while I respect this path and the noble discipline it represents, I have chosen a different one. I am not an official monk, nor do I live in a monastery. My vow is not to an institution, but to my own conscience. I choose to remain single, a decision for my entire existence, and I choose to live as a vegetarian—both choices born of a commitment to compassion and simplicity. These practices reflect inner principles, but they are also meant to resonate outward, into the world around me.

For me, the idea of retreating to a mountain or living behind monastery walls, though peaceful, feels incomplete. Peace, in its purest form, cannot remain hidden. If I am a symbol of peace but remain isolated, who truly benefits? Humanity does not suffer on mountaintops or behind cloistered gates—it suffers in streets, in households, in cities, in daily struggles that call for small acts of care. To me, the real challenge is not to protect peace through seclusion, but to embody it amid the noise, conflict, and imperfection of the world.

This is why I choose the path I walk: a simple life, guided by restraint and compassion, yet lived in the midst of society. I believe that helping humanity does not always require grand gestures. Sometimes it is in the small things—patience with others, generosity in moments of scarcity, kindness where there is cruelty, calm where there is anger. These are the ways peace moves from being symbolic to being practical, from being admired to being shared.

My opinions are my own, and I do not claim them as universal truths. I simply feel that while monks safeguard the vision of peace, those of us who live outside monasteries can bring that vision into the everyday world. It is not an easier path—in fact, it may be harder, for the world constantly tests one’s resolve. Yet it is here, among people, that peace is most needed, and it is here that I hope my small efforts will matter.

In this way, I honor what monks represent, but I carry their spirit into a different arena: not in withdrawal, but in engagement; not in seclusion, but in presence. Peace, after all, is not only to be found in silence—it must also breathe among humanity, where life is most fragile and most in need of it.