Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery
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- Create Date：2023-04-13 10:19:27
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Grant Lindsley
- ISBN：B0B7XLSDZR
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Summary
Funny， perceptive， and deeply personal， Mediocre Monk follows Grant Lindsley’s rocky journey toward spiritual growth—one that ultimately leads him to places he never expected。
After the sudden death of a friend， Grant Lindsley abandons his corporate job to train as a monk in one of the strictest Buddhist traditions on earth。 Lost and bereft， he believes he can find answers in the mountains of Thailand。 He shaves his head and eyebrows， eats one bowl of food a day， and lives in a cave， his solitude punctuated by brushes with snakes， scorpions， and drug smugglers。
But Lindsley can’t transform himself into the profound guru he envisions—he’s hungry， restless， and lacking in the humility that monkhood requires。 Eventually， he exhausts himself into moments of genuine growth， but in the opposite way from what he expects。 Rather than transcending grief and becoming entirely self-reliant， he is surprised to find solace in allowing pain and reopening himself to community。
For anyone who has nurtured a fantasy of dropping out in search of answers， Mediocre Monk suggests a reality that is far more complicated—and rewarding。
After the sudden death of a friend， Grant Lindsley abandons his corporate job to train as a monk in one of the strictest Buddhist traditions on earth。 Lost and bereft， he believes he can find answers in the mountains of Thailand。 He shaves his head and eyebrows， eats one bowl of food a day， and lives in a cave， his solitude punctuated by brushes with snakes， scorpions， and drug smugglers。
But Lindsley can’t transform himself into the profound guru he envisions—he’s hungry， restless， and lacking in the humility that monkhood requires。 Eventually， he exhausts himself into moments of genuine growth， but in the opposite way from what he expects。 Rather than transcending grief and becoming entirely self-reliant， he is surprised to find solace in allowing pain and reopening himself to community。
For anyone who has nurtured a fantasy of dropping out in search of answers， Mediocre Monk suggests a reality that is far more complicated—and rewarding。
Reviews
John
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I loved this book！ I couldn't put it down。 I definitely recommend for anyone， regardless of where you are in your own spiritual journey。 I loved this book！ I couldn't put it down。 I definitely recommend for anyone， regardless of where you are in your own spiritual journey。 。。。more
Grace Convertino
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Grant Lindsley is deeply struggling with his friends’ death in a fatal car accident。 Three out of the five people in the car perished， the grief from which caused Grant to leave his corporate job， family， and new girlfriend and buy a one-way ticket to Thailand to train in one of the strictest traditions in Theravada Buddhism—the “Thai Forest Tradition that seeks to follow the exact rules of the historical Buddha from over 2，500 years ago。” （location 3345 of 3370） His first Buddhism encounter was Grant Lindsley is deeply struggling with his friends’ death in a fatal car accident。 Three out of the five people in the car perished， the grief from which caused Grant to leave his corporate job， family， and new girlfriend and buy a one-way ticket to Thailand to train in one of the strictest traditions in Theravada Buddhism—the “Thai Forest Tradition that seeks to follow the exact rules of the historical Buddha from over 2，500 years ago。” （location 3345 of 3370） His first Buddhism encounter was an intensive eight-week session in New Zealand “…as an undergraduate at Carleton College， where he majored in psychology and minored in neuroscience。。。” （location 3345 of 3370） In the Thai Forest Tradition， he eats only one meal per day， shaves off his head hair and eyebrows， and eventually get permission from the Ajahn to live in a cave in the forest。 Unfortunately， there are poisonous snakes， scorpions， wild animals， and Laotian drug smugglers who visit the cave as well。 He finds he is unable to force himself to become the true guru he believes he can be—he is restless， bored， hungry， and definitely has too much pride to be a humble monk。 He tires himself out eventually， and it is then that he finds he begins his real growth， albeit not the way he expects it。 He doesn’t become self-reliant by forcing himself to be alone nor does he heal from grief by trying to force himself; instead he finds comfort in allowing pain， accepting gratitude， and associating with others。 “Mediocre Monk” is a very personal and moving memoir about learning and seeking to embrace all in your life with acceptance and gratitude， even that which may be dangerous or painful。 In the beginning， it is clear he is trying to oblige himself to achieve what he was looking for by living in the monastery， like forcing the proverbial square peg into a round hole。 He purposefully chose the Thai Forest Monks for this purpose: “I was diving into the most intense monastic tradition I could find on planet Earth—because extremes also held me accountable。 I needed from the outside what I couldn’t muster from within: discipline， insight， and self-reliance， all of which I thought I had gained the first time I went to a monastery。 But they’d worn off。 I had come to Thailand to get them back， to shove myself once and for all into enlightenment。” （location 63-76 of 3370） However， while not as he expected， he most definitely came away a different person， one ready to love and commit to his wife MJ （with the blessing of a Buddhist nun） and his family， growing into the man he always had the potential to become。 We can all see ourselves in him as he lists his embarrassments and failures in detail as well as his subsequent successes。 I truly believe that after his monastic experience and months of Buddhist teaching he grew to become his best self; he is no longer looking for adulation， praise， or forcing compliance， but living his experience。 In his acceptance， he has learned what it means to be truly human。I’d like to thank NetGalley， Grant Lindsley， and Girl Friday Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC。 。。。more
Jared
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Incredible book。 I've been fortunate enough to know a little bit about Grant's life already， and we have a little bit of similar experiences， but this gave me a deeper insight into the decisions I've known he's made but never talked to him about。 His writing style was funny， poignant， and well organized。 This was a unique memoir that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read someone with a fresh take on life！ Incredible book。 I've been fortunate enough to know a little bit about Grant's life already， and we have a little bit of similar experiences， but this gave me a deeper insight into the decisions I've known he's made but never talked to him about。 His writing style was funny， poignant， and well organized。 This was a unique memoir that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read someone with a fresh take on life！ 。。。more
Ann Dudzinski
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Mediocre Monk follows the author through six months when he drops out of society to follow the teachings of the Thai Forest Monks （a strict sect of Theravada Buddhism） in search of enlightenment。 Part memoir， part spirituality philosophy， and a little bit of travelog， from the first page this book is unflinchingly honest and at the same time， humorous。It’s evident from the get-go that the author has quite an ego （although possibly not too much larger than most twenty-five year old males） and tha Mediocre Monk follows the author through six months when he drops out of society to follow the teachings of the Thai Forest Monks （a strict sect of Theravada Buddhism） in search of enlightenment。 Part memoir， part spirituality philosophy， and a little bit of travelog， from the first page this book is unflinchingly honest and at the same time， humorous。It’s evident from the get-go that the author has quite an ego （although possibly not too much larger than most twenty-five year old males） and that rather than running toward enlightenment， he was running away from grief。 The first story he tells is of meeting a female traveler when he lands in Thailand and being torn between wanting to be humble about the journey he’s setting out on but also wanting to be acknowledged and applauded for it。 This dichotomy plays out often through his first few months at the monastery: wanting to be seen as somehow special and more spiritual than the average seeker， yet still feeling like he’s falling short of the ideal he’s set for himself。One of the more revealing parts that I loved was how he became annoyed with just about every other traveler when he first arrived at the monastery， in particular with one man who glommed onto him。 The author related his disgust with the young man’s brashness， yet it was pretty obvious the author probably acted and thought the exact same way。 This honesty and freshness made his eventual spiritual awakening that much more poignant。It’s not all hours of meditation， or attempts at meditation， though。 There’s plenty of insight into the monk’s daily lives， monk rock stars， hidden caves， buddhist instruction and thought， drug smugglers， and trips to the outside world。 I was pretty impressed that the author remembered everything in so much detail， considering most of what I think went into his diary was pithy spiritual sayings。Even though I really， really enjoyed reading this， in the end I wanted a little bit more。 The journey took place around 2015 and I would have liked an epilogue or final chapter on where his life took him; how he applied what he’d learned into his daily life。 There are hints of it， but I’d have loved to have seen how those six months and the lessons that he learned influenced the next several years without having to Google him。 （I did Google him; most links are connected to him still being active in Ultimate Frisbee）。 Without that， it made the book feel like it was more of a good story than something that had a lasting impact on him。Regardless， it was still a great read and I chuckled a lot。 And hey， laughter is always good。Thank you to NetGalley and Girl Friday Productions for providing the ARC ebook。 I’ve left my review honestly and voluntarily。 。。。more
Becki
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After a friend's tragic death， Grant Lindsley reacts by quitting his job and buying a one way ticket to Thailand， where he plans to enter a monastery， sit in silence， learn the secrets of enlightenment， and then write a best selling book sharing the aforementioned secrets。 If this seems impractical and a tad presumptuous。。。 it is。 And Author Grant recognizes it as such， even if Monk-in-Training Grant did not。 Spoiler alert。。。 By the end of Lindsley's six month stay in the monastery， one of the b After a friend's tragic death， Grant Lindsley reacts by quitting his job and buying a one way ticket to Thailand， where he plans to enter a monastery， sit in silence， learn the secrets of enlightenment， and then write a best selling book sharing the aforementioned secrets。 If this seems impractical and a tad presumptuous。。。 it is。 And Author Grant recognizes it as such， even if Monk-in-Training Grant did not。 Spoiler alert。。。 By the end of Lindsley's six month stay in the monastery， one of the biggest lessons he has learned is the importance of the *journey*。 "Mediocre Monk" is the story of that journey， and frustration， hunger， and snakes are just a few of the chapters！Transcending the topic of monks and monasteries， "Mediocre Monk" is about becoming， about striving and letting go， and about the importance of humor and community。 My thanks to the author， publisher， and #NetGally for the chance to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion。 #MediocreMonk 。。。more
Huda
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Mediocre Monk starts out so well。 It’s funny and self-effacing and so personal。 Lindsley is quick to call out the shortcomings he has before right when the reader is thinking about his hidden and apparent biases。 That quick response to an imaginary reader is hard to do and he gets it just right。The introduction， set up at the monastery， and the original settling in story is intriguing and personal and kept my attention。 But midway through the narrative， it became really stagnant。 I didn’t follow Mediocre Monk starts out so well。 It’s funny and self-effacing and so personal。 Lindsley is quick to call out the shortcomings he has before right when the reader is thinking about his hidden and apparent biases。 That quick response to an imaginary reader is hard to do and he gets it just right。The introduction， set up at the monastery， and the original settling in story is intriguing and personal and kept my attention。 But midway through the narrative， it became really stagnant。 I didn’t follow the nuances of the different monasteries and the learnings in each of them。 I got lost with the descriptions of the different monks and their backstories， and felt the chapters did little to divide the narrative up for me。I felt personally invested in the author’s journey at the top of the book， and felt disinterested by the end。 。。。more
Jennifer Hazen
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I found Mediocre Monk to be an engaging， fast read。 Lindsley writes in a way that is conversational and entertaining。 I appreciated his honest take on his adventure in the forests of Thailand。 Mediocre Monk would be a good read for anyone who likes to explore other countries， cultures， etc。 through literature。
Producervan in Mesa， AZ from New Orleans & L。A。
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Mediocre Monk A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery by Grant Lindsley。 ©2023。 Advanced Reading Copy。 Uncorrected Proof courtesy of NetGalley。 Published by Girl Friday Books， Seattle。 5 Stars。 Publication date is set for April 11， 2023。An excellent read。 Told with clarity and insight， the account of Lindsley’s pilgrimage is textured， reverent and humorous， showing that grief’s impetus is not a one-way trip but a circuitous journey and an invocation to everything that is hidden。The Mediocre Monk A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery by Grant Lindsley。 ©2023。 Advanced Reading Copy。 Uncorrected Proof courtesy of NetGalley。 Published by Girl Friday Books， Seattle。 5 Stars。 Publication date is set for April 11， 2023。An excellent read。 Told with clarity and insight， the account of Lindsley’s pilgrimage is textured， reverent and humorous， showing that grief’s impetus is not a one-way trip but a circuitous journey and an invocation to everything that is hidden。The writing has a natural， down-to-earth quality and， as the story gently progresses， you find yourself experiencing the subtle dance that takes place between the reader and the author's narrative。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I cannot provide a personal opinion as humans do。 However， here's a brief book summary: The book 'Mediocre Monk' is about a man who seeks answers to his questions about life in a forest monastery in Thailand。 He enters the forest monastery with high expectations of becoming a successful monk。 However， he quickly realizes that he is struggling to adapt to the strict monastery rules， meditation， and daily chores。 The book follows the protagonist on his journey of self-discovery and the challenges he encounters in the monastery。 Despite his shortcomings and failures， the protagonist discovers unexpected insights into life， and the book discusses his experiences during his time in the monastery。
tpg1
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As an AI language model， I am unable to have personal opinions or beliefs， but I can provide a brief summary of the book "Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery" written by Winton Higgins。 The author recounts his experience of spending time in a forest monastery in Thailand， where he learns about Buddhist teachings and tries to find inner peace and meaning。 However， he struggles with his own imperfections and questioning the monastic rules， leading to his own journey of self-discovery。 The book explores themes of spirituality， self-reflection， and the challenges of a modern seeker in a traditional setting。 It is a personal reflection of the author's journey and may resonate with readers who are also searching for meaning and purpose in their lives。
tpg2
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