Article: Monk with axe and safety shoes

Sindre was on his way down the cliff. Then he decided to go in a completely different direction.

Kari Utgaard 20.04.25
(Original GD-artikkel på norsk)

The birds chirp frantically in the forest at Vingrom. It smells fresh of damp earth and spring.

Ajahn Sindre Ajito walks uphill with powerful steps. The 45-year-old Buddhist monk has hearing protection in his hand and sturdy shoes.

As we approach the top, we sense a new smell: Fresh sawdust. A huge wooden building frame lies around the last bend.

An unusual log project

On a leftover log sits a man with a cap, pipe and beard. He is dressed in the same color as the monk, but his jacket has the logo of the chainsaw brand Stihl.

“It is eight meters up to the ridge,” says Per Einar Lian.

The traditional craftsman from Os in Østerdalen has built many buildings in his life, but never before a Buddhist meditation hall.

(video)

One meal a day

One hour earlier. In the kitchen of the former small farm, three women prepare a colorful lunch buffet of Thai stews, pasta, bread, fruit and cakes.

The Buddhist monks are not allowed to eat after 12 noon. They are also not allowed to cook their own food, and only eat what is given as a gift. It is usually Buddhists living in the surrounding area who provide food for the monks at Vingrom Buddhist Monastery.

Wanthanee, Bunchuai and Supawadee usually come here several times a week. Sometimes the monks also take the bus to Gjøvik to collect alms from Buddhists who live there.

«Invincible»

They are two monks who live permanently in the monastery. Kruba Markus Indanyano is originally from Germany. Ajahn Sindre Ajito grew up in Rælingen near Lillestrøm, with Walstad as his last name.

When he was ordained as a monk, Sindre was given the name Ajito, «one who is invincible».

Sindre Ajito is the monk with the longest seniority, and helps himself first. He makes sure to take a little of everything. He keeps his favorite dish a secret.

– If the lay people find out what the monk likes, you just get it. And then there will be no more favorites, says Sindre Ajito, who in his youth dreamed of becoming a chef.

– Before, I lived to eat. Now I eat to live, he says, with a twinkle in his eye.

After dinner, another work session awaits, so it is important not to get too full. A monk should also not eat for the sake of pleasure.

Keeping the body going for an entire day on one solid meal is a matter of habit, claims Sindre Ajito.

The Buddhist monk’s rules of conduct are also quite pragmatic. If you get hungry after 12 noon, you are allowed to eat «medicine» such as sugar, honey, oil, butter and cheese. When they do physical work, a light breakfast is allowed.

Some regulations are absolute. A monk should not kill other living beings, not even insects. Alcohol and drugs are prohibited in the monastery. A Buddhist monk must also refrain from all forms of sexual activity and «romantic behavior.»

(video)

Cheated death

Sindre Ajito’s life has not always been as ascetic and rule-bound.

Luckily he did not die when he was 28 years old. A fallen candle set fire to the dormitory where he was sleeping, heavily intoxicated. The firefighters got him out at the last minute.

The young man, who became Nordic champion in kickboxing at the age of 24, ended up in a negative spiral when his sports career ended.

– It started with partying and such. Then there was a bit of experimentation with different drugs. Then it went downhill, he says.

The accident was a turning point. When he woke up after five days in a coma, he decided to take action.

– When I got home, I thought: OK, that’s enough. I couldn’t just mess up my life for nothing. I wanted a change.

He just didn’t know what the change should be. He felt like he had tried everything.

– No matter what it was, whether it was work, sports or relationships, I kind of got bored. So I thought that what I was doing now should be for the rest of my life.

The missing piece

First he decided to become an aid worker. Then he came across a book that would completely change his plans.

The title “Buddha’s Teachings” piqued his curiosity. Why we live, and what the meaning of it all is, was something he had wondered about a lot since he was a little boy.

– When I started reading, I had a strong feeling that this was the missing piece of the puzzle. This is what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to become a monk!

Sindre inquired into the local Buddhist community and found that the forest monastery tradition was something that might be right for him. After working for a year to get rid of old debts (you have to be debt-free to become a Buddhist monk), he went to Thailand. At the age of 30, he was ordained a monk.

– What did your family think of your choice?

– They are happy. This is not the worst thing you can do.

He says that his mother was a little skeptical at first. She was afraid they would lose contact.

– It all worked out when she came to visit Thailand, and saw that this was not a scary cult, he says.

When Sindre Ajito was ordained at the Marp Jan monastery, his mother was at the ceremony.

– She saw that this was something very nice, and something that is good for me. Today she is very supportive, and follows what is happening here closely, he says.

Peace of mind

After five years of studying with meditation master Ajahn Anan Akiñcano, Sindre Ajito lived alternately in Norway and Thailand. At the urging of Ajahn Anan and the local Buddhist community, he established a Buddhist forest monastery in Biristrand in 2018. The following year, the small farm in Vingrom came up for sale, and the business was moved there.

Vingrom Buddhist Monastery is open to guests, who can stay for a weekend or longer to immerse themselves in meditation practice and learn about monastic life. Among the visitors this day is Upasika Silje (upasika is the name for a dedicated female lay person in Buddhism). The 31-year-old from Drangedal plans to move into the monastery on a permanent basis.

Silje finds that all the distractions in ordinary society cause her to be pulled here and there. In the monastery it is easier to be centered and focused.

– I find it difficult to live in the ordinary world, she says.

– Are there many rules and renunciations in a monastery?

– I would like to have these frameworks. I find that if I have too many opportunities, it is more difficult to stay focused. One might think that in society you can do whatever you want, but what I want is to do this.

Never bored

Ajahn Sindre Ajito points out that the rules themselves are not important, but that it is really about training the mind to achieve peace and tranquility – and thus joy.

– In the monastery we cannot listen to music or watch entertainment. But that is not because it is wrong to listen to music or those things, he insists.

As the Buddhist monk sees it, music and other forms of entertainment are only a means to relieve boredom. Instead of using different stimuli – which we also get tired of eventually – we should work on the real problem: Boredom.

– Through meditation and the training we do here, you are able to get rid of boredom without other stimuli, says Sindre Ajito.

– Do you never get bored?

– Very rarely. And if I do, I don’t need music. I can just sit down and get rid of it.

(video)

Desire

– What about physical closeness? Don’t you miss a partner?

– All people have wants and desires, and they don’t go away as soon as you are ordained. Getting free from this is part of the training, says the 45-year-old.

– A person who is single and wants a partner is in a bit of pain. A single person who doesn’t want things to be different is fine. A longing is a desire for things to be different than they are right now. That is the problem itself – and it is possible to do something about it, without having to have what we desire.

The overall goal is to be completely free from everything that is experienced as painful and unpleasant.

– That is what the rules set the framework for, says Ajahn Sindre Ajito.

Simple conditions

One of the eight training rules in Vingrom Buddhist Monastery is to «refrain from luxurious beds».

– The point of this rule is that you should not sleep too much, says Sindre Ajito.

The two monks spend the night on a simple mattress pad in their own one-room log cabin, without electricity. The latter is for financial reasons, and not so that the monks will be uncomfortable in the winter, he emphasizes.

– But it has some advantages, too. If you don’t have electricity, it’s not so easy to charge your mobile phone and surf the Internet. You also have to keep the wood stove running. So it helps with meditation.

Knowledge sharing

On the small farm in Vingrom, meditation is often combined with physical work. The monks are constantly working on projects. In addition to building the small huts and the meditation hall, they have also renovated the farmhouse.

They do as much as possible themselves. The monks cannot earn their own money, and the monastery is run with the help of gifts and donations. Most of it comes from Buddhists in Norway, but the monastery also receives contributions from Thailand.

In order to utilize its own resources in the forest, it has invested in a mobile sawmill.

It is Per Einar Lian who has taught them how to cut and plan their own floorboards.

– They are very interested in old crafts, which I have been doing for many years. So then you have to try to glean some of the knowledge, says the 61-year-old.

He has had several stays at the monastery in recent years.

– But I have been exempted from some of the rules. I have to have food regularly. If I am not allowed to eat after 12, I will stop at 3 o’clock, he chuckles.

– Is monastic life tempting?

– I’m too old to think about it like that. But I’m fascinated by the way they do things. That’s why I made them an offer, so they could get started. It’s been a lot of hard work, but really fun.

Lian says he feels honored by the assignment.

– Who is actually the construction manager?

– We don’t agree on that. We argue a bit about who is in charge, jokes Sindre Ajito.

He firmly believes that meditation also helps with frustration on the construction site.

– Meditation doesn’t make problems go away. But the mind becomes stronger and better able to handle them.

Being in the forest and meditating is an ideal combination.

– Buddha often said to the monks: Come out into the forest! Unfortunately, we can’t sit outside and meditate in the winter. We think this will be the closest we get, says Sindre Ajito, nodding towards the large timber structure.

The hope is that the meditation hall can be put into use within the next two years.

– Is this way of living primarily for your own pleasure and benefit, or is it also useful for society?

– I would say both. All people want a good life, and for me, becoming a monk was a good way to have a good time. When we teach our practice, and people take this out into society, into the workplace and into their families, it is also useful for others, says Ajahn Sindre Ajito.