“Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty
This book gives me the clear and content feeling during and after I finish reading it, the same feeling I had during my pilgrimage to Mecca or when I went to a retreat with my Catholic school. Whatever pain I didn’t know I had, it feels healed. And whatever virtue that I’m lacking, it feels fixed and fulfilled.
Drawing lessons from the many wonderful stories across culture, science, religion, and different types of monk, Jay Shetty breaks down the most important factors that would bring us closer to inner peace and serenity. And one chapter at a time the book slowly guide us to be free from our ego and judgements, detach us from our material possessions and status, direct us towards discovering our true self and our dharma, and help us to develop a great sense of compassion for our surroundings.
This might sound like just another personal development checklist, but the way Shetty wraps the lessons from the lens of an actual monk experience is what distinguish this book from many others. Hence, this book can be seen as part autobiography part spiritual book and part practical self-help tool. And just like a real life monk training, it’s not easy, it takes dedication, focus, and hard work. But it’s worth it.
It is one of the slowest books I’ve read this year, where I fittingly slow my pace down in order to fully absorb the timeless wisdom, just like I would have done if I’m physically there at the ashram. Beautiful, beautiful book.
EDWIN SETIADI 