Should a Buddhist Monk talk about himself?

Should we talk about our personal experiences? Should a Monk talk about himself?

An Ordained member of the Sangha (and a good friend of mine) was questioned and criticized for his act of writing a book based on his life and experiences which led up to him becoming a Buddhist monk, and the things that happened thereafter and where they are leading. The criticism suggested that  the Patimokkha forbids a Bhikkhu to write about himself.

This in itself is ridiculous when we consider the fact that the there was no written word as the Buddha first began reciting the Patimokkha to his Bhikkhus, and that the written dhamma came first generations later.

We know that when the Buddha couldn’t not get further in his meditation, he remembered that as a child he went into jhana, and he then just followed his memory of that “mood” and attained the arupajhana.. how do we know this? because he told us! he told us what he thought and how he did it.. is this not talking about oneself? ..what is forbidden is to boast and brag and tell people “look i can fly” or “look i can do this and you cant” or to say you can fly when you cannot. This causes negative feelings like jealousy and anger in people.. that is what is forbidden. But talking or writing about ones experiences with the heartfelt compassionate reason of sharing knowledge and experience to help others find tools to develop themselves with? this is not a crime it is a great blessing!

A Bodhisattva has no secrets;
he witholds nothing, like the flower does not withold its scent, but releases it without even a thought about whether its fragrance will be found to be sweet or pungent and sour..
When Ajahn Chah was asked if he was an Arahant, he replied;
“I am like a tree in the forest, birds come to the tree. They sit on the branches and eat its fruit. To the birds, the fruit may be sweet or sour or whatever. But the tree doesn’t know anything about it. The birds say “sweet”, or they say “sour”, but from the tree’s point of view, this is just the chattering of birds.”

I find myself thinking about the wonderful books by Ajarn Maha Bua which reveal to us how we can practise with teachings based on recounting his experiences and deepes inner thoughts, feelings and practises. If he had not wrote about himself and his experiences we would be much the poorer. Of course a Bhikkhu should be able to write about his experiences, in order to share the teachings he has learned. This is my honest opinion.

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