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Published: June 29th 2008
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In May 2005 I spent twelve days meditating at
Wat Bhaddanta Asabharam in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Within an hour of my barely announced arrival at the centre I had received the eight precepts from Sorado Bikhu, as well as basic instruction in Mahasi meditation technique and the advice: “Don’t be too serious about it!”
This Wat and its meditation centre were established by Ajahn Bhaddanta Asabha, aka Chonburi Sayadaw. He was a Burmese sayadaw, sent by Mahasi Sayadaw to teach sattipatana vipassana meditation in Thailand. My teacher, Ajahn Somsak Sorado, was one of his students. He is Thai and, having spent a couple of years in the USA, has sufficient English to teach foreigners.
There seemed to be about 25 monks and 10 nuns living in the Wat, thirteen dogs and a number of cats: as well as a cohort of lay meditators, the number of which fluctuated considerably depending on whether it was weekend or midweek. All were Thai: except for myself and a man from Macedonia, who had already been there several months. When I read the timetable on paper it was familiar to me, having been imported from the Burmese meditation centres. In Thailand there seems to be
(not surprisingly!) a little more latitude for meditators in matters such as the 3.30 wake up bell and maintaining silence. We all wore white clothing and followed eight precepts. Silence in the dining room where the nuns and lay people ate was absolute. If the environment was not always silent it was always peaceful. The main difference I noticed from an Australian program was that there was no organised work period. After breakfast everyone spontaneously found a job to do, and sometimes at other times as well.
Living in the Wat was like being in a small village, there were so many salas, dormitories and kutis. One focal point was the replica of Ashoka’s column (The Emperor Ashoka had these columns put up across his Indian kingdom to promote the adoption of Buddhism during the 3rd century BCE.) which towered above the mango orchard, beyond which lay the thatched rooves of the monks’ village. The evening puja was held in a rather chilly air-conditioned building: in distinct contrast to the great heat that prevailed elsewhere. There was Pali chanting for 45 minutes, followed by a 30 minute Thai language Dharma talk on meditation (always some familiar Pali terminology to
suggest what the topic was). This was followed by 15 minutes of group meditation, sharing of merits and the offering of an evening drink to the monks, and then another 30 minute talk; this one was more informal and I guessed it was about living the Dharma in daily life (no familiar words at all).
By chance my first weekend there fell at Vesak, so the Wat was very busy. The large semi-outdoor sala was crammed with visitors for the mid-morning puja and Dharma talk. At lunchtime there were two or three hundred people present.; most visitors came just for the morning (or part of it) but others stayed the weekend and donned white clothing. The Wat appears to be very well supported by city-based middleclass meditators. This was my first experience of Vesak in a Buddhist country and I found it very moving experience to be there.
There was a lot of pressure on the accommodation at first and I spent four days in a communal hall, which contained - besides an altar and the office desk of one of the senior nuns - about fifteen women sleeping on straw mats. This was my first experience of
Wat Bhaddanta Asabharam
The Burmese masters portrayed on a noticeboard in the main sala. doing walking meditation, sitting meditation and sleeping all on the same spot. Despite the distractions it was a good experience, which taught me a lot about moment-to-moment mindfulness. It also allowed me to pick up routines and appropriate behaviours from the women around me; they were very understanding being, apparently, quite new to the centre themselves.
After the Vesak crowd left the teacher told me to meditate in a kuti. The kutis are built in rows like village cottages and mine was extremely comfortable: newly constructed of concrete and tiles with excellent fly wire, very good simple furniture, fridge and a fine ensuite. The fly wire was quite necessary as Thailand seems to be home to as many flies as Australia, and also because I received a visit one day from a white-lipped pit python (checked out later in the airport bookshop and labelled in bold
dangerous and venomous), which went to slept knotted around the bars of my screen door.
The newsletter says that foreigners are welcome, must stay at least seven days and must seek permission to stay more than fifteen. There are no official start dates for retreats; meditators can arrive any day of the Wat Bhaddanta Asabharam
Administration, teaching. year, between 2 and 3 pm. I found Wat Bhaddhanta a very good place to meditate; besides being very well established it is only two hours from the centre of Bangkok. The compassionate guidance offered by Sorado Bikhu was quite wonderful; he was available for interviews most mornings, offered firm practical advice on mediation and was generous in answering questions about virtually anything. Although there was very little English spoken, it was available when most needed.
On reflection sitting Mahasi retreats at BMIMC in the Blue Mountains and living at Thai-influenced Wat Buddha Dhamma were the best preparation Australia could have offered me for practicing at Wat Bhaddanta Asabharam.
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Patrick Dunn
non-member comment
How did you find this place?
I have messaged ahead to alert the staff at this facility that I will be coming for a retreat next week, but I am unable to figure out how to get myself there. Are there buses? Should I grab a cab from Bangkok? Any help appreciated!