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Published: November 30th 2006
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Meditation Retreat
Our tents, surrounded by beautiful trees! I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect for my week long meditation retreat in Chang Mai. I took a taxi to Wat Phra Dhammakaya (the temple we’d be leaving from in Bangkok) around 6pm on Sunday evening. I found my way into the office of The Middle Way, the foundation running the retreat. We left in vans around 8pm with all the equipment for the week and all of the volunteers and staff. I was one of 4 or 5 participants who chose to get to there via the temple vans. I sat with Joe, one of the temple volunteers, who also helps Phra Pisit (my teaching monk) in Buddhist Philosophy classes at Rangsit. We drove through the night and arrived at the camp around 6:30am Monday morning.
The camp was divided by sexes, with the women’s restrooms and tents on the left hand side of the meditation hall, and the men’s restrooms and tents to the right. The few of us who had arrived on the vans got settled into our choice of tents before eating breakfast at 7am. Then we had free time till 10, when those who had flown into the Chang Mai airport had been picked
up and arrived at the camp. Once they were settled in we all had lunch, and the meditation retreat began.
A typical day began at 5am, when some unknown perpetrator walked along the length of the tents ringing a chiming cow bell. I would have liked to find the bell and hide it, if only for one night. At 5:30am we had our first meditation session, which the three teaching monks alternated leading. At the beginning of the week our meditation sessions were 30 min. They slowly built up time as we got more used to the process and more patient. By the end of the week we were meditating for a full hour. After the first morning meditation we had exercise, which Joe led, and usually consisted of mostly stretching, marching, and occasional jumping jacks. One morning we also had a group activity blowing giant soap bubbles which were intended to remind us of the perfect sphere shapes and crystal balls we were attempting to envision at the 7th base of our minds. (More on the Dhammakaya meditation technique further on.)
After exercising, we were warmed up enough to peel off a layer of clothing and head
Meditation Hall
Where we spent much of the week, for classes and meditation. down to breakfast. Breakfast and lunch were very similar food-wise, and we were always greeted by a full table of options for our Thai food buffet. We offered food to the monks before sitting down to each meal, one of my favorite parts of the retreat. After breakfast we had free time till 8:30am, when optional morning chanting began. At 9am we had meditation instruction class, taught by Phra Sarawut, or as we liked to call him, “the giggling monk.” After meditation instruction we meditated until lunch. Repeat the buffet and offering food to the monks before we gorged ourselves and you’ve got a pretty accurate picture.
Our afternoon began after lunch with a good chunk of free time. As we’d been requested not to bring distracting materials such as books, magazines, iPods, or frequently use cell phones, we spent the time sitting around tables on the patio or going for walks in the forest until we discovered the ping pong table and badminton half way through the week. At 2pm we had Meditation History Class, taught by my teacher monk, Phra Pisit. The class began with the history of Lord Buddha and eventually moved into the rediscovery of
Luang Pu Wat Paknam
A photograph of the Grand Master that we paid homage to, and also a view of one of the crystal balls placed for visualization during meditation. the Dhammakaya meditation method and the history of the temple where our teacher monks came from. At the beginning and end of every class and meditation session we paid homage to the Grand Master and paid respect to the teaching monk, which consisted of bowing three times. There was a lot of respect paid throughout the week, and we learned how to sit, behave around, and talk to monks. It was quite a cultural learning experience as well.
We had another round of personal time after the meditation session following Meditation History. This was typically filled with more lazy chatting, ping pong, and badminton. As part of the monks’ 227 precepts, or sila, they don’t eat after noon. As part of the measly 8 sila we agreed to for the retreat, neither did we. Instead of dinner we had an early evening refreshment, consisting of milk products and tamarinds, as approved by the Lord Buddha. (Luckily, chocolate is considered a milk product.) Initially I was pretty worried about not eating dinner for a whole week, but after the first day I barely even noticed. My stomach only grumbled when I woke up at 5am, but I blame that almost
Me and the girls!
Kate from Ireland and Cendrine from New Zealand. I spent much of the week with them, two top quality girls! entirely on the simple injustice of being awake at 5am.
At 6:30pm we had optional evening chanting, followed by Dhamma talk. Taught by Phra Burin, we learned about Buddhist beliefs and practices. It was extremely interesting and I had a lot of fun with Phra Burin. He knows more analogies and true life stories than anyone I know; at least enough to make him a walking Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul. Following our Dhamma talk we had our fourth and final meditation session for the day. Released between 9 and 9:30pm, we returned to our tents and happily climbed into bed.
A few times during the week we had check-ins with the monks where we discussed our personal meditation experiences. The monks gave us advice and we also had the opportunity to ask any questions we wanted. The Dhammakaya method of meditation begins with relaxing your body and then your mind. In Dhammakaya belief, there are seven bases of the mind. The natural resting place of the mind is the 7th base, which is at the gravitational center of the human body- scientifically shown to be about two finger widths above the navel on each person. The
Tables on the patio
Nice place for refreshments and chatting on breaks. goal of Dhammakaya meditation is to return your mind to its natural resting place at the 7th base of the mind.
Once you’re comfortable and have relaxed yourself, you try to place your mind at the center of your body. A Dhammakaya suggested method to accomplish this is to visualize a crystal ball or similar spherical object bright and shining in the center of your body. Your meditation will proceed from there as you become a neutral observer and no longer try to control what is going on. Visualizing the crystal ball worked well for me, and I really got into it. They had large glass balls around to look at for reference and because I was so interested, Phra Pisit even let me borrow his crystal ball. The value of his crystal ball, about the size of a child’s fist, far exceeds any evaluation. It was a gift from his mother and has been blessed by the abbot.
In Dhammakaya belief crystal balls have special properties. When the extremely powerful abbot (Luang Phaw Dhammajayo) meditates near real crystal balls, he compels good spirits, or angels, (which are drawn to his meditation) to reside in the crystal balls.
Basically, they believe angels are in the crystal balls that have been blessed by the abbot, and they will help you with meditation. At the end of the week, in our goodbye ceremony, the monks presented us each with a certificate and a small crystal ball about the size of a marble, blessed by the abbot. Whether or not you choose to believe that there is an angel inside, the fact that they do makes the gift all the more meaningful. It is by far the most special item I will be returning home with.
The week itself will be the most special memory I return home with. It is by far the best thing I’ve done since I got to Thailand. I was filled with an indescribable joy and peace that I hope to keep with me always. I was taught that I am my own refuge and to look within for the solution to my problems. Only time will tell how much I will continue to meditate and what lasting effects this week will have on my life, but as of right now, I feel the winds of change blowing in only the best of directions.
Danna
These stumps marked the line for our imaginary badminton net. (As my digital camera was not yet repaired at the start of the retreat, all pictures in this blog are compliments of Ivy, unless otherwise noted)
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Mark
non-member comment
Spiritual Amazingness
It looks like you really had an amazing time. I'm so excited to talk to you all about it in person. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't share such a wonderful experience with you. Carry the knowledge you gained from the retreat with you always, and share it with me. MWAH, ME