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Published: July 24th 2009
Sunday, 19 July, 12:33 As I make myself comfortable on the hard motorcycle seat, I prepare myself for the 65 kilometer journey to spend the next three days at the
Tam Wua Forest Monastery in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.
I just had a wonderful breakfast this morning with Mark and coincidentally my friend Kerry, who was already at the restaurant, a great man who I met on my previous visit to Pai.
FYI: I decided to spare you the details on my trip back from Luang Prabang, Laos to Pai, Thailand, which totaled to be exactly 27 hours of traveling:
- Friday, leave Luang Prabang to border, 16:30 - 15 hours by bus
- Saturday, leave Laos, 8:00
- Cross Mekong River to Thailand, 8:10
- Enter Thailand, 8:35
- Tuk tuk to bus station, 8:50
- Bus to Chiang Rai, 9:00 - 2.5 hours (Here we find out there are NO direct buses to Pai)
- Bus to Chiang Mai, 13:00 - 2 hours
- Bus to Pai, 16:30 - 3 hours
...that's the short version!
Anyway, so when I first met Kerry, who is originally from New Zealand, he
The Yard
Front yard and main prayer/meditation hall told my friends and I about the Buddhist monastery and offered to take us. Since I was the only one continuing my travels after my volunteer work, I told him I'd take him up on that, so we kept in touch and here we are!
This morning we happened to go to the same restaurant for breakfast, where we also discussed the "game plan".
After getting our motorbikes and a quick stop at the Witching Well for a to-go Mushroom and Sundried Tomato Sandwich, we set off into the mountains.
15:17, We arrive at the monastery; it is located between two huge limestone mountains and one smaller one. The entire place is surrounded by the greenest trees and plants I have ever seen. Everything seems to be more vibrant here: pink, yellow and red flowers everywhere; hot pink and baby blue dragonflies rest on closed lily flowers or fly across the two ponds where the carps swim below; the lime green birds would go unnoticed in the trees if it wasn't for their loud chirping and all other insects and creatures can't be seen but are definitely heard.
There is a big wooden sign our front
Dhamma Hall
Main prayer/meditation hall, also where we feed the monks welcoming anyone who wants to calm their mind and refresh their spirit. Coming down the mountain from Pai, we turn right into the compound and drive about a kilometer until we reach the actual monastery. About halfway down, we meet a friend of Kerry's who went up the day before, Paul from California, USA. We continue down the dirt path until we reach "utopia" - the place is beautiful!
Paul had just informed us that there's a group of 40 youth getting ready to leave, which is nice because it gives the place a lot more peace and quiet. There are about 28 cabins at the monastery, including two dormitories, one for men and the other for women.
After we park the bikes, we go off to find Abbot Ajhan, head of the seven monks. After ten minutes of searching, we finally find the Abbot; he is busy with one of the new two-story dormitories they're building. He has the biggest smile on this face and is giggling with joy as he wobbles down the steps to greet us. He is thrilled to see Kerry again, who was there only a month ago. He laughs after probably every
other sentence, it's truly contagious! After introductions, we ask if there is room enough for us to stay. There are no reservations when you come here; you just show up and it's always a luck of the draw whether or not you're able to stay. He says we can stay for as long as we want, "
...a week, a month, a year - this is your home!" Wee if that doesn't make you feel welcome, I don't know what does!
We walk around and he points our where each of us will stay; each of us receive our own room. My room is located right near one of the ponds; there is a little stream with several smaller waterfalls - so peaceful. My room is a decent sized wooden cabin with a private bathroom. This is a wooden bed with some mats and blankets; there's also a fan and a makeshift broom. We get situated and without saying a word to each other, we go out separate ways. (Side note: The monastery is ALL DONATION based - you can pay as much or as little as you please!)
I walk towards a larger stream and try to ignore
My Room
Note the wooden bed, which actually wasn't too bad! some of the remarks the youth (e.g. +/-18 y/o boys) are making,
you just spent the weekend at the monastery...really??! I find myself walking around, exploring this new place and try to get in my "meditative" state of mind."
Before I know it, 18:00 rolls around and it's time for evening meditation. I took a photo of the schedule, take a look if you'd like...
The loud bell, which the monks ring to announce meditation and the "feeding of the monks", rings three consecutive times (5x a day, twice for feeling, 3x for meditation); each time it starts off slow and gradually increases.
I walk towards the front of the monastery, cross a bridge and see two spaces in front of me: one open meditation space, and the other a slightly larger, two-story building. I see people take off their shoes and walk up the stairs - I follow. I push open a screened-in door and see the seven monks patiently sitting at the front of the rectangular room. The men sit closer to the monks than the women, who are towards the back of the room. Everyone, including the monks, sit on dark blue, square mats/cushions
and face the golden Buddha statue situated in the upper left hand corner (coming through the room, it would be on the lower left side), make sense? I quickly pick out an empty mat in the back so I can watch the other women and copy what to do; however, before I can move two steps, I am offered one of the seats in the front row (of the womens section), where they have already placed an English meditation/chanting booklet for me.
I try to get comfortable while sitting on my knees; the chanting begins. There is no music, only the somewhat rhythms of voices in unison. About 45 minutes later, we do 1/2 hour of sitting meditation; the lights are switched off. The place gets even darker as the moon comes up; you can smell the rain set in. All is silent. The only thing you hear are the crickets and beetles outside, the stream and waterfalls and of course, The Breath, which is strongly emphasized during meditation practices. After an hour and a half of chanting and meditation, we do one last chant together, bow down three times to the Buddha and monks and return out mats
and books to one of the back corners.
I meet the other guys at the bottom of the stairs and ask how they liked it. As we are talking, the monks come down the stairs and ask for us to follow them into the lower level of the house, where the library is also kept. They give up a pack of soymilk, which after an early lunch and not having eaten since, tastes awfully good! We give thanks and slowly walk back to our rooms and call it a night, it's 20:30.
Monday, 20 July The day was supposed to begin at 5:00 with personal meditation - I fully participated with something I call "sleeping meditation." 😊 I woke up at 6:00 and did some yoga. At 6:30 I went to "feed the monks." It takes place in the main hall, which is just a big open space with nice, big tiles and three huge Buddhas on an altar.
Feeding the monks is a ritual where, before
you eat, you give food to the monks. Since the monks here don't eat after noon, this only takes place twice a day: Before breakfast (@ 7:00) and
lunch (@ 10:30). For breakfast, you sit on your knees on a mat and have a bowl of rice in front of you (see picture with bowls and mats on the floor). After doing three bows towards the Buddha, you bless the rice. As the monks come by, you raise from your knees, bow your head slightly, raise your tin bowl, scoop out a bit of rice with a metal spoon and place it in the monk's larger bowl. Once all the monks received their rice, they cover the bowl with their cloak, move in a line towards the front of the room, face you and sing a prayer. Once they leave, you clear the mats and bowls and have breakfast. Feeding the monks at lunch is a little different. Here the monks sit on a platform by the Buddha statue. The pots and pans in which the different vegetarian foods were cooked are placed on the left side of the plateau, where the Abbot sits. One by one the Abbot calls on someone to come forward, kneel down, hand the Abbot one of the dishes, do the
wai (bowing of the head while placing your hands together near the
The Beast!
Added this photo so you have the handle on the window to compare its size, although it doesn't really do it justice heart), and then, if you're a man you go to the right of the platform to collect the dishes once they're all passed down by the monks; if you're a woman, you go back to your mat, wait for all the dishes to be passed before clearing your mat. Breakfast and lunch usually consisted of rice (surprise surprise), sauteed tofu, and different stir-fried veggies with different herbs and spices. It sounds nice but most dishes were just too spicy, overpowering any other flavors. For lunch there were mushrooms which I really liked; but that quickly turned to dislike when I found maggots in my bowl - thank god they were at least dead!
Meditation Meditation takes place four times a day, 1.5 hours each time, assuming you wake up at 5 for personal meditation. There are four parts to each "session":
- 20-30 minutes walking meditation
- 10 minutes standing meditation
- 30 minutes sitting meditation
- 20-30 minutes laying down meditation
It's normal to sometimes have a great session (where it's easy to get into a meditative state of mind), and other times where it's difficult. Most my meditations were ok, one however, was
The Beast!
A close up of The Beast - this guy got caught between the window and the screen right before bedtime (aka 20:30). I still have no idea what it is....a moth perhaps? And yes, I saved it, released it back into the wild! great!
Monday afternoon and I am walking across the bridge for meditation,
I can't believe I may just have eaten maggots! I slip off my flip flops before I step onto the cold, maroon-colored tiles. I say hi to the monk, kneel down on the mat and wait for the others (the three men with whom I came) to takes their places. Once they do, we bow three times with the monk to pay our respects to the Buddha before we start with walking meditation.
It's just the way it sounds, you walk any distance you'd like, eyes open focused on the ground and your hands folded in front of you. You in- and exhale through the nose. I am really feeling relaxed while walking and 30 min are up before I realize it. "
Stay where you are, close your eyes and relax the arms" - we immediately begin with standing meditation which seals the deal for me; I'm in a different place. It's an unexplainable feeling...I feel awake but am not.
Ten minutes later, "
Please go to your mats." I walk over and sit down. "
Get in a comfortable position, place your hands in your lap, Beautiful
This woman was amazing - I don't know how old but always smiling, playing with her bottom dentures haha close your eyes and take three deep breaths." I cross my legs like a pretzel, sit up straight, relax my shoulders and continue my meditation. The space smells like other hot and humid day right before it gets hit by rain. Since it's an open space (no walls), I can feel the wind picking up. Then, out of nowhere, I hear wind chimes. Not the small, cheap ones you buy for like $5.99 in tourist shops, but the bigger ones with different sized metal, hollow tubes that each create a unique tone in the wind.
I hear the wind chime and experience something I've only read about in meditation books: A rush of emotion coming over me - I feel the tears hide behind my closed eyelids. The wind chimes took me back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin; to my grandparents' place where my grandpa used to make his own chimes and had them all over the yard. My mind wanders,
Why did they have to go so early? Why my other grandparents? How come my youngest brother barely even get to meet one? I've read in meditation books that it's normal to experience strong emotions such as anger, joy, sadness,
The Abbot
Smiling Abbot Ajhan announcing lunch time etc. It was amazing to experience this. I focus again and continue meditating...
We left on Tuesday morning, after meditation. Going to the monastery was definitely a great experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Thailand. The monks are open and willing to talk to you about anything, especially Buddhism. I could write so much more about the monastery but I'll leave that for "in-person" conversations!
I brought my iPod with me to the monastery haha a bit ironic, but there's one song I continually listened to,
We Never Change by Coldplay - this part of the song I particularly like:
I want to live life and never be cruel,
I want to live life and be good to you...
Karma
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TinNiE
" Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness "
meditation
lovely experience =)