The temple, Doi Suthep, is just outside the city. It takes maybe 20 minutes total to get there. The temple itself is located on the top of mountain and the road up to it is long and windy. When you reach the top of the road there are two ways to the top of the temple: the staircase which is about 300 steps or an elevator. Even with the huge bag on my back, I went for the stairs. It was all really for effect just to show that I am willing to do whatever it takes to get through this mediation retreat and take it seriously. Its funny, on the way up a Thai woman coming down the stairs gave me a thumbs up. Things are going well.
So I get to the top, check in, and a Thai guy from the International Buddhist Center, very official, takes me to where Ill be staying. We walk past the tourist filled temple and go down a stairwell off the back of the building. We head into a long well-lit stone corridor with doors off each side. Already things got weird. What I walked into immediately reminded me of the movie 'Moonraker', or an futuristic 70s film where young couples are being launched into space to start a new Utopian society. The corridor was filled with several young men and woman all wearing the same White outfit. Each person was very calm and was just walking down the hall without a care in the world except for the task at hand. No one communicated anything to the other except for the faint bit of sexual tension that seemed to hang in the air. It was really eerie. As I walked by, I made eye contact with a girl. She looked at me for a second, didnt change her expression, and then looked away. I was expecting to see a shirtless Charleston Heston come out of nowhere with his gun drawn and run through the hallway any minute. No Dice.
We get to my door on one side and below is the room waiting for me inside. Stark to say the least. The rooms were clean, tile floor and the walls are all white washed. Definitely no distractions in this room.
After I drop my things off in my cell. He shows me the garden. Looking at the picture below. You can only think you walked into an asylum; people sitting in all white in a garden, lost in their own world, barely moving with no general purpose in mind.
There were 15 people total when I was there, 8 men and 7 woman initially. Everyone is coming and going at staggered times. Some people are there only for 3 days others for a month. Most people seemed European, English mainly. I think there were two other Americans and 1 Thai woman in the group but with the others it was hard to tell.
While at the retreat there is no alcohol, smoking, talking, or eating after noon. The no smoking you could see was taking its toll on some of the Europeans there. You could smell the tobacco on some of them so you know they were sneaking out for breaks. I later found out that some of them had been sneaking food for dinner too. Cheeky Monkeys! I, on the other hand, stood true.
It was tough. I would start getting hungry around three then it would subside and then pick up again about 7 o'clock at night. One morning I almost threw up because it had been about 20 hours since my last meal. I managed to get through breakfast but it was a close call. You really just lack the energy to move; I really didnt even want to eat by the end because I was just so tired.
I had trouble sleeping too. You can see from the picture that it wasnt exactly the Ritz. The tile was extremely hard and the mat they gave me was thin. I had to double the blankets over and put them under my bed. It didnt help much. I dont think I got more then six hours sleep any one night. And even then it wasnt without waking up several times during then night.
The two meals we did have was a funny sight. You arent allowed to socialize or talk while eating; you are just suppose to focus on your food. So for meals there would be 15 folding tables and chairs all setup in a line and everyone would sit at their individual tables alone and eat. The chair were all on the same side of the table so you couldnt make eye contact with anyone while eating. You just sat there, shoveled the foot into your mouth, and listened to other people doing the same. I couldnt tell if it was the food or if I was just hungry but I thought the food was really good.
The days were setup so you would have some practice then some instruction then some more practice and so on. The first part of the day was some communal meditation instruction. It was taught by a monk and it was almost like a Buddhist sermon interwoven with Meditation techniques. Then after that you would practice on your own for a bit and then would have an individual session with the monk. He would check up on you and add whatever techniques he needed to before you went off and practiced some more.
I had never done any kind of Meditation before. I thought it would just be people sitting around thinking about the world or whatever trying to achieve Enlightenment. That was the exact opposite. First off, the Lotus position caused me nothing but pain and frustration. That is the stereotypical meditation position, legs crossed, one foot on the other leg, back straight, and hands in the lap. You have to hold that position for about 15 to 20 minutes each time. Sitting like that cuts off the circulation to your legs, caused my legs to begin to shake, my knees ache, and my back tense up. It is by no means an easy, relaxing position. I really am proud of the fact that I was able to sit like that for 20 minutes by the end of the 5 days. It wasnt comfortable but I could. Part of the instruction we received was on how to overcome the pain of sitting in these positions for long periods.
And the just sitting around contemplating the world was a No go. You are suppose to clear you mind of everything and just focus on your body while meditating. Sitting with your body in a pretzel and clearing your mind isnt very easy. The goal is to be conscious of all your thoughts and movements to clear your mind to prevent 'Monkey Brain' as our teacher said. That is where random thoughts are just coming in and out of your head without your control.
Honestly, some of the things had some merit. I dont know how much meditation Ill do at home but I think overall the course was beneficial. It was interesting to see what the Thai Buddhist consider to be ' the Mind.' The mind to Westerners is your Brain and you point at your head when someone asks where your mind is. But to the Thai the Mind refers to something separate from your body and you point to your heart when you refer to it.
One part I was disappointed about on the retreat was how bored I got. I thought I would be able to get through it no problem but I ended up just sitting around a lot and napping. The lack of stimuli was kind of hard to take. And not being able to talk with people wasnt helping. Glad to be out and heading on.
If you took the 30 day course, which would be suicide if you ask me, the last three days you arent allowed to sleep. You just stay up for 72 hours meditating. No Thanks.
The Last Full Moon was two days ago. Ive been in Thailand for two Full Moons. The first was on my birthday and I spent it surrounding by people trying to drink their faces off at one of the craziest parties in the Eastern Hemisphere. And the second I spent at a temple in Chang Mai voluntarily starving myself and meditating.
The temple at night.
I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who once said 'You know what the difference between you and me is? I make this look good!"
The meditation hall where you are suppose to practice. At one point, I was in there and a cat jumped into the window from the roof. The monks let animals roam everywhere. You could be sitting in a hall and a stray dog would just wander through and noone would think twice about it. The same goes for Lizards and Spiders which can be a bit much.
. . . .
In about an hour, I am going to be heading into Laos. It is a 3 day journey. Two days are by boat. I should arrive the 18th midday. I chose the slow boat because the fast boat while cheaper is suppose to be extremely dangerous. Rumor has it on the fast boat you sit in a fetal position for 6 hours as the speed boat zooms down a narrow river at speeds probably 3 times what you should be going. There are suppose to be a couple deaths every year from it so Im taking a pass. Right now I heading into Laos with a Canadian guy I met a couple of days ago; should be good times. Im eager to get out of Thailand. While I treasure every moment Ive had here, I feel like Im stagnating a bit. Its time to get back out on the road and Laos is the destination.
