Meditation Retreat

My Cell
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Have I attained enlightenment?  No.  But I did spend the past week walking around barefoot and open minded at a meditation retreat at the International Dharma Hermitage near Suan Makkh wat in the South of Thailand.

I didn't realize until I showed up, but this is a SILENT retreat, so no talking at all - ugh!  The first couple of days were hard to get used to, especially the ongoing thought you could be happily talking and living it up on the islands of Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan about 60 km away, but I guess sacrifices must be made in the search for inner peace.

The meditation area
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Once we arrived and paid the registration fee, 1500 baht, approx $4 a day, we were assigned rooms.  Going with the Buddhist tradition of simplicity and rejecting material comforts our concrete 6ft by 11ft cells (with barred windows) came with a wooden table to sleep on, and a wooden pillow with a notch cut out for the head.  It was just as comfortable as it sounds.  Each morning we would wake at 4a - again hard to get used to considering this is the time I was going to bed last week.  Throughout the day we would listen to talks about Buddhist philosophy and Dhamma, practice sitting/ walking/ and standing meditation, plus participate in yoga classes each morning.

A Typical day ...

4a - a loud bell begins clanging and I awake with a start.  My back aches as I groggily ask myself why the hell I'm doing this.  Half asleep I get ready and wander over to the meditation hall with the others from the dorm.  The med. hall consists of pillars supporting a large roof over a rectangular area covered in sand and rows upon rows of meditation pillows (150 participated in the retreat).  At 430a someone begins a reading of an article about moderation, the middle path, suffering, or a similar topic.  This is followed by silent meditation, or a losing battle to stay awake.  Next we have 1 1/2 hours of yoga led by a friendly nun - this usually wakes me up.  We have an hour of Dhamma talk afterwards before our first vegetarian meal of the day - rice porridge with a side of leaves.  I feel a bit like a character from Oliver Twist sitting at the huge tables, no talking, just the clinking of soup spoons against metal bowls.  On my walk back to the dorm I'm usually talking myself out of leaving for the 3rd time of the day.  But during the morning break, in which we can visit the hot springs and do more exercises, I usually end up feeling a lot better about the whole thing and look at it as more of an educational experience learning about Buddhism straight from the monks and nuns.  At 10a we return for more Dhamma talk.  Usually it is about suffering and attachment to the material world - a bit depressing in contrast to the sunny day.  This is followed by sitting meditation, walking meditation, and more sitting meditation.  Have I mentioned this is the first time in my life I've meditated for longer than 20 minutes! But there are many other new beginners, I guess they are all going through the same thing.  It is quite difficult to sit and meditate all day, especially with aching back and leg muscles, plus for me - a chronic daydreamer.  It did give me time to ponder what to do with my life, what to do after "Buddhist Camp", and to stare intently at the dreads of the girl sitting in front of me.  Next we have lunch - our last meal of the day - a selection of wheat rice, curries, cooked veggies, and fruit.  In the afternoon more Dhamma talk and meditation.  At 6p a break for hot coco, followed by more of the same until our 9p bedtime.

This lasted for about 7 of the 10 day retreat.  Then I quit :)  I had realized that for the last 2 days I had been day dreaming continually about what to do after the retreat, so why not just practice some of these meditation techniques at the beach?  The whole thing was very informative and I will continue practicing in smaller doses, but man was it nice to leave!