So very grateful to find a meditation retreat to join while in Chiang Mai. Deepening my practice is one of my intentions of this trip and I am grateful to begin that quest sooner than later.
I found a tuk tuk to bring me to Wat Sudonk where we all met up. The driver asked me what i plan to do at this temple and I told him I plan to meditate! His response was "oh meditation, it's good for the heart." I just loved this reaction!
As I arrived to the temple I was given white clothes and entered this meditation room for a discussion on buddhism to introduce the retreat.
Everyone introduced themselves and said how many years he/she has been practicing and where they are from. It was amazing, the small group of maybe 25 represented over 10 countries! I love the feeling of being in a room with people from all over the world! I was also surprised that the majority of people had never meditated before as this was their first time. When it was my turn to introduce myself I was shocked that it has been 7 years since my first meditation retreat and I still want more! I was first introduced to Vipassana meditation while traveling in costa rica in 2004 and since it has helped me through many low points in my life as well as the daily madness that goes on in my head! It is a practice I will always treasure and continue for the rest of my life. It felt good to reflect on how long I have been practicing at the young age of 26.
As the monk was talking about Buddhism it felt great to me. Talking about materialism, balance, path to peace and happiness. I can't get enough of this stuff! I think I was a monk in a past life because I resonate with this practice and way of life easily. It feels close to home and close to my heart. It was so cute, I skyped with Adrienne to tell her about the retreat and she called me Monk-E. haha what a great nickname if I were a monk :) Thanks A!
During our down time I reflected on my trip so far and realized that it is great to see sights and meet other people but what really brings meaning to my trip and to my life in general is taking time to meditate and deepen my practice. So it was great to start this early on in my trip.
Entrance to the meditation hall.
We woke at 5am to continue our practice. We did a combination of walking and sitting meditations. Sitting is by far my preference but I appreciate the guidance so participate accordingly. I find it quiet difficult to meditate with mosquitoes flying around! I already have loads of bites and the idea of even more makes my entire body itch! This takes even more mind control. One more thing to cause my mind to drift!
We had a nice group discussion to share one anothers experience and I was so honored that some of the participants directed questions to me since the Monk who was guiding us had difficulty with his english. So, I was asked questions about meditation and I was SO happy I could contribute with the knowlege and experience I have!
We did a lot of chanting. Before meditation, between meditation sets, and my favorite is before meal times. I like the idea of giving thanks before a meal. We are so fortunate for the food we have before us and i think it's the right thing to do to be mindful of the time, energy, expense, etc of getting it from farm to table.
The chanting is interesting to me. To be honest I dont know what the language is but the melodies remind me of Hebrew prayers. I would often think of my father, who since a young child I have been honored to hear him passionately sing/chant from the Torah. Hearing the melodies reminded me of my Jewish upbringing and sparked a curiosity of looking into meditation courses associated with Judaism. I definitely would love to do another retreat while in Israel!
Here I am in my white clothing they gave to us to wear.
All in all it was a great experience. And now I look forward to the other retreats I find during my travels!!
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