Originally, I thought of writing a single post for my experience at the retreat but I ended up writing so much. Hence, I am going to write several posts on the retreat, so you can skip the boring parts easily.
The different posts would be
- Introduction
- General Overview (of the retreat)
- Day by Day (My meditation and changes in thoughts as the days go by)
- Conclusion
- Photos of the retreat (with captions)
Sections in this post are:
2.1 About the retreat
2.2 Not talking – Xie Xie, Sawadeekup.
2.3 Obese?
2. General Overview (of the retreat)
2.1 About the retreat
Imagine a group of people. They are all wearing white. Slowly walking from one place to another. When entering any place or room, they try to make the least sound as possible. They might or might look at you when you walk by. There are no “Hi”s or “Thank you”s. At certain times of the day, this group of people gather to partake in a silent activity. This activity could be eating or listening to the daily talks. The only time they talk would be when they are asked “How are you?” once a day. Does chanting count as talking? They do join in daily chanting.
Why do people walk so slowly? For me, it is because I have so much time on my hands. Wasting a few minutes walking seems like not a problem. We wake up at 5am and sleep at about 9pm. I tend to sleep at 8pm. If you exclude 1 hour for the morning Dharma talk, 1 hour for breakfast, 1 hour for lunch, 1 hour for chanting and 10-15 minutes to report on your meditation, you would have 10 hours 45mins to yourself or to meditate.
This retreat was really good for me. I learnt so much. There are many aspects that I love about the retreat.
2.1.1 Meditation Demonstration (Introduction)
Before every meditator joins the retreat, they must attend the meditation demonstration at 2:30pm on their first day. If you miss it, you cannot join the retreat on that day. The monk would introduce walking mediation and sitting meditation. He did not give much explanation about each of the mediation, just the basics.
I thought this basic meditation introduction was wonderful. You are allowed to decide how best to do your own meditation with just the basics. I have attended some meditation courses before and they tend to be full of information, that I sometimes get overwhelmed with doing everything at the same time. If you learn more about meditation, you learn that each meditator meditates differently, depending on each individual. Given the time I had, I also experimented with everything to how to do my own meditation.
2.1.2 Opening Ceremony
To officially start the retreat, you join in an opening ceremony with the teacher of the centre. After the ceremony, he gives basic tips on how best to start/proceed with your meditation practice.
This opening ceremony gave the retreat a clear start and introduces the main teacher to you.
2.1.3 Morning Mediation / Afternoon Meditation / Evening Meditation
These meditation sessions are scheduled. You decide where and how long you intend to meditate. There is no one to force you or will check on you. Given the many hours that we have on our hands, somehow, you would try and do your own meditation sessions. I did quite a lot of meditation sessions at the start then got a bit tired from the back to back sessions. After that, I spaced out my sessions to just relax and enjoy the process. Meditation should be a marathon and not a sprint.
2.1.4 Evening Chanting
I enjoyed the daily chanting. On the first day, I was fumbling with the words and the rhythm. As the days went by, the reading of the words became easier and you get the rhythm of the chants and it becomes more enjoyable.
For the first part of the chanting, you are expected to kneel for about 10-15 minutes. I am not exactly sure as I was concentrating on the words and not on the clock. The kneeling was quite painful on the first day. Then I saw and learnt from others who were there. They placed a stack of cushions in between their legs. So even though, their legs are in the kneeling position, they are effectively just sitting on the stacked cushions. I did that as well. I could have sat in that position for the whole duration.
2.1.5 5:30am Dharma Talk
Listening to words of wisdom and tips about life or about meditation was a great way to start the day.
2.1.6 Meditation Report to the Teacher
I think this is what makes the meditation retreat most fulfilling. Everyday, you are expected to update the teacher about your meditation. If you are ok with your current meditation, the teacher would then give you the next stage of your meditation. So you are constantly learning different things to focus on, done baby step by baby step. Sometimes, instead of changing the meditation routines, he would ask you to increase the lengths of your meditation sessions. Slowly, you learn and progress more and more at a comfortable pace.
2.2 Not talking – Xie Xie, Sawadeekup.
Not talking or replying is an odd thing for me. It might be quite odd for most people, I suppose. I am very comfortable being alone, maybe that is why I choose to join this retreat. However, not being able to replying is something new for me.
There were 2 incidents during the retreat.
On the first evening, one elderly meditator of the retreat was not able to see the stairs clearly. So, I just turned on the torch function of my phone to aid him. He then said “Thank you.” (which I do not think he need to say, since talking is not allowed.) I just looked at him and continue shining my bright light for him. At the end of the stairs, he looked at me and said, “Xie Xie.” (which is Thank You in Chinese Mandarin.) I wondered whether he said the “Xie Xie.” because I seemed as if I did not know English or just saying Thank You in a different way. I would never know.
I am surprised that there are so many visitors to the meditation centre. I believe that they visited the main temple at the top of Doi Suthep then saw the signage of a meditation centre and followed the 5mins walk down to the centre. One tourist saw me in my white clothes and said “Sawadeekup” (the standard greeting in Thailand). Not being able to reply or talk, I could not tell him that I am not Thai. I just nodded and went on my way quietly.
2.3 Obese?
Disclaimer: This is only my personal observation from the meditators during MY OWN retreat. This post is not a blanket statement. When you meditate so much, you tend to observe many things and just reflect on different things.
As an Asian, I am hovering on being labeled “Obese”. By western standards, I think I am considered average. 70% of the meditators are westerners. Then why am I the biggest meditator at the retreat? There was another Asian meditator who is also just as big as myself, who coincidentally is also from Singapore. Does this say anything about people who are keen on meditation? Or just about Singaporeans?
The meditation hall.
Will travel 