Thailife

Da ar det alltsa dags for tempelvistelsen som jag skrev om for nagon manad sedan. Sjalva kursen i meditation och buddhistisk lara borjar egentligen inte forran vid lunch pa sondag. Dock gar sista helgbussen till Surat Thani imorgon vid 8 pa morgonen. Kan av nagon anledning inte spendera natten mellan lordag och sondag i templet dar jag kommer vistas under resten av min retreat-tid. Istallet maste jag fa tag pa ett hostel eller ett annat narliggande tempel. Det ordnar sig.

Under mina 12 dygn pa plats kommer jag inte ha nagon som helst kontakt med omvarlden. Jag far i princip inte ha med mig andra agodelar an en tval, lite klader och en handduk. Packningen blir darfor valdigt latt.

De tre storsta utmaningarna i templet: Inte ata efter 12 pa dagen, att vara tvungen att stiga upp 4 varje morgon  men framforallt att inte fa yttra ett ord under alla dessa dygn. Dagarna ska spenderas genom meditation och bon. Yttre faktorer far inte lov att stora min tankeverksamhet och sjal.

Meditation och buddhistisk lara alltid intresserat mig. Har far jag chansen att ta del av religionen och utova meditation pa riktigt.

Jag ser aven det har som en stor utmaning.

Tror det kommer bli en riktigt spannande och larorik tid och jag ser verkligen fram emot de kommande veckorna!

Idag har jag fatt lite information skickad till min mail, bland annat mitt dagliga schema, nagra bilder och regler:

General

Meditation is a way to train and cultivate the mind, to develop con­cen­tra­tion, mind­fulness and awareness. Buddhism offers calm­ness or con­cen­tra­tion medi­tation and vipassana or insight medi­tation. Anapanasati or Mind­ful­ness with Breathing, the medi­tation method taught at Suan Mokkh, covers both, con­cen­tra­tion and insight medi­tation. But during the first days of the retreat we will mainly train you in con­cen­tra­tion medi­tation by focusing attention on breathing. Detailed instruction is given throughout the retreat. All instruction and talks are given in English.

Meditation takes energy and commitment, deter­mination and discipline. Doing a 10-day retreat is, especially for beginners, not easy. We have to adjust our bodies and minds to the retreat settings:

· We have to get up early and adjust to less sleep

· We have to adjust to the schedule which everybody is asked to follow completely

· We have to live on 2 vegetarian meals a day

· We have to deal with bodily discomfort

· We may have to experience a lot of "ups" and "downs" during the retreat

Body and mind are not used to these very different circumstances and they may react with discomfort, with restlessness, with boredom, with doubt, with feeling very tired. For these reasons the daily schedule is not that challenging, tailored for beginners, but still it will take three or four days to adjust to all these new circumstances. After that you should be able to float within your new environment without having to fight and struggle against too much discomfort.

---

Basic Rules

During the retreat, all participants are required to observe some basic rules. This is for the ben­e­fit of everyone - a very important part of getting you to the right frame of mind for med­ita­tion - and because you will be staying on monastery grounds. You must:

Keep complete silence throughout the retreat (exceptions: personal interviews from Day 3 to Day 8 and emergencies);

· Stay within the boundaries of the retreat center;

· Keep the Eight Precepts, which are:

     1. intend not to take away any breath (abstain from killing)
     2. intend not to take away what is not given (abstain from stealing)
     3. intend to keep one's mind and one's body free from any sexual activity
     4. intend not to harm others by speech
     5. intend not to harm one's consciousness with substances that intoxicate and
         lead to carelessness (no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking etc)
     6. intend not to eat between after noon and before dawn
     7. intend not to dance, sing, play or listen to music, watch shows, wear
         garlands, ornaments and beautify oneself with perfumes and cosmetics
     8. intend not to sleep or sit on luxurious beds and seats.

This is the moral code for those who seek normalcy plus lightness and simplicity in living.