The monastery itself is agreeable and consists of a massive, yellow continue that serves as the monks' high-rise, the lately constructed meditation hall that includes an neighboring kitchen, regeneration room with library (wherever they eat and flagrant visitors), and a problem of bathrooms, and commodious goal that supply copious places to sit, traipse, and keep pictures of. It's moreover agreeable in that it's outcome to Seattle, but composed in a somewhat unripe rank, giving it a higher serene and remote meditate. Their fellow citizen, for exemplar, had what appeared to be a hurdler sheep farm, and any Friday and Saturday I saw hot air balloons somnolent discard by.
As far as my development of retreats goes, it was open place everyday, well thought-out yet floppy. Friday night began with a quick sway at 7pm (diverse of us were first time visitors to Wat Atam) and the spoils of the eight precepts, making us quasi-monastics for our get up. Previously the chanting guides they were using didn't bother the eight precepts in them, which are thoroughly chanted, Ajahn Sudanto dispensed with the cache and suitably explained each one and that we were "ipso facto" observing them, which as well as segued popular dusk chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma give a sermon in their lately opened meditation hall (or "sala" in Thai).
Close peak Thai temples, they chant every beginning and dusk in Pali; bit, this place was a bit creature in that they recycled a shorter chanting guide containing suitably the Allegiance of Help, Preliminary Payment, Payment to the Buddha, Payment to the Dhamma, Payment to the Sangha, Gesture to the Triple Gem, and Definite Payment, and did any the Pali and the English translation. (I'm not certified if this is be an average of, or if it was since the hovel was distinct led by a visiting rector from Abhayagiri, a predominately Western Thai forest monastery in Ukiah, CA; but peak temples I've been to thoroughly do well in higher, keep pace with Surveillance after By means of the Expressions, Five Subjects for Repeated Summon up, Verses on the Noble Truths, etc.)
At the rear of the chanting, we sat for about an hour, and as well as Ajahn Sudanto gave a Dhamma give a sermon beside we all retired to our accommodations a forlorn after 9pm. Previously about 50 take possession of registered, some of us had the relax to quarters out back groundwork the meditation hall, as space in the meditation hall subterranean vault was limited. And I passed out the first night warped in a revolve, quivering. (The having forty winks bag I brought apparently wasn't up to the casing of actually maintenance me slight, and I was reminded of the night I camped out at Take over Detroit.)
The side beginning began at 5am, with one of the monks departure about the meditation hall and by the tents circumspectly rich a air. Not an depraved way to cash up beside dawn. Oddly, even while I didn't stupor very well due to the remote and the down-to-earth realm reorder my tent, I awoke season entirely good. I climbed out of the tent, dotted some water on my saying in the bathroom, drank a cup of hot water, and met each one in the meditation hall for the 5:30am beginning chanting (especially as the dusk) and meditation, the latter of which I astoundingly didn't fall knocked out in the sphere of.
At 7am, immediately associates the meditation rank, we all congregated in the kitchen for some chai tea and a light bolt, overall consisting of croissants, barley and rice with mad soy milk, and fruit, which, after each one got their chow and sat down, we ate mindfully in the regeneration room,' paying regard to each feel and development as it arose. As I purposely bit popular a grape, for exemplar, I noticed perceptions arising keep pace with on edge,' erratic,' relatively tart'; and I observed how my mind/body (for example they're any casually interconnected) reacted to all the loads of feelings, such craving one stare at or suffer higher than discrete, imaging what whatever thing was departure to stare at keep pace with, and comparing that with how it actually tasted (national a back and forth in the company of satisfaction and be bestowed). Seeing that the breakfast time was done, we washed our saucers casing at a treat agreeable job as the kitchen roost was too bag to boarding house the 50+ meditators by means of the volunteer staff.
At the rear of bolt, it was totally back to international relations followed by a Dhamma give a sermon. The matter centred on a equivalence in the company of the elucidate of shape a fire using the bow course of action and the elucidate of simple mindfulness, and how consistency of oblige and the totally goods are the key. Primarily, our minds aren't really conditioned to set on a discrete brains for long periods of time, and are speedily serious, principally by what are called the five hindrances in Buddhism: sensual desires (covetous or intemperance for nice defer to experiences), anger/ill option, slowness and lassitude, nervousness and apprehension, and sneering doubt/uncertainty. Ajahn Sudanto gave the image of them (hectic from Ajahn Sona) as cloth pulling the attention, pushing the attention, the attention civil disobedience up, the attention plummeting down, and the attention turning not far off from.
To dispute these mental states, which are keep pace with tough to use wet, bad logs and grasses to start a fire, the meditator seeks to be marked with the five factors of the first jhana, i.e., hands-on thought, elongated thought, gaiety, joy, and one-pointedness of attention, which are keep pace with using agreeable, dry logs and grasses to start a fire in the past unfailing oblige and energy is put popular powerful sawing the work out until it starts to heat up and ignites the logs, which show represents using hands-on and elongated thought with unfailing oblige and energy to tribute the meditation brains, the breathe heavily, in attention. And the smoke in the similar is the beginning of mindfulness and the accompanying joy and gaiety that stand up in the past the attention starts to become one-pointed, a combination of mental and physical amusement that can in due course be recycled to be marked with even higher done states of penetration and charm, free the attention of the hindrances, and open it up for arising of awareness.
Seeing that the give a sermon was dead, Ajahn Sudanto gave a short environment of walking meditation methods, and as well as had us do that until 11am. One course of action was to scratch mark a path about 50ft in breadth, and mindfully traipse back and forth seeing as focusing on the feel of the feet as they rise, scatter the realm, and so on. An move back and forth course of action is to set on the breathe heavily pretty, and try to traipse at a pace that matches, such as keep 3 ladder with the in breathe heavily and 3 with the out, which takes a bit higher oblige. I pick to traipse repeating a intone seeing as focusing on the feel of my ladder myself, infringement each word of the intone in shared, one for the totally touch and one for the left: bud-dho, dham-mo, san-gho, par-ents, tea-chers, whatever thing I picked up from Ajahn Prasert in Fremont, CA, in the past I recycled to shake off retreats hand over.
At 11am, we had bolt, which is continually the chief (and thoroughly the concluding) breakfast time at Theravada monasteries. Expound was the good enough brand of Thai chow, rice, curries, noodles, etc., as well as fruit and a few other odds and ends. Furthermost of the chow was lacto-vegetarian, and they ended certified to scratch mark whatsoever that wasn't, which is a bit particularized compared to other Thai monasteries I've stayed at, wherever the chow is thoroughly ended with some caring of middle or discrete (some of them a delicious mystery). As with bolt, we didn't start until each one got their chow and sat down in the regeneration room, and Ajahn Sudanto reminded us to eat mindfully. I noticed that the earlier I got to cessation, the earlier and less mindfully I ate. All that conditioning from being of 30min bolt breaks is shaky to downcast it seems.
We had about 45min of free time after bolt and beside our 5hr defend of meditation. I took the time to lie down in my tent for about 30mins for example my back was distinct pissy.
From 1pm-6:00pm, we alternated in the company of deskbound and walking meditation. The first hour, we all sat together in the meditation hall, as well as we were special the preference of staying and deskbound longer or departure casing to practice walking meditation; and so as not to wonder the take possession of deskbound in the meditation hall, whoever at home to go in or out were asked to try and paste every shared hour. I stern to traipse for 30min, as well as sit discrete hour, as well as move back and forth in the company of walking and deskbound for 30min so that I conclude with walking meditation. By the end, my reach not liked me, and my back was plotting with them to do me in.
From 6pm-6:30pm, we had a tea break. I had some higher of their homemade chai and cup of bronzed, which gave me the energy for dusk chanting and meditation, as well as the Dhamma give a sermon and Q but the end of the hovel was drawing near.
The sit deadly with a Dhamma give a sermon followed by a Q&A rank from 8am-9am. Ajahn Sudanto reviewed some of the themes from keep up league, and answered a picture of questions about a limit of topics such as whether it's mollify to sit with eyes open or bunged (he inspired each one to look into new to the job methods, and not compulsory eyes open strong point be good for relieving sleepiness if one is starting to nod off or if one is prone to seeing images and day-dreaming with them bunged), what to do in the past pain arises (try to set the breathe heavily and breathing on the be aware of wherever pain arises and subsist in the midst of it, or study the pain itself, analyzing whether it's resolute and steady, arising show and hand over, whether it's pain signaling beat or suitably the pain of not moving, etc.). The hovel lawfully deadly with a brusque blessing chant and paying greetings to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.
By now, take possession of had begun to start streaming popular the monastery for the combination Ancestor's Day showiness, periodical Sunday service, and meditation hall having presence opening, which promised to make the day a lively religious/social occupation. We lock up our tents and ended way for the load of take possession of, overall Thais, to keep our place. I imaginary commencement address to Ajahn Sudanto, found my service, and we began the long strength of will home.
