Nirvana: Smells like Thai Spirit

March 4-5

So I just survived my first semester of teaching in Thailand...what a feeling. I can't believe it's gone so fast and, despite the trouble they give me from time to time, I think I'm gonna miss having my little rugrats around everyday.

Katie, Michelle, Emily Josie and I (both Ryans bailed on me at the last minute) woke up nice and early to catch the wan Thursday morning-talk about a great way to spend the first day of summer- to head to Wat Bangchalaong for a 2 day meditation retreat with the Thai teachers. Now, as the retreat approached we definitely became more and more skeptical of what were getting ourselves into aka the teachers thought we were INSANE for wanting to join (they said we had to get up really early and didn't get food, etc etc) When in Thailand though right? I mean how often do you get to do a meditation retreat, let alone in Thailand, let alone with Thai people? Despite having to sleep on grass mats on carpet-covered concrete floor next to a Buddha shrine, I'm so glad we went, cuz it turned out to be one of the best experiences overall I think I've had over here.

I guess I could break it down into 4 parts to make it less of a day by day blog:

Part 1: The Thai Teachers
So over the semester we've gotten to know the teachers somewhat, but this retreat really helped me to get to know some of them really well along with understanding a lot more about Thai culture and how they all interact with eachother. A lot of times it's seemed like the teachers don't really want to get to know us despite Dr. A and Oil telling us they do, but at the retreat I came to find that they really do--Thai people are just very shy, esp. when it comes to speaking English. So, they were actually just nervous to try to talk to me, but at the end of the weekend we were all laughing and joking and trying to learn Thai/English. Pe (a word of respect you say before someone older than you's name) Den kind of took me under his wing and we spent a lot of time hanging out and he, along with Pe Ohn (the school nurse) and her friend, spent about 2 hours just talking with me and teaching me new Thai phrases. I think it means a lot to them to have people who want to learn Thai and communicate with them, b/c in the past it seems that some of the foreign teachers didn't make the biggest effort. At night it was a little awkward cuz I was the only non-Thai in the guys' room, but after a while they started asking me questions and me, Pe Den, Pe Golf and Pe Lohng talked until about 2 am.

The teachers laugh and joke a lot and I'm pretty sure the maturity level of the female teachers is about Hannah Montana :) They are so giggly and shy and apparently some of them like me too (as Oil told me they've asked for my number) so when I smile at them or say something that I didn't think was that funny they burst out laughing and blush and giggle like my Jacob fans. Man, life is good! So yea, I'm really looking forward to next semester when we can communicate more and not feel like such farang!

Parts 2/3: Meditation and Buddhism
I came away learning a lot more than I thought I would have from this retreat. It consisted of a few lectures during the day and then different meditation sessions and some GREAT food (which we weren't expecting). We got to miss most of the lectures as they were in Thai, however it was pretty funny b/c the parts we went to as the 2 days wore on we could see a decline in interest from the teachers. At one point all of the back row was sleeping and even Dr. Aree was passed out in the front! I guess that happens when you wake up for 5am meditation! Anyway, while the Thai teachers were at those we went to a private room with Dr. A and Oil where we would have meditation practice with some different staff members or just spend time learning/asking questions about Buddhism.

Part 2: Meditation
There are 4 kinds of meditation: standing, reclining, walking and sitting (we learned the latter 2) and the purpose is not to control your mind per se, but to work with your mind and free it from the burdens of overthinking. It's a really hard concept for Westerners to grasp (we learned) as we have the "think, therefore I am" mentality and really never let our minds have a chance to stop and recharge and just be. I think I believe that theory cuz when they had us try to focus our minds the first time I felt like I had a small ADD child bouncing around my cranium. There are 5 spots to focus your energy and, after choosing the spot you want, you repeat a word of your choice that means something to you over and over in your head while focusing your mind on the energy spot. The word acts sort of as a rope that pulls your mind back into place when you find yourself thinking about other things and helps keep you at peace. Throughout the day we would practice both kinds of meditation--usually walking first and then sitting as the walking is less intense and helps sort out some of the extra thoughts before the greater focus of sitting. It definitely has a calming affect, however you have to learn how to deal with pain fast cuz the full lotus position can feel like your legs are being slowly torn away from your body. After the intial practicing (and learning to focus away the pain in my legs) I think it's something that I will try to incorporate into my daily routine--for beginners you only need to do like 5 min at a time for 3x a day and for experts only 30 min a day! So, not really a lot of comittment for some mental R&R.

Part 3: Buddhism
So another fascinating part of the retreat was learning more about Buddhism; it's something that really makes a lot of sense. The purpose of the retreat wasn't to convert us or anything, but it was so cool to learn about something that is such a big part of the culture we are apart of now. It really is a religion that preaches the necessity of being a giving and well-intentioned person. Basically you work towards these different merits in this life to ensure your reincarnation as something better in the next life and so on and so on until you reach Nirvana when you are completely enlightened and your soul is freed from this world. I think people could all take a little away from Buddhist theory in that being in Thailand has shown me how much affect it has on creating a peaceful and giving environment; Thais always drop coins to beggars and are the first to share or give up something of theirs to you and just embrace a very welcoming and accepting atmosphere in daily life. Being a human is the highest form you can be reincarnated as, so Buddhists work at doing things good in this life so in their next life they will come back as an even better human.

Part 4: Pramaha Uthai
There was a monk who was there as a special guest, Pramaha Uthai, who I got to know really well over the 2 days. He ran one of our sessions and then we went to his lecture (even though we really couldn't understand). He called me up front towards the end of the lecture to help him look for some stuff online and then when he was finished he and I talked for about an hour while everyone was getting ready for bed. He left home after 6th grade to become a novice monk, became a real monk at age 21 and is now 31. I think he was pretty excited to have someone to practice his English with (as he said most people who come to his temple are Thai) and was equally excited that I was so interested in Buddhism/what he had to say. It was just one of those things where you look back at it and are like wow, did that really happen? How did I get to spend time learning/receiving insight from this amazingly interesting man? So, he ended up giving me his contact info and invited me to come to his temple in BKK which I will definitely take him up on when the summer break is over.

At the end of the retreat there was a little 'grad ceremony' where we got certificates and said some final words. I was 'asked' to say a few things as they wanted our opinions on the retreat and it's easier for a guy to do it cuz the monks aren't allowed to touch women, so I'm less of a risk. So, Dr. A translated for me as I said a big thanks to everyone for letting us come with them and for including us and making it a really cool experience...I made not have reached nirvana, but at least I have a certificate to prove I tried!