Meditation Courses In Thailand

By Author: Lucy Lee
Total Articles: 20
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‘Suan Mokk' meditation centre, situated in Suratthani Province, in the south of Thailand offers a unique insight into Buddhist meditation and practice for visitors who venture down to the remote Buddhist centre.

The unique course that it offers is a retreat called ‘vipassana'. An ancient traditional Buddhist meditation technique that involves ten days os silence and meditative thought.

Arriving at Suan Mokk, in the afternoon (the day before the course is due to start) allows us the chance to talk to some of the seasoned meditators, and experienced vipassana students. We are encouraged to ask questions, while we still can. Talking stops tomorrow.

Part of the tradition of vipassana is that it is by donation only. This involves at a future time, donating some of your time to help other meditators achieve their own vipassana retreat and, as part of the course to engage in some form of work around the centre, be it washing up, sweeping or general tidying. This kind of selfless service is a vital component of Buddhism, and ensures that the experience is s a good one for everyone. So now is the time ...
... that we chose our chores. I decide to go with sweeping, and jot my name down on the Rostand.

As early starts are the norm here, an early night seems a prerequisite. Sso I'm in bed before 9pm, listening to the stillness and natural sounds all around me. This will be the norm for the next ten nights.
It doesn't seem like seven hours later, but it is, and I am being gently bought out of my sleep by a gong chiming in the quite morning air. This heralds the start of my vipassana experience. For the next ten days I will wake up at 4am to the sound of that gong, ready to start the day with meditation and Buddhist philosophy. We will eat twice a day, both meals communally served, wholesome, delicious and of course, vegetarian.

In between the meditation periods, time is spent doing your chores, doing yoga, or having a hot spring. As we are still keeping silence, it is somewhat of an ethereal experience to go down to the natural hot springs with everyone else, and bathe in the hot water. As steam rises from the ground, we avoid communication of any kind, even eye contact. So people glide thoughtfully and silently through the mist, into the water, keeping their space and keeping their silence.

Sometimes it is hard not to talk. Your eyes meet someone else's, and before you've realized it you've slipped them a shy smile, and you're just about to ask, 'hey, how are you doing?' When you remember... silence. And you drop your gaze.

Talking is such a natural thing for us, be it telling someone how you feel, asking them how they're doing, or even just in friendly chit chat, that is it difficult to remember sometimes that we are not allowed to speak. Indeed, we are not just aiming to maintain silence, but that we are also endeavoring to silence our thoughts too. Thinking or the monkey mind, features heavily in Buddhist teachings, and is something to be scrutinized. The aim, I think, is not to try and silence your mind or your thoughts, but to watch them... However, the mind is a tricky thing, and as I am pondering this I realize that I am in fact... thinking...!
It is a difficult process, and not something that can easily be attained in ten days, in fact for some it is a lifelong pursuit, but it is all part of the vipassana experience of noble silence and one that I am glad to have experienced, if only for a short time.

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