Well I'm finished with the retreat. Ten days of sitting, standing, walking back and forth, and looking into my mind and trying to cultivate wisdom. It's always difficult, always rewarding, and I always feel like a stronger person for having done it, not just because it takes stamina and endurance, but because the understanding and compassion that I've gained along the journey increases my strength mentally as well, so that I'm more at ease with myself, the world and others. Sometimes people say they don't need to so something like this because they're not "unhappy", or "suffering", but that is missing the point. Everyone has dissatisfying elements in their life, and actions, speech and thoughts that they could improve, and this practice strengthens that ability to be aware of what we do and the results of what we do, and the nature of the world and ourselves at large. Good stuff!
On the last day of the retreat, we always take a final photo on the steps of the old meditation hall. Look closely, you will hopefully see two that you recognize. There's always a lot of smiling faces, and the Mae Chees (Buddhist nuns) join us. One of the nuns (in the chair) is Mae Chee Ahmon, who first got the idea to invite Steve and Rosemary to the monastery to teach meditation. Thousands of people have been here and she thinks of all of them as her "children". She takes great joy in helping people find more peace in their lives through meditation.
This was a nice retreat for Todd and myself, as we got to do it together with many friends. So after the retreat we all got together and got pizza for all our friends who worked to put on the retreat. Pizza? You say, in Thailand? Well Koh Pahngan is a bit unusual, in that they have just about as much foreigner food as Thai food on the island, due to it's popularity with tourists. We've found a little pizza place we like very much, and they even delivered! Even though it's widely available, it's expensive so it was nice to treat those who live here to something a little different. You may wonder at the setting of our celebration. It's the back room where the staff works. We actually like sitting in there on the floor, it's cozy, and we can all see each other. There was much laughter and enjoyment as we enjoyed our celebratory meal.
The last picture is just another example of the unusual jobs that we do around here. When you find a huge wasp nest, who takes care of it? We do! But never fear, Maud and Nathan are getting covered up as best they can.
Take care everyone! Next stop is hopefully Bangkok, then Burma. Best wishes to all!
love Meghan
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a really good session. Hopefully you'll now feel rested and rejuvenated, ready to take on the new year! I bet your excited to meet your new bunch of kids.
I've been reading the Underlander books (well, the first one so far) you recommended. Very good! And useful, too - the mix of humor, fantasy and ordinary character interactions is comparable to what I'm trying to do with my book, though it's different in many ways too.
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