Self-transformation Through Self-observation, I expected it to be no walk in the park. I thought it would test my endurance of meditation and silent living in general- and it did. It really, really, did! In fact I would go as far to say that it was definitely one of the most challenging things I have done in my life, no contest!
We took a bus from Chiang Mai to Lampoon and ended up in a town whose named I cant remember. I do however remember that the Meditiation Center was a 30 minute drive from where we were, in this town where finding a driver who spoke English was like finding a 2$ Canadian bill in Bangkok.
After struggling in broken English for 20 minutes with some Thai Song Teaw drivers, and enduring their laughter over us lost tourists who dont speak Thai, we were back on the road to our destination in a private Song Taew. At this point we were feeling privelaged that we DID find a ride at all, so we sat back and enjoyed the noon-hour drive through the dusty backside country of Thailand in the dry season. We finally found ourselves at Dhamma Simanta, where we would be living in silent meditation for the next 10 days.
We were enclosed by mountains on 3 sides, a lake on the other
and there was nothing but silence all around.
The Dhamma Simanta Center in Parsang was among one of the newer centers. It was much larger then I thought initially, and very clean, AND had Western toilets! I was impressed. It was divided into two sections, one side for men, one for women. Each side was in an "8" shape, with rooms all around the outside, each with their own balcony facing the mountains. Immediately upon arriving to the huge Center-complex we were separated into men and women. The course had officially begun. We were given our instructions.
It went something like this:
-Noble Silence must be maintained until the 10th day. (This means no talking, no singing, no humming. You must be silent when around others and when alone There should be no form of communication between meditators, avoid eye contact, physical contact and body language with others- keep to yourself at all times.)
-Men and Women should remain segregated at all times. -Smoking tobacco is not permitted.
-No cell phones, reading, writing, no radio, no camera etc.
-Dress modest.
-During the Vipassana course one must conscientiously follow the 5 Precepts:
- Abstain from killing any being;
- Abstain from taking what is not given;
- Abstain from sexual misconduct;
- Abstain from telling lies;
- Abstain from all intoxicants.
The list went on and on. I had a slight feeling of "Oh shit, what have I gotten myself into? I want to do what I want, when I want, and noone can get in my way. Except now Im trapped. I need to devise an escape plan!! "
As I was having these thoughts, we were being given our daily time-table which we were expected to follow routinely for the next week and a half. The teacher, Goenka, a former student of Vipassana, recommends to follow this schedule properly for the best results. In order to give the technique a fair trial we were asked to do our best, waking up with the roosters before dawn cracked over the horizon! I thought this was only fair since we did come such a long way to give it a try, so I decided I would cooperatively follow through.
| 4:00 am | Wake-up bell | |
| 4:30-6:30 am | Meditate in the hall or in your room | |
| 6:30-8:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 8:00-9:00 am | Group meditation in the hall | |
| 9:00-11:00 am | Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions | |
| 11:00-12:00 | Lunch break | |
| 12:00-1:00 pm | Rest/ or question hour to the teacher (This is the only time you are permitted to talk) | |
| 1:00-2:30 pm | Meditate in the hall or in your room | |
| 2:30-3:30 pm | Group meditation in the hall | |
| 3:30-5:00 pm | Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions | |
| 5:00-6:00 pm | Tea break | |
| 6:00-7:00 pm | Group meditation in the hall | |
| 7:00-8:15 pm | Teacher's Discussion in the hall | |
| 8:15-9:00 pm | Group meditation in the hall | |
| 9:00-9:30 pm | Question time in the hall or rest | |
| 9:30 pm | Retire to your own room--Lights out . |
So how well do you think we did? How do you think you would do?
Would you ever try this course? Do you know anyone else who has?
*More info on our experience coming soon. Thanks for reading!
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