Vipassana changes at Suan Mokkh

Travel Day 1097 – Dhamma Hermitage, Wat Suan Mokkh, THAILAND

As the weather was constantly changing from sunny to heavy rain, so was our program changing as well after four days of Vipassana routine…

Vipassana Meditation with Sunshine

It was funny because all I had ever heard about Vipassana was that it went along with a really strict schedule of meditation and pretty much no teachings at all, besides a video in the evening. Admittedly all people I had talked to so far had done a Goenka Vipassana which originated in Myanmar and was supposedly most closely following the teachings of the Buddha while eliminating everything that seemed not absolutely necessary…

Here at Wat Suan Mokkh, I was almost a little bit disappointed because I thought we were not getting the full and strict Vipassana experience in the beginning. On the one hand it was great that we had the Theravada style teachings which were flavored by the studies and teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, but on the other hand I was also looking for the special insight everyone had talked about who experienced a Vipassana in Goenka style…

Inside Vipassana Meditation with Rain

All that became a story of the past when we were made aware of the changes in our program. After four days of introduction and teachings, we were now all of a sudden faced with a bit more meditation and a lot less guidance as the Dharma talk in the morning and the one after breakfast were replaced by additional time for meditation. On the bright side we were given quite a lot of liberty and really only had to sit together for the first 30 minutes, after that everyone was left to their own devices and could follow their personal practice…

While I personally appreciated the liberty to practice on my own, I still felt that the lack of pressure was a little bit discouraging. It was all too easy to get up and say to oneself that it was about time to rather do some walking meditation instead of sitting all the time and pushing oneself to the limit or even beyond. While I still tried to sit as long as possible, it appeared to be sometimes quite easy and at other times it was not possible at all to focus the mind for any length of time…

Changes to Rain at Wat Suan Mokkh

This quite liberal change in the Vipassana program had the side effect that some people, probably especially people who meditated for the first time, took the term “ones own practice” maybe a little bit too literal. Some people started to read or write, to simply go on walks through the garden or even talk to each other. So it came to no surprise that over the next couple of days quite a lot of people left the Vipassana retreat. Some seemed to have left on their own terms and others were directly asked to leave after receiving a few warnings…

So after the fifth day of our retreat the energy started to change. As rather serious participants remained on board, our Vipassana was becoming more serious as well. Like I mentioned before I personally welcomed the change, especially because we didn’t have to endure the painfully boring talks of the Yoda monk any more and we still continued to receive insights from the cynical, yet entertaining and refreshingly honest British monk…

Suan Mokkh Vipassana schedule for day 5 to 8:

• 4.00   wake up bell
• 4.30   morning reading
• 4.45   sitting meditation
• 5.15   yoga/tai-chi, mindfulness in motion
• 7.00   sitting meditation
• 8.00   breakfast and chores
• 10.00   sitting meditation
• 11.00   walking or standing meditation
• 11.45   sitting meditation
• 12.30   lunch and chores
• 14.30   meditation instructions
• 15.30   walking or standing meditation
• 16.15   sitting meditation
• 17.00   chanting and loving kindness
• 18.00   hot chocolate and hot springs
• 19.30   sitting meditation
• 20.00   walking meditation
• 20.30   sitting meditation
• 21.00   bed time
• 21.30   lights off

Find all Wat Suan Mokkh Photos here.