Travel Day 1093 – Dhamma Hermitage, Wat Suan Mokkh, THAILAND
It was actually very simple what was going to happen, today was the registration day for the Vipassana retreat at Suan Mokkh…
Concrete and Wood Bed at Suan Mokkh
These Vipassana meditation retreats were always held at the first 10 days of every month and the day before, the last day of the previous month, was the day to register, sign in and have an entry interview. Not knowing how strict the interview for the Vipassana retreat would be, but being aware of the fact that courses would fill up entirely during high season, I had decided to come as early as possible and try to settle-in before things would get serious…
For me personally things got serious at 4am in the morning when a gong was rung as loudly that it made me vibrate on my flimsy straw mat. It almost seemed like a joke since in the dormitory of Wat Suan Mokkh only a handful of foreigners had spend the night who all wanted to join the 7am registration. But apparently someone had decided that it was about time for us to get used to the schedule of our Vipassana retreat and he probably took great joy in handling the loudest gong in the world for 10 minutes straight…
Washing and Shower Tank, Suan Mokkh
My personal alarm went off at 5am and another cold bucket shower in complete darkness, packing up my mat, wooden pillow and mosquito net, saw me finally at the reception at 6am. My idea had been to explore the campus of Wat Suan Mokkh a little bit before we would change locations to the International Dhamma Hermitage, which apparently was just on the other side of the highway, but unfortunately it was still dark and raining…
After one hour of reading informational material about Wat Suan Mokkh and Buddhadarsa, the founder and spiritual father of the monastery, we then finally had the chance to join the car service at 7am to the location of the Dhamma Hermitage. 20 baht and 5 minutes of driving later found us in the cafeteria while being greeted by the teachers of the Vipassana retreat. First we had to fill out a form, then we had to read and entire booklet outlining all the rules and regulations and finally we had a short interview…
Hot Spring for Vipassana, Suan Mokkh
Having done already three meditation retreats, even if not as strict as it seemed to be at Wat Suan Mokkh, got me right in the door. So I could pay my 2000 baht tuition, deposit all my valuables and received in turn the key to my new home for the next 10 days. Instead of sleeping in a dorm, we all received our own concrete cell-like private room to minimize any outside distraction. But all we actually had was a concrete bed, a straw mat, a wooden pillow, a mosquito net and a grid iron window that almost made our “private room” feel like a little prison cell…
In front of the rooms were big water tanks for washing and bucket showers and we were encouraged not to use any toilet paper for the duration of the class. Everything was a minimalistic as possible, but I quite liked it that way, even if I knew that this 10 day Vipassana would be a little bit of a challenge. For the rest of the day we had two meals, breakfast and lunch, the last chance to read our books and eat all our personal food and then at 4pm we had the official introduction. A boundary tour was given at 5pm, tea was served at 6pm and we could use the natural hot springs in the forest. At 7pm another orientation talk was given. Finally with the ring of the bell at 8pm we had to return to our rooms in silence and the Vipassana had officially started…
Find all Wat Suan Mokkh photos here.
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