Wat Stay

This weekend we stayed in a temple the whole weekend and had meditation session and practices. We went there on Saturday and on the way we stopped at three temples. The first is one of the oldest temples in Thailand over 700 years old. The next was on top of a mountian and it had stairs built all the way up to the temple...I did not climb them though haha. This temple had incredible views of the Thai landscape. Last we went to a temple in a huge cave that we hiked up to see. It was super cold in there but it felt amazing after the hike. Part of it was very dark and you could hear bats everywhere which freaked me out but it was a good experience. Parts of the cave you could not see anything and only four people had flashlights so that got interesting but really funny at the same time.
Eventually we made it to the forest temple to have our meditation class and dinner. We had dinner and then we did a sitting meditation for an hour and a walking meditation for an hour and then the monks presented a slide show about the robe making ceremony that they had had there about 7 weeks prior to our arrival. The sitting meditation was VERY painful. It is hard to sit like that for such a long time and not move. We moved our hands in a series of 15 positions that were very small but it was something to concentrate on to clear our minds.
The walking meditation was one of my favorite parts...Even though it was hard to stand up after an hour of sitting. We had to focus on our feet the whole time and focus on our steps. I could tell that my mind was very unfocused and it was hard to concentrate but it was very calming and something that you can easily practice everyday.
The temple we were at was huge and had a huge overlook to the rice and longan fields of Thailand. It was beautiful to look on the small towns and greenness around us while being in such a calming place. I know that if I practice this meditation I can be a lot calmer and probably a happier person overall. Hopefully I will not forget this experience.
We had quiet time and bed after that because we got up at 5 am to walk with the monks to the town to recieve alms. We bought food and gave alms to the monks in abundance. We knew we were eating after them so we got things we liked and wanted to eat for breakfast. Little did we know that these monks could feed a small town with all the food that they get through alms. It was incredible to see the people give all they had to these monks and watch them as they were blessed by a chant and thanked by the monks. We ate the most incredible breakfast so far on the trip full of fruits, rice, pumpkin, chicken, pork, and everything under the sun wrapped in bamboo leaves.
We then had another meditation session of both sitting and walking and then free time until we left. It was a memorable experience and I suggest it highly to anyone who would want to feel at peace..no matter what religion...this was one of the best things I know I will ever do in my life.
Back to the buddhist university tomorrow...I have missed my monk friends :)
Aubs