Visiting Thailand with Ayya Santussika, Ayya Cittananda and some of the Karuna Buddhist Vihara community has breathed even more faith and confidence into my practice in a way only possible in a Buddhist country and in the presence of deeply practiced, Dhamma sharing, monastic teachers.
We spent about a week at Luang Phor Gunha’s monastery, Wat Pah Subthawee Dhammaram , and were inspired by a teacher who focused on being happy while working and keeping to what is wholesome at all times.
At our group’s first meeting with Luang Phor Gunha, he said this was just to see each others’ faces and invited us to do a “mini-toudong” (a time of wandering, including through the forest/jungle) from afternoon up to when it was getting dark.
We saw elephant footprints but no elephants. However, we did see wild Thai cows and other smaller creatures. Parts of the route were very muddy and some of us paired up to reduce slipping. Even so a few people fell full-on into the mud. Through it all, the spirits of the group were happy and joyful.
We were so well taken care of with housing, food and, best of all, Dhamma nourishment.
We supported the monastery through dana offerings and helping fold the 3000 sheets washed after the kathina celebration and sweeping and cleaning. The lay people also helped in the kitchen. There were happy hearts though out.
Our experience at the Wat included a series of days of funeral chanting followed by the cremation of the body.
Ajahn Gunha’s message to the monastics was to train ourselves 100% and to share the Dhamma as he shared it with us.
There was more good Dhamma sharing and advice from other senior, deeply practiced Ajahns in the second week. (see part 2 in a day or two.) I hope to put all their advice into practice today, while in Korea and on return to the United States.