After spending quit a bit of time in Pai with the Pai Family. Several of us decided to leave. There were a few still a few staying, like Tom and Greta. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of living life spontaneously and without a plan is that you don’t really have any clue what to do next.
The hostel manager Ryan, was a Zen af m***afucka. One day we were chatting and I was like, “Bro, how can I become a Zen mofo like you? “. In his warm, knowledgeable, sage voice he said, “There is a dope af monastery nearby, famsquad”1. At this point, I needed to do everything – I was Batman collecting all the Diddler trophies around Arkham Asylum.
After all my shenanigans (read about some of them here, here and there), I needed some Zen in my life. I had heard about doing a Vipassana, a 10 day SILENT meditation2. Ryan recommended going to the monastery for a few days as a test run. I was like sure why not? If I liked it, I could continue if not, no harm no foul.
I got into a songthaew and headed to Wat Pa Tam Wua. The monastery was great, it was nestled in the mountains and forest. Idyllic, in a word. I spent 3 days/2 nights there. Surprisingly, I did not speak much3. The most I uttered during the time was a simple, “Howzit4” to one of the monks5.
Our schedule was simple: we woke up early and had a morning meditation session. Afterwards, we ate our only meal for the day and snacked on biscuits until around midday6. Thereafter, we had a afternoon/evening session. A very informative portion of the day were the Q & A sessions after each meditation. I really learnt a lot from the monks. There would also be free time where one was encouraged to meditate on their own.
During the day there was a volunteering session where we helped clean up the monastery. One could choose what they wanted to do – I usually swept. There was this area of the yard no one wanted to clean as it was infested with fire ants. Somehow, I was always the sucker that ended up there getting bitten7.
The rooms were simple, there was a bed with a sleeping mat and a chair – nothing else (and no outlets so I couldn’t charge my phone). There must’ve been something in the water as I definitely felt more tranquil than usual. I was not hungry, did not feel the need to talk or even check my phone. Somehow, whenever I forego my phone for a days I realise how little I’ve actually missed8.
Overall, it was an enlightening experience especially because I achieved a level of awareness I had seldom experienced9. I do think that at this stage of my trip I was not ready. I was full of energy, too excited and overeager10.
When it was time to head back11, all of us leaving headed to the road to await the next songthaew. We started chatting. Even though we had all come at different times and stayed for various lengths, we bonded over the shared experience12. I met a few of them whilst travelling to other countries too which was nice. I got back to Pai to find most of the Pai Family had left, no matter there were more friends to make : )
- I may be paraphrasing ↩︎
- Some people even had stickers to remind us not to speak to them. A few times I chatted up pretty girls and they must have had epiphany. They became quite spiritual as several promptly ended the conversation and headed to the counter to get their sticker. They then walked to the far end of the hall and avoided eye contact… ↩︎
- Even more surprising, I did not feel the need to ↩︎
- Quick rant – “Howzit” is a greeting – I am always bamboozled when people answer with, “Fine, thanks and you?” ↩︎
- Even though I didn’t speak your boy is still polite ↩︎
- The monks were only allowed to eat food that had been offered to them. We had to help prepare the food in the morning. Afterwards, a few of us would be selected to offer the monks food in a special ceremony. I was selected on the last day ↩︎
- I did get my revenge eventually, that is a story for another time ↩︎
- Which is funny because I always feel as if the world is ending when I don’t have my phone ↩︎
- In the past, when I would meditate regularly I could slow my heart rate at will – this experience got me to a similar level ↩︎
- For example, during the walking meditations while everyone was going super slow I would walk in a zig zag pattern to cover more ground. ↩︎
- After a cheeky donation ↩︎
- We hadn’t spoken a word to each other before then ↩︎
