Retreat at Wat Ram Poeng-Chiangmai

Wat Ram Poeng is also called Northern Insight Meditation, located less than 10 minutes Taxi drive from Airport. This is an International Meditation Center, you can see lot of different nationalities coming here to practice. Meditation method based on 4 foundations of mindfulness, as taught by using Mahasi Sayadaw techniques.

You will be provided with a small kuti or room with attached bathroom, with only the basic things. You can meditate inside or outside of your room. You will wake up at 4:00am for meditation, 6:30am for breakfast, 10:30am for lunch. There is liquid snack or afternoon drink at 5:00pm. That is it. Have to keep 8 precepts, no food after 12:00pm. Life is simple here, no talking, reading except meditation and keep your heart to your mind and body every moment. There is a daily interview or reporting to the Abbot about your daily experience you encounter during meditation. The Abbot, Ajahn Suphan is very kind, always smiling and giving timely encouragement to your practice, a very experienced meditation teacher.

Give yourself at least ten days, though full course is 26 days, but you still can leave anytime, if you want to. Try to taste the simplicity of temple life, everything is SLOW DOWN, not only on walking but also your mind too! There is no tomorrow or yesterday, only HERE and NOW... Give your heart and mind a chance to see itself clearer, as we have accumulated too much rubbish that obstructing us to understand ourselves deeper and clearer. Mind free from rubbish, is very light and peaceful, that will make you see the wonder of instant insight within, that can make you wiser, and know how to cope with the challenging of life ahead.

Actually mindfulness meditation is part of life, you can practice outside retreat center. In your daily life, just being mindful of your mind, always check and see what is it doing, thinking at that moment? Is your mind happy, sad or angry? But don't involve with the happiness, sadness or anger. Leave them alone, it is dangerous to get involved! That is meditation, sound simple?

Northern Insight Meditation Center - Wat Ram Poeng

Stupa-is an excellent place for night sitting

Meditation Hall

Wat Ram Peong Female Meditation Hall

Dining Hall, served with both meat and veggie.

Area for meditation

Kuti with bathroom attached for meditators

Quarter attached with bathroom for Yogi

Meditation under the Ancient Bodhi tree

Monks assembly to cerebrate Abbot's birthday - 23 Jan

Alm-giving

Abbot Ajahn Suphan, on his birthday giving speech,

23 Jan 2012, falls on CNY

Alm-giving for merit accumulating...

Waiting to offer food for monks

My Favorite Cozy Corner for Sitting

You can practice any where in the temple

Meditation under the Ancient Bodhi tree

Symbolic the pure light of wisdom

Jan 2012 retreat began here ...

Time to leave, people coming and going, a sign of impermanence.

Telling us that nothing in this world is permanent and no change.

So, it is same to our mind and body, if you watch closely

there is no one time mind body stop changing!

That is the important aspect and teaching of Buddhism.

If you cling to changing thing, thought that it is permanent,

sure, you are expecting to suffer. This meditation teaches

you to let go... The more you let go, the more peace and

happy you are. Just that simple!

Wat Umong-Historical Site

Wat Umong was built about 700 years ago. First impression,felt peaceful and cooling. There is pond, you can feed the fish. The Wat is famous for its ancient tunnels and large stupa. it has a certain air of mystery about it that is absent from Chiang Mai’s other temples.

The monastery at Wat Umong is one of the oldest in Chiang Mai, dating back to 1300 A.D. The fable goes that a king built the brick-lined tunnels for an eccentric monk named Thera Jan. Once upon a time there were paintings decorated on the wall which dated back to about 1380. You can enter the tunnels to see the small shrines inside.

The monastery was eventually abandoned, though Japanese troops were said to have a stronghold here during World War 2. Since 1948, the Thai prince Jao Chun Sirorot has been active in rebuilding and reestablishing the monastery. In 1949 he invited Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (founder of Suan Mokkh in southern Thailand) to come and live in the monastery.

I think so far, this is the best temple I ever visited during my trips to Chiamgmai. As I have talked to the monk in the pictures, this is also a wonderful meditation center; scenic, quiet, and free for self practice.

Ya... it is good idea to come for retreat next time.

Flower Festival 2012 - Chiangmai

Waking Up, Baby!

KT Retreat-Dec 11-Jan-12

Spirituality means waking up, and understand yourself deeper.

Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up.

They never understand life and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. Though everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, but they used to the messy things of life, they live in the vicious cycle from clinging to the happy moments and reject the suffering ones, cyclic of ups and downs. They never transcend and look from outside. They never think out of box, how to live life outside this vicious cycle. They never try their best to understand what life is all about. They like to sleep.

When they encounter suffering, they rumble and crying and blaming others. But they never look at themselves. They don't realize, it is very easy to get into the vortex of unhappiness; just continue thinking negatively and follow your mood, you get it! On contrast, when they are happy, they think life should be like that, and stay on forever. Basically, I am telling you; you are responsible for your own happiness or unhappiness, it is up to you to choose! Strange, but people always prefer to indulge and blame others for their bad moods. That create more suffering, get out from there! Tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep. They are having a nightmare. Sometimes suffering is a good antidote for people to wake up. Unfortunately, seldom people take it as a lesson and opportunity to learn and understand life deeper.

Last year on a television I heard a story about this gentleman who knocks on his daughter’s door. “Mary,” he says, “wake up!” Mary answers, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.” The father shouts, “Get up, you have to go to school.” Mary says, “I don’t want to go to school.” “Why not?” asks the father. “Three reasons,” says Mary. “First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.” And the father says, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty and responsibility; second, because you are twenty-eight years old, and third, because you are the teacher of the school. You have responsibility for your own life!” Wake up, wake up! You’ve grown up. You’re too big to be asleep. Wake up! Stop being pampered of yourself.

Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don’t believe them. When unfavorable situation arises, they still want to stay back to the usual comfort zone of the past. All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys. “Give me back my boyfriend, my wife, my mom. Give me back my freedom, my trips and holidays. Give me the job I want. I don't want this job, I am not interested. I want this and that.” This is what they want; they want their toys replaced. That’s all.

In all, this is the life they want to live and they call human existence. They are lazy even to ponder a bit deeper, why unpleasant things, sufferings are still coming to their lives, even though they don't want them? But all they want are so called the positive sides of life. They want pleasant things only, is that possible? If you don't wake up and bravely face yourself, you forever cannot understand, what life is all about. If you cannot understand what is life and want to run away from things you don't like, then you suffer forever! Because only from things make you suffer, that exactly the same things can wake you up! You can't just run away from unpleasant situations or hate them, if you want to live your life fully, then you simply have to accept both the pleasant as well as unpleasant, that is life!

Even the best psychologist will tell you that, that people don’t really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is painful. Waking up is unpleasant, you know. Waking up is to live in the present. Present moment is forcing you to look closely at your inner self. It is not easy to face yourself, and nothing nice things to see. So people want to escape and indulging to the past or hope for the best in the future. They plan, wish and dream, forget that the present is the solid footing for their future dreams to come true!

It is plainly simple, but very difficult to do it. So people never stay in the present! The present is so tiring and horrible, no one wants it! So they keep asleep, forever, and don't want to wake up!

You are nice and comfortable in bed. It’s irritating to be woken up. That’s the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I’m going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. Becasue present moment is unbearable. In fact, it is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, “Wake up, Baby! Be present”. My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. Truth is always hurt and unpleasant, but I have to say. If you profit from it, fine; if you don’t, too bad! After all, it is YOU to face your own life, choice is yours!

As the Arabs say, “The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.”

緣起緣滅 - 一切皆空

對我影響很大的，是梭羅的那句話。他寫：「我搬到森林，因為我想認真地活著。去面對生命最基本的東西，並從自然界中學習… 我要把人生逼到角落，用最簡單的方式生活… 我要活得深刻，把自己看的透徹 ... 好壞都接受, 放下 ... 把人生的汁液吸乾淨。」

這些話當年我會背，但不懂。多年後的今天，我有机緣，聽到空海描述自然界與人類系糸相關, 緣起緣滅, 也在其中。 我到底要些甚么? 還有甚麼值得我要? 心空相應, 人空一体, 那就能解脫自在。也許是這些吧。從空海的講解, 慢慢開始体會其中真理實相。

回歸自然，認真地活著吧。就讓自己暴露在新的體驗下, 接受法界所給予，一切歸0, 一切無常。法界的實像是: 彼岸就在當下, 回到頭來，一切皆空，才能体會, 体證, 心空相應。

"夢裡明明有六趣, 醒後空空無大千" - 從夢幻世界醒來。体悟無常就像冰溶解為水, 水再形成雲 ... 為何還要抓住冰不放呢? 冰為水，水為雲，雲又被風吹散到各處, 那是法界在告訴我們無常的實相啊! 變爲風雲, 就享受當下的無挂礙, 無憂無慮, 可遊遍高山, 大海, 到處旅遊, 多灑脫! 做回風的本色吧！

燕子南飛，北風吹起，各分南北，迎風獨行，還我自由。

The door is open ... I am ready ... The journey of Dhamma begins, cannot wait anymore.

Goodbye, friends...

The Butterfly Is Not A Dream ...

Ven. Sujiva

A poem by Ven. Sujiva

That crimson flare

Which warms at first sight.

Now sears the heart with pain.Foolish man! Feel not sad,

Count yourself fortunate. Better it is, to lose a finger

Than to sacrifice ones whole life for a sip of honey.

Smoldering grey clouds, hovering darkness, thick and suffocating,

These repercussions of vanity weigh down your eyelids.

The worst of the storm has passed, picking up the wreckage,

You discover what your folly cost you.

After rendezvous, parting follows, and from craving arises woe.

When pleasure fade, suffering enters the stage with a loud bang and scream.

These truths – not that you are unaware, but since you forgot.

You see them again, now right before you, your deep love burns with fire. That only storm can extinguish. Cry if you can’t help it.

But by all means, do not end the world.

Alas! what mistakes man can commit, he repeats. I can forgive him a thousand times and more.

And each time present a gift of a lotus petal accompanied with a drop of compassion dripped down

From the bitter nimb tree leaf. But what really matters is that you can forgive

While others may still hate, forgive the sky and the earth

Forgive the ocean and all Mankind. If you can do that,

Turn around to find, see that pretty butterfly fluttering

From jasmines to roses, how busy she is,

With the affairs of the world. Why must you feel so sorrowful

When the beauty of Nature is yours, all yours!

No, that butterfly is not a dream, That woman is, and the man too

And that conflagration of love that you bathed in with sheer delight

Is the substance from which nightmares are made!

空海法師: 一日禪的開示 02

*走在正確解脫道上的樣貌展現

我知道有很多人一樣很精進用功, 但不是越修路越窄, 就是 越修脾氣越怪異、越固執、越執著, 跟家人、同修的衝突越多...,那都是因為觀念知見不正確, 已經逐漸的偏離。

你只要走在正確的解脫道上 〜～ 真正的正法上面, 一定會身心 越來越寧靜、越柔軟; 你只要走在正確的解脫道上, 一定會知恩、感恩、報恩; 你只要走在正確的解脫道上, 你的二元對立、我慢, 很自然的就會逐漸的淡薄。

所以, 你在苦海裡面是否逐漸的出離苦海, 最重要是看你這個「意根」裡面那些錯誤的觀念知見、那些運作錯誤的方程 式, 你找到了多少? 你解開了多少?...

就像我們這一部電腦裡面, 它種了不少的毒素, 你掃了多少的病毒掉? 你校正了多少錯誤的方程式?... 當你越認真回來淨化我們自己,「淨化」就是掃毒的過程。

「自淨其意」完全就是掃除我們「意根」裡面的那些錯誤的觀念知見、習氣、習性, 大家都會唸:「諸惡莫作, 眾善奉 行, 自淨其意...」, 而這是「諸佛的教誨」, 所有的佛、所有的智慧者, 他們一定會告訴我們: 你要出離苦海, 重點核心 就在於「自淨其意」,也不是去修理別人, 更不是去講別人 我慢, 不是在那裡炫燿我很行...,那些都是在「世間法」。