10 Days of Silence

"Reality is a Spiritual Activity. The World practices Buddism." -Dogen(13th Century Japanese Zen Master)

If you ever find yourself in Thailand and want to experience a 10-day silent Buddhist meditation retreat go to Suan Mokkh International Hermitage which has retreats starting on the first every month(costs 1,500 baht)...that includes 2 vegetarian meals & a concrete room with a window, a mat & wooden pillow!(I didn't use it) to sleep on....the bell-gong rings at 4 am & a short reading & meditation starts at 4:30...yoga at 5:15 to 7:00am then back to the beautiful open-air meditation hall by two ponds to have the first dharma(truth) talks by one of the monks...breakfast(which I usually skipped at 8:00 then'chores'(mine was scrubbing the stairs of the 2 men's hot springs!) then 10-1230pm a talk & sitting & walking meditation which was quite substantial since it was the last meal of the day(monks there only eat one meal a day so it is usually a large meal)..rest until 2:30 then sitting,walking & a chanting until 6:00 when the gong rings & tea is served...can go to the hot springs or rest until 7:30 then back to the meditation hall for sitting, a group silent walk around the pond & then a final meditation period until 9:00pm....we started out with about 60 or so folks & about 50 or so made it until the end...(it was interesting to hear everyone's experiences & accents from different countries when we communicated with each other on day 11)
The meditation taught was called Anapanassina which is similar to Vippassanna..it teaches there are 16 steps/stages to the meditation but we mainly focused on the first few in which one concentrates on following the breathing....one notes the breathing coming into the nostril area & how the breathing is deep or shallow..one can 'chase the tiger' by following the breathing into the abdomen but eventually needs to 'guard the gate' by leaving attention at the nostrils...as the days progressed my breathing got deeper & then more subtle....of course the mind will constantly try to wander into the 'past'(memories) or 'future'(plans,fantasies,ect)....anything but staying with the sensations & experience of this NOW moment...some sittings(30 minutes to one hour) I was really present to the breath, sensations on/in the body,my posture, sounds,ect....& sometimes totally lost in thought(I wrote alot of emails)....but usually would 'wake up' once again to the Reality of the Present Moment...
I also enjoyed the daily yoga sessions which I have gotten away from & realize is so important to my body...I also realize that I really don't need much food(some folks fasted a few days) as I was fine with one meal a day(I did usually go back for seconds!)...overall a great purification of mindbody...the meditation was not as intense as the 11-12 hours daily sits of the Goenka- Vippassana retreat I did in Mexico 2 yrs ago(www.dhamma.org Centers all over the world) as this was geared more towards those just learning to meditate but still was challenging & worthwhile to me....