post-meditation update
I finished my Vipassana course today and thought I'd say hi. As usual, my mind carried on a nearly constant dialogue with itself but it was not so distracting that I could not meditate. Although at one point (sometime in the distant future...) my mind will stop chattering, right now, my job is to observe reality as it is and remain equanimous. That is a big enough job in itself. Anyhow, here's my experience.
WHAT I TAKE FOR GRANTED
-----------------------
Although I have completed several Vipassana courses by now, this course was particularly challenging for the first 4 to 5 days. As part of the Vipassana course in the Ledi Sayadaw tradition as taught by S.N. Goenka, one must take renunciation as a part of the course. That means to give up on wordly pleasures for the duration of the course and live like a renunciant. One of the precepts is to not sleep in a high and luxurious bed. Well, how about a slab of concrete about 2 feet above the floor with about 1/4 inch of wood nailed to it and then a woven straw mat of about 1/16 inch thick. Coming from a family that believes in firm beds, harder surfaces are usually not a challenge but this was one hard surface! There is an optional mattress made of bound straw but in the heat of the first 4 days, that straw mat could have been a suffocating down duvet. So...sleeping was an interesting experience.
And...although I was given one of the best rooms and given the luxury of having the room all to myself instead of sharing it with someone, the bareness of the accommodations brough up many aversions - aversions that I am trying to let go of. They rightly assessed that as a foreigner, I would not be able to endure the usual accommodations and gave me one with a western toilet and a shower-head (instead of the usual bucket and scoop routine). However, the raw concrete walls, the "interesting" brown things on the floor, and the mosquitos stalking in the corners, made me quite tense everytime I showered. I tried to move as quickly as possible so no undesired substances would splash on me and no mosquitoes would attack me. I succeeded in the first endeavor but was woefully bitten in the most unusual places with each wash. I never knew I could be this woozy and had to admit to myself just how much I take for granted.
WHY BEING WEALTHY IS BEING COLD/COOL AND COMFORTABLE
----------------------------------------------------
I have not checked this with any native speakers or anyone who would know better but it has always struck me as interesting that the word for rich or wealthy is a combination of the words cold/cool and comforable. Being one averse to being cold, I could not understand why being cold would be a good thing until recently. Now, I know. For the first 4 days and nights of the course, the weather was still hot. It was hot in the morning, hot in the evening, and hot in the dead of night. So hot that I could have easily slept naked and not felt cold. Everyone slept with their doors and windows open and few bothered to borrow blankets from the meditation center.
For most of my waking hours, it felt like my body was trying to transform itself into a porcupine but the enumerable spikes could not pierce through my skin. Rather, the needles just kept pricking at me making it very difficult to sit still or remain equanimous. On top of that, I had several mosquito bites so I used up 3/4 of my tiger balm, using the temporary coolness of the ointment to get me through those days.
Now, I understand why my Burmese teacher, Saya U Saw Tun, says he much prefers to be cold. It seemed unimaginable to me for someone who lives in snowy Dekalb, Il. but given the choice of the heat during the first 4 days of my course, and the cold of Dekalb, I might feel the same way.
DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF QUIET
---------------------------
Ever since I first visited Dhamma Joti in 2002, I've been surprised that it located so close to downtown Yangon. I can walk from the center to Sule Paya in about 35 minutes (before the mid-day heat of course). Well, now, having completed my course, I see that the standards of quiet we assume to be necessary for a meditative environment do not hold in Yangon. Just beyond the walls of the center, there was some sort of entertainment facility (karaoke) or something that often blasted music as if there were an audience of 100 people or more. One night, there was apparently a ka bya (traditional Burmese theater that goes on all night long). It started with a rock-type of music for a few hours and then moved into traditional music (hniq ba thwa?) and then jataka tales. I assume that there is nothing one can do about this kind of celebration and that it is not considered a real disturbance to meditators. In addition, each night, we were seranaded by a chorus of howling barking dogs battling out their territories. To my ear, it sounded like 2 packs of dogs who would fight each night about 11:30pm. They also believed that the gongs at the pagoda next door are an invitation to call and response. The gong would sound - gong... and the dogs would howl - awooooooh... The gong would sound again and the dogs would respond again. I never counted how many times but they had a regular pattern going. There were also about 5 varieties of birds each with their own call. Of them, there was only one that would be considered a song bird. The rest sounded like they were either shouting to someone very far away or arguing. All in all, it was an auditory experience.
So...this course was probably one of the most difficult one's I've ever completed - due to my own issues and my reactions to the environment - but it was a good course. Two ladies in particular were inspiring. One has scoliosis, and the other had severe arthritis. Both seemed to sit with the utmost calmness and perserverence. In fact, everyone was amazing. Whereas meditators in the states straggle in between 4:30 and 6 am, everyone, and I do mean everyone, was in the meditation hall by 4:20 am. I was usually the last or second to last to walk in at 4:28 am. I always felt so sheepish for lazing on my concrete bed.
COURSE IS DONE, BACK TO APARTMENT HUNTING
-----------------------------------------
Now, I'm back to searching for a home. Pat and I did not get the condo because they didn't want to rent to Americans. So, my search continues. My goal is to find a home by Dec. 1 so I can really get to work! The guest house I stayed in was a very reasonable rate but tiny. My room had space for just my bed. I could have studied sitting on my toilet but the humidity of the space made the paper curl. Well...okay, I never actually studied there but the pages of my books curled just sitting on the bed.
I think that is it for now.
hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
jayde
WHAT I TAKE FOR GRANTED
-----------------------
Although I have completed several Vipassana courses by now, this course was particularly challenging for the first 4 to 5 days. As part of the Vipassana course in the Ledi Sayadaw tradition as taught by S.N. Goenka, one must take renunciation as a part of the course. That means to give up on wordly pleasures for the duration of the course and live like a renunciant. One of the precepts is to not sleep in a high and luxurious bed. Well, how about a slab of concrete about 2 feet above the floor with about 1/4 inch of wood nailed to it and then a woven straw mat of about 1/16 inch thick. Coming from a family that believes in firm beds, harder surfaces are usually not a challenge but this was one hard surface! There is an optional mattress made of bound straw but in the heat of the first 4 days, that straw mat could have been a suffocating down duvet. So...sleeping was an interesting experience.
And...although I was given one of the best rooms and given the luxury of having the room all to myself instead of sharing it with someone, the bareness of the accommodations brough up many aversions - aversions that I am trying to let go of. They rightly assessed that as a foreigner, I would not be able to endure the usual accommodations and gave me one with a western toilet and a shower-head (instead of the usual bucket and scoop routine). However, the raw concrete walls, the "interesting" brown things on the floor, and the mosquitos stalking in the corners, made me quite tense everytime I showered. I tried to move as quickly as possible so no undesired substances would splash on me and no mosquitoes would attack me. I succeeded in the first endeavor but was woefully bitten in the most unusual places with each wash. I never knew I could be this woozy and had to admit to myself just how much I take for granted.
WHY BEING WEALTHY IS BEING COLD/COOL AND COMFORTABLE
----------------------------------------------------
I have not checked this with any native speakers or anyone who would know better but it has always struck me as interesting that the word for rich or wealthy is a combination of the words cold/cool and comforable. Being one averse to being cold, I could not understand why being cold would be a good thing until recently. Now, I know. For the first 4 days and nights of the course, the weather was still hot. It was hot in the morning, hot in the evening, and hot in the dead of night. So hot that I could have easily slept naked and not felt cold. Everyone slept with their doors and windows open and few bothered to borrow blankets from the meditation center.
For most of my waking hours, it felt like my body was trying to transform itself into a porcupine but the enumerable spikes could not pierce through my skin. Rather, the needles just kept pricking at me making it very difficult to sit still or remain equanimous. On top of that, I had several mosquito bites so I used up 3/4 of my tiger balm, using the temporary coolness of the ointment to get me through those days.
Now, I understand why my Burmese teacher, Saya U Saw Tun, says he much prefers to be cold. It seemed unimaginable to me for someone who lives in snowy Dekalb, Il. but given the choice of the heat during the first 4 days of my course, and the cold of Dekalb, I might feel the same way.
DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF QUIET
---------------------------
Ever since I first visited Dhamma Joti in 2002, I've been surprised that it located so close to downtown Yangon. I can walk from the center to Sule Paya in about 35 minutes (before the mid-day heat of course). Well, now, having completed my course, I see that the standards of quiet we assume to be necessary for a meditative environment do not hold in Yangon. Just beyond the walls of the center, there was some sort of entertainment facility (karaoke) or something that often blasted music as if there were an audience of 100 people or more. One night, there was apparently a ka bya (traditional Burmese theater that goes on all night long). It started with a rock-type of music for a few hours and then moved into traditional music (hniq ba thwa?) and then jataka tales. I assume that there is nothing one can do about this kind of celebration and that it is not considered a real disturbance to meditators. In addition, each night, we were seranaded by a chorus of howling barking dogs battling out their territories. To my ear, it sounded like 2 packs of dogs who would fight each night about 11:30pm. They also believed that the gongs at the pagoda next door are an invitation to call and response. The gong would sound - gong... and the dogs would howl - awooooooh... The gong would sound again and the dogs would respond again. I never counted how many times but they had a regular pattern going. There were also about 5 varieties of birds each with their own call. Of them, there was only one that would be considered a song bird. The rest sounded like they were either shouting to someone very far away or arguing. All in all, it was an auditory experience.
So...this course was probably one of the most difficult one's I've ever completed - due to my own issues and my reactions to the environment - but it was a good course. Two ladies in particular were inspiring. One has scoliosis, and the other had severe arthritis. Both seemed to sit with the utmost calmness and perserverence. In fact, everyone was amazing. Whereas meditators in the states straggle in between 4:30 and 6 am, everyone, and I do mean everyone, was in the meditation hall by 4:20 am. I was usually the last or second to last to walk in at 4:28 am. I always felt so sheepish for lazing on my concrete bed.
COURSE IS DONE, BACK TO APARTMENT HUNTING
-----------------------------------------
Now, I'm back to searching for a home. Pat and I did not get the condo because they didn't want to rent to Americans. So, my search continues. My goal is to find a home by Dec. 1 so I can really get to work! The guest house I stayed in was a very reasonable rate but tiny. My room had space for just my bed. I could have studied sitting on my toilet but the humidity of the space made the paper curl. Well...okay, I never actually studied there but the pages of my books curled just sitting on the bed.
I think that is it for now.
hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
jayde
posted by Jaydester at
11:01 AM
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