It was an unplanned New Year holidays this winter, but the peaceful mind was the greatest present of all.
"Yesterday is a memory
Tomorrow is the unknown
Now is the knowing"
--Ajahn Sumedho
The Temple Forest Monastery remained its simplicity, covered up with snow and very quiet in winter. The temple only allows limited overnight stay guests. There were about 4-5 male guests and 4-5 female guests while I was there. We were not allowed to use cell phone or electronics.
Everyone gathered in the chapel at 5:00 a.m. daily to meditate for an hour.
After the morning meditation, we were assigned chores and after that, breakfast started at 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Then, we did more morning chores and lunch started at 11:00 a.m. to noon. In the afternoon, we spent time by ourselves. I did sitting/walking meditation, reading Dhamma books, stretching exercise, etc. At 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. we could have tea, dark chocolate and cheese, but we were not allowed to eat anything else, in other word, we followed the monks' routine by not having any more meal after 11:00 a.m. Some guests used this time to do Dhamma talk, share their life experiences, why they started to meditate, etc. Then, at 7:00 p.m. we gathered in the chapel again for an hour meditation. That concluded our daily routine. I missed regular Saturdays and Sundays when monks offer Dhamma talk with guests.
After the morning meditation, we were assigned chores and after that, breakfast started at 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Then, we did more morning chores and lunch started at 11:00 a.m. to noon. In the afternoon, we spent time by ourselves. I did sitting/walking meditation, reading Dhamma books, stretching exercise, etc. At 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. we could have tea, dark chocolate and cheese, but we were not allowed to eat anything else, in other word, we followed the monks' routine by not having any more meal after 11:00 a.m. Some guests used this time to do Dhamma talk, share their life experiences, why they started to meditate, etc. Then, at 7:00 p.m. we gathered in the chapel again for an hour meditation. That concluded our daily routine. I missed regular Saturdays and Sundays when monks offer Dhamma talk with guests.
I enjoyed walking on the snow there. There is a creek running along the walking path and also there is an icy lake to walk over to on another path. It was so quiet such that I had to also bring my cell phone along just in case if I really needed to use it. I saw animal hoofs on the snow as well.
This monastery is not a retreat center which normally have instructors to guide participants how to meditate, offer daily Dhamma talk, and participants meditate more longer hours daily. Anyway, I did have a peaceful time there.
I decided to leave a day sooner because on New Year Eve, the Abbot announced that there was another monk tested positive for Covid-19 and a young guy who had been helping around the temple did not feel well. So, 2 of the 8 monks now were tested positive. The Abbot also canceled New Year Eve midnight chanting. I was not a close contact to the monks, but I did work and talk with that young guy daily. He did rapid test with negative result on the new year day. That gave everyone a relief, but we all still had to be cautious, so, I decided to come back a day sooner.
My peaceful time at the Temple Forest Monastery was from Monday December 27th, 2021, to Saturday January 1st, 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment