Meditation in Thailand 1997

     I have the full ordination as a Buddhist monk after about six months at Wat Pah Baan, with the help of some Thai supporters, an American monk Tan Dick, and the beloved senior English monk, Ajahn Panyavaddho who recently died. Three-hundred monks from monasteries in Thailand came to his funeral.
     Acharn Maha Boowa would not allow me to teach at Wat Pah Ban That after my ordination stay - "Too many Westerners," the difficulty for him, becausethe language barrier, and because of his advanced age - so I was shipped a strict "boot camp" in a wat, the abbot of a taskmaster just across the Mekong River and Laos. That was good because Acharn Maha Boowa's wat was simply too busy for me. But there was also a downside - I was now 400 kilometers from Janet!
     Fifteen to twenty monks inhabited, which was usually in the vicinity of Laos, the number
varies, and fortunately, an ex-CIA (he never admitted contained, but I was sure he was a) AmericanMonk, not only spoke Thai fluid, but Cambodia and Laos as well. The abbot could only speak a few words of English, but he was a favorite phrase he repeated ad nauseam, as we went on alms round: "Women have the essence of the dogs!" He would say over and over again, a broad smile. Then, when all of us in the hall for the meal, he would sit a look at me, smile and nod every time a Thai women from Bangkok, the nines dressed in short skirts, ran with the food. (Ithink he knew I was married).
     My Kuti was in the deep forest, about half a mile from the main hall and is located at the upper end of a massive, flat rock. There were large flat stones on both sides, separated by deep gorges are (havens for cobras) and surrounding area was all dense jungle. The six by seven foot hut was perched on the customary four stilts, each stilt fitted with a small bowl filled with kerosene for protection against ants and termites. Eight steps led to a smallPorch at the entrance of the small hut, which had two large windows with shutters, the occupants of a monk from the severe storms that protect soon to come.
     The Tin Roof looked as if they would keep well during the rainy season, and was low-hanging branches that would invite the vipers to fall from the trees and are clearly unwelcome guests. Inside were on the floor of a lantern and a jug of water, and in one corner stood a table with a candle and incense sticks. The lone decoration on the back wall wereCouple geckos - the ubiquitous meter long lizards, also known as the hut at home.
The floor and walls were made of boards are cut from large trees. Young men of the village with a two-man hand saw, cut the forty meters protocols end-to-end to make the boards, it was hard work, tedious work. The young men work all day without interruption, with the exception of a few mouthfuls of rice and coke for lunch. These impoverished villagers gave a great deal of time and resources to supportMonks, and I vowed to work as hard as I for my own greed, hatred, could soothe, and deception, so that I could repay them somehow. Your generosity surprised me.