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  • Wish You Were Here: Everybody Has Their Own Notion of The Ideal Place and The Ideal Practice. Here Is Venerable Sumano's

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    John Traves
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    This document is an article from the January 1988 issue of the Forest Sangha Newsletter. It describes the isolated monastery deep in the Thai countryside where Venerable Sumano is spending his rainy season retreat. The monastery is surrounded by rugged hills, forest, and a large lake, and is home to 12-14 monks, though some live in shelters away from the main buildings due to malaria. The monks follow a strict daily schedule of chanting, meditation, and meals, and receive sparse food offerings from the few local villagers during this time of retreat.

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    This document is an article from the January 1988 issue of the Forest Sangha Newsletter. It describes the isolated monastery deep in the Thai countryside where Venerable Sumano is spending his rainy season retreat. The monastery is surrounded by rugged hills, forest, and a large lake, and is home to 12-14 monks, though some live in shelters away from the main buildings due to malaria. The monks follow a strict daily schedule of chanting, meditation, and meals, and receive sparse food offerings from the few local villagers during this time of retreat.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Scarica in formato PDF, TXT o leggi online su Scribd
    Segnala contenuti inappropriati
    15 visualizzazioni3 pagine

    Wish You Were Here: Everybody Has Their Own Notion of The Ideal Place and The Ideal Practice. Here Is Venerable Sumano's

    Caricato da

    John Traves
    This document is an article from the January 1988 issue of the Forest Sangha Newsletter. It describes the isolated monastery deep in the Thai countryside where Venerable Sumano is spending his rainy season retreat. The monastery is surrounded by rugged hills, forest, and a large lake, and is home to 12-14 monks, though some live in shelters away from the main buildings due to malaria. The monks follow a strict daily schedule of chanting, meditation, and meals, and receive sparse food offerings from the few local villagers during this time of retreat.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Scarica in formato PDF, TXT o leggi online su Scribd
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    ForestSanghaNewsletter

    THISISSUE

    January1988
    HOME
    BACKISSUES

    Cover: WoodHammeredatChithurstAjahnAnando
    Articles: Serpentine,WesternAustraliaChrisBanks
    LookingfortheSweetOneAjahnJagaro
    WishYouWereHereVenerableSumano
    Kathina1987SisterCandasiri&UpasikaSusilo
    OfftheBeatenTrackVenerableKovido
    NewBornSisterViveka
    AmaravatiSummerCampMedhina
    Editorial: TheWaytheWindBlowsAjahnSucitto

    WishYouWereHere
    Everybodyhastheirownnotionoftheidealplaceandtheidealpractice.HereisVenerableSumano's.
    ThisPhansaI'vefoundthebestwayplaceinthewholeworld.ItisaWatdeepinthebackcountryofThailand...Onone
    sidewearewalledinbyaseriesofrugged,steepfoothillsonanothersidebyawideanddeeplake.Asthesunrises
    behindthesala,wecanjustcatchaglimpseofthelonevillageontheotherside.Thefewfishermenneverventurenear
    thissideforfearoftheghostswhoareknowntoswampboatsandalsohaunttheforestonthebacksideoftheWat.
    (Phansa:RainsRetreat,orVassainThai.)
    Thispeculiarentanglementofvegetationappearsnevertohavebeentraversed.Eachofthehugetreeshasgrownina
    ratherdeformedmanner.Probablybecauseofthechallengeandconflictforspaceinthisalmostprehistoric
    environment,somehavegonelopsided,othersconcaveandallhaveknotty"faces"whichappearanimatedonthedays
    fogcomesinoffthelake.Theextentoftheforestcanonlybeestimatedbysomecluesandthe"feel"ofit:Iguessitto
    be1520miles.Thesoundsoftigersinthenightcarryoverlongdistancesandindicatesufficientterritoryformorethan
    justafewofthem.

    ...manyofthesamanasareseenonlyoccasionallyleavingtheir
    shelterswhenlackofnutritionrequirestheygotothevillagefor
    alms.

    Ononesideofthelakeisadesertabout2kmacrossatitsnarrowestpoint.Atdawnwecrossthatexpansetoreach
    thesmallvillageforalms.Herewereceiveafewspoonfulsofriceandsomewildvegetables,thenthefoodistaken
    backtotheWatbythevillageboys,theyalternateinordertogainthemeritofcarryingseveralbowlsbackforthe
    monks.

    Therehasbeenraineverydayabout20minutesofhardrainintheearlymorning.Themorning,consequently,opens
    freshandclear.Oftheinsects,itisonlythebutterflieswhocallourattention.Thereare50manyofthemthatweneed
    tobecarefulnottosteponanyaswewalkonourmeditationpaths.Thetemperatureisastable76degreesFinthe
    dayand72degreesatnight.
    Ofcourse,thereisapowerfulstrainofmalaria(ultramalariaIcall
    it).Atthisjuncturetherearebetween1214ofuswebeganthe
    retreatwith20.Theexactnumbercannotbedeterminedasmanyof
    thesamanasareseenonlyoccasionallyleavingtheirshelterswhen
    lackofnutritionrequirestheygotothevillageforalms.TheAbbot
    comesoutonlyfortnightlytocrossthedesert,bathe,andpresideover
    therecitationoftherulesofconduct.Somehowhehasmanagedto
    maintainaconstantweightof35kilos.
    Asidefromtheraremalariamosquitowhichishardlyeverseen,the
    otherspeciesofmosquitosarecontentjusttobiteeachotherfor
    thesportofit,Isuppose.
    ForthefewwhochoosetokeepthePhansaschedule,themorning
    bellgoesat1.15amforchantingandsitting.The34monksliving
    undertheirumbrellasadjacenttotheSalamaintainthescheduleand
    leaveafterthe30minutesrequiredtohaulwater,dustandsweep.
    Everythingiscompletedby5.20,afewmomentsbeforethefirst
    light.
    Themealofthedayandthewashingupofthebowlsisa15minuteprocessafterwhichthosewhoateinthesalasit
    twoandahalfhourstogetherbeforeresumingthenormalsittingandwalkingschedule.Thelastsittingisfinishedat
    11pm.
    Thereisnoonetoaskaboutpostingaletter.Itnevercameupandnoonehasspokenforthepastsixweeksorlonger.
    However,tomorrowmarksthemidpointoftheretreatandfourofthesixfamiliesfromthevillagewillentertheWat
    fortheironlyopportunityofofferingamealduringtheretreatseason.Whilethetworemainingfamilieswatchover
    thebitofgardenandfewcoconuttreeswhichsupporttheirlives,theotherswillofferhandwovenmats,andperhapsa
    boxofsoappowdertoreplacetheonethatranoutlastmonth.Barsoapandtoothpasteseemadequateenough.So,I
    willleavethisforthematthestaircasetothesala,possiblyitwillpassthroughmanyhandsonitswaytoBangkokfor
    postingandthenonward.

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