The Path

My usual morning schedule is to meditate early in the morning. However, as those of you who have read the previous blog know, these days from 4am to 5:15am I am journeying down the path from my hut on the mountain to the main hall where we meet for almsround. This activity, as well as the fact that it requires considerable mindfulness and concentration to negotiate, in the dark and sometimes rain, the twists and turns and continuously changing conditions, means that the experience of the path is very much in my mind.

It also occurred to me that journeying on a physical path has close analogies to journeying on the spiritual path. Thus, for example, on my early trips down the path I made quite a few wrong turns. I then noticed that this usually happened when I was paying too close attention to my immediate steps in order not to hit a rock, step into a dip or misplace my footing. The problem was that I was not taking into account the intermediate shape of the path, its numerous twists and turns.

On my next journeys I took this into account but still made a few wrong turns. Reflecting upon this I realized that I also needed to consider the ultimate direction of the path as it went up over the plateau heading south and down the valley heading west in order to arrive at the hall in the southwest. Thus in order to keep to the right path it required keeping in mind the three aspects of immediate steps, intermediate direction and ultimate end of the path.

It seems to me that it is also necessary to keep these three aspect of the path in mind while traveling the spiritual path as well. Sometimes we may become over-focused on our immediate practice -- the proverbial, 'Live in the present moment' syndrome. This is all very well, however, as we are enjoying the immediate gratification of that strawberry ice cream, what are the intermediate effects of over-eating or the long-term effects of increased cholestrol?

Sometimes we may become over-focused upon the intermediate goal. We plan to go to Burma for a month-long intensive retreat in order to get our meditation practice together. However, what about that immediate thought of greed for mental peace in the mind right now? Or what will be the long-term effect? Will this give a boost to our spiritual practice or is it a 'spiritual holiday' acting as a substitute for everyday practice? What is the ultimate aim of spiritual practice? Where is it ultimately heading?

Thus, if we can keep some perspective on all three of these aspects of the path then they can support each other in helping us arrive at a more balanced and integrated approach to spiritual practice.

I have learned a few further lessons recently while journeying down the mountain. A few mornings ago I had my most difficult journey as it was raining and windy. While I am aware that rain makes the rocks extra slippery I was not prepared for the fact that the rain also made the path especially hard to see as well. The composition of the path is a combination of dark-coloured rock and light-coloured sand and pebbles. The rain, however, had darkened the light-coloured portions so it was more difficult to distinguish the constantly changing contours. Thus straining to see the way, being extra wary of slipping and holding the umbrella which was buffeted by wind on the exposed rocky plateau and caught on branches through the forests, I had to depend more on my memory of how the path weaved through the landscape then attend to the path directly. I then made several wrongs turns. I realized that this was due to following my assumptions of how I thought the path should go. Yes, how often have we gone astray by following our false assumptions? Of course, we often need to rely upon assumptions, but perhaps we forget that they are only assumptions and not the real thing. Then we only know them as false after the mistake.

The other lessen I learned this morning was that when I was following a way which was more easily walkable I often wandered off the marked path. The direct path is often not always the easiest. And while a few easier steps off the main stream can relax the journey, we need to be alert that we are not wandering off too far from the right way.

Tomorrow I will be following a different path as I will be going for alms at the village beside the Mekong River for some weeks. Fortunately the almsround begins much later at 6:30 am, nearly 1 1/2 hours after dawn. This is a relief since, even though it is much shorter, the path down is much steeper and difficult. This also includes having to literally crawl down three very rustic ladders (with round steps and no hand rail). The climb back up again carrying a bowl of food on an empty stomach will be great for the appetite.

Oh look! There is a hand rail.

Rainy Season Retreat in Thailand

This year I am spending the Rainy Season Retreat at a remote branch monastery of Wat Pah Nanachat called Wat Pah Poo Jom Gom. It is situated two hours drive NE of Ubon city next to the Mekong River. A place some 10 kms away has been promoted at the most easterly point of Thailand.

A very full Mekong River taken from Poo Jom Gom  cliff; Laos is on the left bank, the golden Buddha is south of the monastery. 

While the monastery proper is only about 40 acres in extent, a number of bamboo huts and cave dwellings are scattered over several hundreds of acres of National Park in an area of exceptional natural environment consisting of a series of sandstone plateaus eroded into exotic formations by rain and wind. And now with the monsoon rains the area has turned into labyrinth of streams, creeks, ponds and pools. Unfortunately photographs cannot do justice to the extraordinary diversity and uniqueness of the environment.

 One of the bathing pools on the path up to the upper plateau.

While residing here last winter I had stayed in a hut and cave next to the main stream running through this part of the park. I thus thought this time to be more adventurous and stay in one of the caves on the upper plateau. As I have experienced over the years: 'It is very hard to find a good cave'. My first choice turned out to be too hot for comfort with poor ventilation. I thus resorted to the very large 'Tea Cave' nearby. This cave, being a long rocky overhang has very good ventilation, however, due to it being just below a large plateau has almost continuous waterfalls. This is great for bathing, however, not very peaceful!

The 'Tea Cave', with one of the six waterfalls in the background.

Fortunately, a hut is located nearby between the massive rocks left from the collapsing sandstone ledge. Once the grass roof was repaired I then moved there
 in order to have some quiet rest from all the falling water.

The hut nestled in a flat space between massive rocks. During heavy rains three streams converge on the walking path.

The cave and hut are over one hours walk from the main hall. Thus at 4 am I set off in the dark with an extra light, umbrella, drinking water and my mobile phone in case of accident or obstacle and make my way towards the hall for almsround at 5:40am.

Their are two main routes down. The most straightforward one is down the valley, however, this involves some very mindful scrambling over rocks in several places, crossing several streams over slippery rocks and fording the main stream which can quickly become a torrent. The other route, with only one patch of rock scrambling and one stream to cross, has other challenges as it weaves and winds across the plateaus over a variety of terrain. This requires a constant vigilance to be aware simultaneously of each immediate step and the next direction the path takes. However, since this route is mostly open and expansive, this is the one I usually take, even after losing the path on several occasions. The weak link on this route is the foot bridge over the gorge. Fortunately it has been once again repaired after numerous washouts over the years. It now has a metal walkway and strong cables for handrails. Due to the large amount of rocky outcrop the area is exceptionally prone to flash flooding. A week after I arrived we had a two-hour long deluge which sent the stream through the gorge to over the level of bridge handrails. Fortunately though, as quickly as it floods, it also recedes. Near the bridge is a small shelter to await the water level to recede enough for a safe crossing.

The foot bridge over the gorge.

Four monks and three lay women are resident here at present, and we are exceptionally well cared for by the Sompan and Yupin family and Por Chalerm who come every day to cook extra food.