Further Ramblings
December
13
I am now back in Thailand after spending eight months in Europe.
Following
Ajahn Sucitto's 'retirement party' on November 4th,
I travelled to Ireland for teachings. First was a weekend retreat at
Sunyata Centre in County Clare on the west coast near to Shannon
Airport (www.sunyatacentre.org). The committee of Sunyata would like
to offer the ten-acre property to the Sangha as a branch monastery.
However, due to a large debt and the unavailability of a senior monk
to take on the project, it seems that it will remain a meditation
centre in the near future. Besides a purpose-built meditation hall,
there are several converted farm buildings and one hut on the
ten-acre property, with a small wood and a stream. Located on a
hillside, it has an extensive view of the verdant coastal plain and
the waves of rain clouds rolling in off the Atlantic. Members of the
Thai community in Ireland are very supportive of the idea of a forest
monastery, although it is somewhat removed from the population
centres of Dublin and Cork.
I
then travelled to Cork for two public talks and another weekend
retreat. The first public talk, at University College Cork, was
attended by some 170 people as it was linked to a conference on
mental health. The second talk was at the hall of the village where I
stayed overlooking Cork harbour, to introduce the setting up of a
weekly meditation group. Another weekend retreat of 20 appreciative
people was organized in a very quiet holiday Oyster Haven resort on the south
coast.
I
ended my Irish trip with an evening talk in Dublin organized by the
Irish Sangha Trust, and then took an early morning flight to Rome.
After a few quiet and sunny days at Santacittarama,, I caught my
return flight to Thailand on November 22.
Santacittarama (orange building in centre), amongst vineyards and olive groves.
I
had a few days in Bangkok to recover from jet lag, and then travelled
to Petchaboon province in north-central Thailand for a five-day Thai
retreat in the Turtle Hut 'spiritual resort' in the hills. It is a
very pleasant place with four-star accommodation and gardens for walking meditation.
Turtle Hut Spiritual Resort, Kow Kho, Petchaboon.
Nearby is a
branch monastery set up by Ajahn Achalo on a scenic hilltop adjacent
to a National Park. Although he has only been there for four years,
the monastery already has five huts, a large senior monk's cottage
with a library beneath and an adjacent property for nuns and female
guests. Ajahn Achalo has built various shrines based on the Buddhist
Holy Sites in India, such as Vulture's Peak, and designed a stupa and
the buildings to reflect Nepalese style.
I spent a very relaxed and pleasant week there, and then arranged to travel into the remote branch hermitage near the Burmese border, where I will be until early January. Since I shall be there over the New Year, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year 2015.
