Last December, I chanced upon a meditation retreat. Somehow, everything seemed destined. I needed a short break, thought of Chiangmai, googled it and found a meditation retreat. By some weird twist of events (and from my sheer tardiness in reading for details), I ended up in Loei, 7 hours northeast of Bangkok, near Udon Thani.
This has got to be one of the most rewarding trips I’ve ever made. The retreat, which was run by the Dhammakaya movement, was beautiful. Lush mountains surrounded the area, with a charming stream running alongside. Although the meditation stemmed from Buddhist teachings and was led by monks, it was conducted from a very neutral angle - no pressure, no influence - it was purely for the spread of meditation knowledge.
The scheduled seemed a little gruesome at first – rise at 5am, no food after noon, and bedtime at 10; no handphones, no notebooks, no contact with the outside world. The food part was a little hard, but I got used to it pretty fast. The perk of rising early was that we got to see sunrise every morning, and it well worth the effort.
Meditation
The meditation experience was good. At some point, once you get pass the fleeting thoughts and are able to still your mind, you see a bright sphere that slowly grows in size. The light sends tingling sensations all throughout your body. I also feel the light penetrating through my eyes and forehead, and feel like what some people say, you 3rd eye, awakening. It’s an incredible feeling that I cannot describe exactly with words. The only way I can describe that feeling is that it’s better than orgasm. It was so good it became additive; I would not want to end my meditation at the end of the session.
The entire week in Loei, I felt so peaceful, so centered, so mindful. My thoughts were so clear. I returned from Loei rejuvenated, with a new calm and wisdom.
A month after I've returned back to KL, I still make it a point to try to meditate, if not daily, at least once a week. I have decided to make an annual pilgrimage to this retreat. I truly believe everyone will find some good in meditation.
On that note, I want to say that I awed by the Dhammakaya's objectives and practices. You may say they are cult-like, but never in my life have I witness 30,000 people coming together in one single location, and sit silently for one whole hour. I swear, that whole hour, all you could hear were birds chirping. No force, no blaring instructions. Even the kids were orderly and mindful. If more people behaved like this, then I truly do believe that Dhammakaya's wise abbot's visio of achieving world peace through meditation might just be the solution for the current world.
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