Life at the monestary

Arrived at the monestary at11 on Wednesday and first we 'organised'our room ready for sleep and we changed into our appropriate dress for the monks- white top and trousers At 12 we had lunch which was some of the food that the monks had collected from the locals earlier in the morning. It was the last meal of the day a the monks do not eat after midday and before dawn.
At 1pm we had our 1st lesson in Buddhism and learned how to meditate both sitting and walking (not at the same time though) - must admit you do feel quite good after switching off for 30 minutes.
There were loads of dogs and puppies at there and I spent loads of time just playing with them and taking lots of pics.

The rest of the afternoon was our freetime so we wandered down to the local town and I finally managed to post my painting back home and catch up on the internet - you should find more photos under the 'Global Thailand folder now. Found a nice coffee shop and then back to base stopping at the local shop to pick up some provisions for the night.

At 7pm we joined the monks in chanting and meditation which lasted for an hour and a half and then we should have gone to bed at8.30 but we snook out to the local shop for a beer and a chat. In bed by 10.30 and spent a fitful night trying to find a comfortable position on the hard floor. At least we had the mossie coils which reduced the amount of bites and the fans kept us cool
Vim woke us at 4.50 am for us to join the monks in their daily round collecting the food from the locals. The monks carried the huge tureens for the rice and we (the women) carried the baskets to collect the extra dishes of hot food which the locals put in plastic food bags. Each house/shop put a spoonful of ric in the tureen and placed the hot food/biscuits/fruit/water on a plate which the monks handed to Peter - the only man in our group - who then placed it in our baskets. Anothe man followed behing with his barrow to take the food from us once the baskets got full - there was so much food and they did this everyday, now considering they only eat once a day!! I haven't worked out where all the food goes butVim reckons that if you're poor and hungry you can just turn up at the monestary and they'll feed you.
I am interested in the Buddhist way of life but I have lots of unanswered questions which was difficult to resolve as our guide doesn't have the best grasp of the english language and my Thai is even more lacking.

Wim made a fruit salad for uswhen we got back which turned out to be more spicy vegetables with garlic and I really couldn't face these at 7.30 in the morning.
Breakfast was at 9 and the masses of food we'd collected was served up.
After breakfast we swept the huge courtyard before giving alms to the head monk's son (another monk) and saying farewell. He surprised us by giving each of us pendant for using in times of 'stress' for meditation. He was a truly gorgeous looking monk with an infectious smile - it would be a shame if he remains a monk forever - such a waste!!
In Thailand all men have to do 3 months as a monk sometime between the age of 18 and 25, they can then choose to return to a normal way of life or remain in the monestary for as long as they are 'happy' It's a bit like conscription with a better message.

Anyway I enjoyed the monastic experience -bit of a change tomorrow

Love Sue. xx