Buddhist Retreat Review #4

Thank you, Luang Por!

I’ve just finished my month-long retreat with Ajahn Sumedho at home (and work). It’s been a fascinating and worthwhile journey over the past few weeks, with many bumps on the road (and one or two ‘potholes’!), but also some nice scenic views along the way. Before reviewing the past month’s events, a quick recap of the five rules that I made for myself would be useful:

• Meditate every day
• Be mindful throughout the day
• Listen to a recorded Ajahn Sumedho talk every day
• Not read any Buddhist literature while on retreat
• Take the retreat with me wherever I go

I think I only missed meditation a handful of times at most, the biggest disruption coming when we had to travel to Bangkok to get a new work visa. Meditating on a regular basis definitely helps one traverse the Buddhist Path. It gives one a calm base to work from, carrying over into the rest of the day, enabling one to live a more reflective life moment to moment, as things actually happen. Otherwise, one is always reflecting after the event, and then regret and thoughts of, “If only I’d done this or said that” come up. Once one is into the habit of daily meditation sessions, one can miss not meditating. This is a real boon to practice, as it shows a change in attitude to meditation and the development of the reflective faculties. This has been a very positive aspect of the month’s retreat, and for this alone, it was all worth it.

Being mindful through the day is often easier when one is in a retreat setting, especially in a monastery, for instance. Approaching life as a retreat in which mindfulness was to be cultivated definitely encouraged a more consistent approach to being mindful. All too often in one’s normal day-to-day activities habits can take over, with mindfulness disappearing into the mind’s reveries, lost to present circumstances. Regular meditation practice definitely helps maintain mindfulness through the day, making ordinary actions into walking meditation, talking meditation, eating meditation, working meditation etc. Mindfulness definitely still goes on holiday sometimes, with imagination and memories flooding the mind, but overall, seeing every situation as part of one’s retreat helps sustain mindfulness more easily.

Listening to Ajahn Sumedho every day has been a real pleasure over the past month. I already had a great feeling of gratitude to the venerable father, but this has deepened even further as his wisdom and humor have helped me be more reflective to life. Considering the contemplations given by Ajahn Sumedho in his talks certainly made for an increased reflective approach to everyday life. Seeing life through the lens of the three characteristics of existence (Tilakkhana), which are common themes in the forest ajahn’s talks along with his emphasis on being aware in each moment, helped transform mundane moments into opportunities for reflection.

I kept off the Dhamma books for a whole month, only receiving Buddhist instruction through listening to the mp3s and cassettes of Luang Por Sumedho. To be honest, most of the time I didn’t think too much about reading any books on Buddhism, and didn’t really miss them. Now that the retreat is over, however, my mind has started considering which book I’ll read first! Ah, well, it’s all grist to the mill.

As I thought when I undertook this retreat, taking the retreat with me wherever I went proved the most challenging. When in a classroom of screaming children, and having to shout to get them to be quiet, it’s difficult to imagine that this is part of a retreat! (I can’t imagine going around bawling at fellow retreatants to do their chores or keep mindful, for instance!) Sat in the main Bangkok immigration office for three days running waiting for bureaucracy to take its course also tested seeing those situations as being on retreat. At other times, especially when actually at home, keeping up the retreat-style experience was considerably easier and more successful. Despite its difficulties, this aspect of the month’s retreat was worth it. In fact, because it was the most awkward aspect to sustain, it is the one that if reflected on skillfully, can give rise to the greatest wisdom. If given enough time, that is.

Was it worthwhile, then, this month-long retreat with Ajahn Sumedho at home? Yes, yes, and yes! Listening and reflecting on the wise monk’s words every day inspired me to see life in terms of being contemplation, facilitating a somewhat wiser attitude to experience. Regular meditation practice has been a genuine joy rather than a chore, which it can be viewed as at times, giving energy to mindfulness. In fact, the month has been such a success that I’ll certainly be doing another one soon, possibly with slightly different rules, either at the end of December or at the beginning of the New Year. I’ve even decided who I’ll go on retreat with – Ajahn Brahm, another excellent teacher from the Western Forest Sangha. Can’t wait!