Good morning monk.

Good morning monk.
This is one of the greetings I hear as I go on pindabaat in Sri Lanka.
Each morning as I find more trails leading off through the jungle, I surprise people as I suddenly appear in front of their homes.
Some people are cooking, others bathing, mothers getting the children ready for school, but every one of them wants to know something about me and about Thailand.
Many invite me into their homes to sit and chat, while others run ahead to tell others, the monk is coming.
As I walk along with my faithful samanera in tow, people are directing us in the direction of someone else who wishes to make an offering.
It is taking nearly 2 hours to complete the entire round, and Jothi, the samanera looks exhausted by the time we get back, and has to wait until we have taken our food, and finished eating, before he, and the other samanera can take their food.
The samaneras here really are respectful towards the monks.
From the time I get up in the morning until I retire at night, the samaneras are there in case I need anything, except when they go to school.
Even when I take a shower, a samanera is close by in case I need any help.
Things are definitely done a little differently here than I am used to seeing in Thailand.
It is interesting to be able to travel the various Buddhist countries and see the different ways of practice from country to country, especially when wearing the robes of a monk.
What do I do when someone calls out ” Good morning monk, how are you today”?
I stop and I tell them I am fine, and ask how they are. How is their family?
Before you know it, a pleasant 5 minutes has passed by and it is time to move on.

Farewell for now.

I have just been on my last pindabaat for a while here in Fang.
A little bit of rain was falling, keeping things cool and fresh smelling.
Each time I was called to come and receive alms I notified the people that I would be away for a while in Sri Lanka, as not all of them would have heard it announced at the temple yesterday.
I will certainly miss each and every one of them. but it is only 1 month.
I am looking forward to doing alms rounds in Sri Lanka.
It will be interesting to see the similarities and the contrasts in how things are done.

Early morning meditation,scorpions and unusual alarms.

This morning at about 1:30 am, I was woken up by an alarm that I had not been expecting.
I had awoken to a painful experience, a piercing sensation in my lower abdomen.
It seems I had rolled over onto a small scorpion, who showed it’s displeasure by giving me a bit of a zap with it’s pointy back end.
I quickly caught the scorpion and took it outside before sitting down to start meditating on the some what painful sensation starting to spread about my abdomen.
As I meditated and observed what was happening, I could sense the venom spreading and was aware of the intense heat that was happening at the same time as the poison spread.
After about 1 hour of this meditation I began to observe the pain slowly going and seemed to feel the venom slow down on its course and then that also appeared to begin to recede.
I must admit that this is not my normal meditation practice, but at least I know that I have gotten in a good few hours before going on my alms round today.
I wish you all a pleasant meditation period today, but don’t recommend the scorpion method if you don’t need to do it.

Delusion, ego, and the blame game.

Today, when I checked my FB page, I was a little surprised to see that someone had sent me several abusive messages.
The person who sent these messages to me had recently split from their partner.
The partner had come to the temple to stay( after the breakup )for a while.
This person has since moved on from here and is getting on with her life, but unfortunately the ex partner is unable or unwilling to accept that the relationship is over and so now has shifted the blame to me.
This really brings the teachings of Lord Buddha alive.
While the relationship was happening, this guy thought that he had happiness, however, this happiness relied upon certain conditions remaining as they were, but he forgot that all conditioned phenomena is impermanent and therefore leads to suffering.
The conditions changed and now he is not happy.
Worse yet, however, is the fact that now he is no longer happy, he is looking externally to find the source of this unhappiness, when the source is within.His lack of mindfulness and ignorance are causing further suffering.
I wish that he would step back a bit and reflect that the anger he is experiencing is only mind made and not his anger, the suffering is not his suffering, but right now, he appears to have taken ownership of these emotions and is clinging to them. This can only cause more suffering and is not the way to liberation.
I hope today that you all will come to know, as a result of your practice, that we need to let go of these things that keep us trapped in samsara.
I wish you all the best in your practice of vipassana meditation.
May you all attain Nibbana in the shortest possible time.

Visa time again.

Once again it is time to get all the paperwork sorted out.
Signatures and stamps, official letters and then finally another 1 year visa.
Looks like a few busy days ahead with at least 2 or 3 trips to Chiang Mai on the horizon.
Thankfully we know what is needed for our visas now and so it should go quite smoothly.
It is hard to believe that I have been here in Thailand as a Bhikkhu for over a year now.
Here is looking forwards to my next year here at Wat Sri Boen Ruang.
I look forward to not only my own studies and practice, but to the opportunity to meet with, and to teach vipassana meditation to people of different nationalities as they come to Wat Sri Boen Ruang’s International Buddhism Center, either on our Thai Temple Stay program or on a vipassana retreat at the Dhamma Garden Meditation Center.
Thank you all for making my first year such an enjoyable experience.
Chuntawongso Bhikkhu (Phra Greg)

How much should I donate when I stay in a Buddhist temple?

I was asked this question recently, and realized that for many westerners this was a problem.
In many western countries a fee would often be charged to stay in a temple or to attend a meditation course and when they come to a place like Wat Sri Boen Ruang it is donation based only and so the question comes up: What is a suitable amount to donate?
So first of all, why don’t we just set a standard daily charge for people?
That would at least take the guess work out.
Verse 354 of the Dhammapada says:

Sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati – The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts
sabbarasam dhammaraso jinati – the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes
sabbaratim dhammarati jinati – delight in the Dhamma excels all delights
tanhakkhayo sabbadukkham jinati – The eradication of Craving overcomes all ills

As we see, the first part of this verse starts:

Sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati – The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts.

An important word here is gift.
What is a gift.
A gift is something given voluntarily without payment in return.

I count myself as being very fortunate.
Thanks to my Abbot, Bhante Dr. Apisit, and of course Phra Fred, who I met on a Buddhist forum, I was presented with the opportunity to come to Wat Sri Boen Ruang, here in Fang, Thailand, to teach foreign visitors(falang) vipassana meditation,while Phra Fred primarily taught the Dhamma.

I myself practiced and studied vipassana meditation at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand when I was a lay person, and although I was there for several months, there was no fee, even though at the end of it I was going to leave as a qualified vipassana meditation teacher.
It was all donation based.

As I study the suttas, I can find no instance where Lord Buddha charged for his teachings.
They were given freely, expecting nothing in return, however we do see people making donations.
Some big(building temples)and many others small and often none at all.
Nothing was asked for.
We teach the Dhamma because it is the greatest gift that we can give.It is a gift that will endure.

When you come to this temple, we do not know if you will leave a donation or not.
This is not something for us to concern ourselves with, however, when people ask about making a donation I will always advise them not to be over extravagant and leave themselves short of money for the rest of their holiday.
We don’t want you doing that.
If you want to give, give from the heart, not from the head.
Remember not to regret what it is that you have given.
And for those who wonder where your donation goes, well, to a number of places.
First of all(Phra Fred and myself) like to make sure that the Wat Sri Boen Ruang International Buddhism Centerhelps with the electricity bills,water and internet charges that the temple has to pay.
We also use the money to print chanting books for our guests, and to buy bedding etc for the guest accommodation.
Of course when we can, we also give some money to go towards the new International Vipassana Meditation Center that we are building not far from here.
This way you too are helping with the sharing of the gift of Dhamma.
Some of our guests will even break their donations up into various amounts and tell us where they would like it to go.

So you see, it is entirely up to you when it comes to donating.
Big or small, or none at all, the gift of the Dhamma is waiting for you here.

A few words from Phra Greg

Happy New Year

Once again, we come to that time when we wish one another a happy new year, and of course it is good to wish for the happiness of others.
The question is:What sort of happiness are we discussing?
Is it worldly happiness that only leads to suffering, or is it a higher form of happiness that we wish for ourselves and others?
Worldly happiness, as cognized via the sense doors can only lead to suffering, or to unsatisfactoriness.
Why is this?
It is because worldly happiness depends upon certain conditions arising…pleasant sights, sounds,smells,tastes, tactile sensations, and thoughts.
If the conditions are not there, or if they arise and then pass away(which they will) then there will be suffering.
What we need to be wishing for ourselves and for others is the happiness that comes by understanding that worldly happiness is impermanent, that it leads to suffering.
How do we get to this level of happiness?
The first thing we need to do is to keep the five precepts.
If we don’t keep these five precepts(to the best of our ability) it will not be possible to to reach a higher level of happiness.
Once we begin to keep the five precepts, we can then begin the practice of vipassana meditation.
Why is it so important to keep the precepts?
It is important because if we do not, then we are still chasing after the type of worldly pleasures that deliberately set out to cause harm to others and harm to ourselves.
With a mind so agitated it is not possible to practice meditation properly. There will be too many hindrances to your practice.
The things that hinder our practice are: liking, disliking, drowsiness, distraction, and doubt.
When we deliberately, and consistently break the precepts, these hindrances will block our progress on the path.
Now that we have decided to keep the five precepts, our meditation practice will begin to bear fruit.
We will start to see, personally….not some blind faith because some one famous told us, not because we read it in the Suttas, but because we will experience it for ourselves, that happiness comes from neither attachment, or aversion, to any pleasant or unpleasant sensation that arises and passes away.
We will just know…here is a pleasant sensation arising….here is an unpleasant sensation arising.
We will just let it be, without attaching anything to it, without taking ownership of it and then we will just let it go.
This is how we begin to calm or minds down,this is how insight will arise.
When insight and a calm(tranquil) mind are established then we will know happiness.
Of course this is still not the highest happiness(Nibbana) but we are certainly on the path.
So this new year, as I wish a happy new year, my thoughts are these:
May all sentient beings be happy, and know the cause of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering, and the causes of suffering.
May I be happy, and know the cause of happiness.
May I be free from suffering, and the causes of suffering.
Happy new year everybody.

When do I plan on disrobing?

When do I plan on disrobing?
I get asked this question from time to time, which amuses me to a certain degree.
I mean, why the assumption that once some one has put on the robes of a bhikkhu they have a date in mind for going back to the lay life?
This morning as I was on my alms round, I reflected upon how rich I am, now that I am a monk.
Sure, I’ve got no money and I am fully dependent upon the lay community for all of my needs, but that just shows how rich I am.
As I wandered out on this cold and misty morning to collect alms, I was given the warmest of smiles from men, women and children of all ages.
Youngsters on their way to school, stepped to one side as we approached, many of them would even stop walking and bring their hands together in anjali.
People on bicycles and on motor bikes would bow slightly as they went past, to show respect, and little children would excitedly wait for us, with their parents so that they could put some rice or something into our alms bowls, then as they knelt down in front of us and we gave a quick blessing, the smiles would be spread across their little faces and joy would rise up in my heart.
As I said at the beginning of this note,I do get asked when do I plan on disrobing.
Some times it is asked by strangers who assume that at some time I will do this and return to my country of birth, some times some of my old mates ask me, because they fancy having a cold beer with me, and some times it is asked by people who just don’t like me.
Well, to all of those people, I have no intention(at this point in time) of disrobing at all.
Why would I want to go back to my old life.
The joy that I get each and every day I am in robes, cannot be bought with any amount of money I could earn.

Phra Greg Chuntawongso

How do I know if someone is meditating?

This is a question that I often get asked.
Of course as a vipassana meditation teacher, I give instructions to students on a daily basis and also have daily Q and A sessions sessions that allow me to see how a student is progressing and of course the student has the opportunity to discuss any thing that may have come up during their practice time and also to ask questions or discuss any problems or doubts that they may have.

This is a beneficial time both for the student and for the teacher.

Often we see in formal group meditation sessions, the teacher will turn and face the group.
This will not tell you if people are meditating or not, unless of course you are an Arahat and can see their minds.
Otherwise all you can be sure of is the meditators posture and whether or not they are sitting still.

So how do I know if a person is meditating or not?

I observe them outside of their formal meditation practice.
One of the easiest things to observe is how much talking they like to do and what it is that they talk about.
In my experience, the more external chatter there is, the more internal chatter there is.
This is a good indicator that more meditation is required.
The other indicator is what the person is talking about.
If people are constantly talking about their past, without using it for the sake of the Dhamma, or talking about the future, again not in regards to the Dhamma, this would be a good indicator of a lack of mindfulness.
In Buddhism, this type of speech is often referred to as animal speech.
Some one constantly engaged in animal speech cannot be said to be mindful.
People who need to run around here and there, seeking sense pleasures would also indicate to me some one who is not practicing properly.
When we are practicing vipassana meditation and guarding, with vigilance, the sense doors we will naturally cease chasing after sense desires, as we will have seen them for what they truly are.
As you go about your day today, take time to reflect upon these things.
How will you choose to spend your time.