Ace and Penny at Large

 

Our questions for Monk #2 at Wat Srisupan got more challenging: “What if you don’t like the food the people put in your bowl when you go out in the morning, do you still have to eat it?”, “How long do you meditate for?”, “What made you decide to become a monk?”, and “What do you do for fun?”. 

 

We visited Wat Srisupan for their evening Meditation Course and got schooled in how to meditate Samatha style (I learned there are 2 types of meditation: 

1 - Vipassana (or insight) meditation - like what Thich Nhat Hanh practices

2 - Samatha (or concentration) meditation - focused on calming the mind

It was fun and interesting and we practiced both sitting, walking and standing meditation with a small group of other students led by our monk from the monk chat for about 10 minutes.

 

The big take aways I got from our chats and practice were: Be happy. Don’t worry. If you are sad then be sad. Practice meditation until you feel happy again… I also got that "having fun” is not what its about for them. We stumped Monk # 2 with the question about fun. He seemed to be saying that he does meditation because he has to do it, because there is no other way to be calm, and that to “lose things” like anger and sadness are what its about rather than to find fun or gain enlightenment. For example, he was very clear that he doesn’t think about the food he is eating or what it tastes like (or even if he should be on a vegetarian diet or not). He just eats what the people put in his begging bowl and doesn’t worry about it. Something mind-blowing to Ace and I since we have been moving through this trip led by our tastebuds and stomaches at times.

 

But there’s something about traveling and being in a new place that invites one to look at the same world a little differently. In Thailand they have a phrase (and we’ve heard it often): “the same-same but different”. We heard it in cooking class, “this recipe for red curry is the same-same as the green curry, but different” meaning the same vegetables, same technique, same instructions, (mostly) the same ingredients,

but different paste, and different every time you make it because of the different person’s magic and heart. 

 

YOGA: was “the same same, but different”. We found our way to Remco's (a French ex-pat) Blue Garden Yoga Studio. He had a unique way of putting a flow together that seemed to incorporate some pilates type moves and a lot of core. I enjoyed how his words and language seemed to massage my ears. It took me a while to understand some of what he was saying (things like “downward dog” sounded more like “downward duck”) but I thought it made the yoga that much more interesting. 

 

I did not enjoy the mosquito mafia that seemed to be following my every asana. Having been to the class before I doused myself with bug spray in hopes of being left alone. This time there was only 1 that seemed to be out to get me. It changes the way I think about yogi-ness when I’m so easily distracted by a very teeny tiny insect. My goal is to get in touch with my body, and somehow my monkey mind gets fixated on the small matters. I wonder, “How do the monk’s stand it when they’re meditating?” and I convince myself that I must just taste better to mosquitos and suddenly I’m distracted by Remco’s voice, “Now moving very slowly, very slowly, bring your arms up, yes, yes, and breathing in, taking a deep breath in, yes, very good” and I’ve lost my small world of mosquito hell and brought back to the presence of the breath and what it feels like to have it massage my lungs…. 

 

One of the days we went, a musician named Rich Glauber came up after the class and played the guitar and sang “Mock me Rama” to the tune of Dylan’s "Rock me Mama”. Funny and light hearted, you could tell that Remco has built a warm and welcoming yoga studio that invites people to be in touch with themselves and connect with others in creative ways. 

 

THAI MASSAGE: more of “the same same, but different” - but wow, what a difference. Trip Advisor recommended the # 1 spa as being Cheeva Spa (picture a brochure and website with bathtubs surrounded by candles and filled with flowers floating in water) Although we went there since they boasted they took drop-ins they weren’t open yet and the later time would interfere with another timed activity so we scheduled for the next day. 

 

We still wanted to get a massage that same day (hey why not when massages are on average less than $10). Ace suggested we go to the Women’s Prison Massage Program (where current prisoners are trained in massage as part of their rehabilitation program). It sounds kinda scary but it wasn’t. We were greeted by the warden in the courtyard outside who stated they were all booked for the day but strongly recommended we travel a 1/2 block to the Women’s Ex-Prisoner Massage Program “They hire my parolees after they get out and give them good jobs”. 

 

We each got a 90 minute Thai Massage that was amazing. My massage therapist was better than Ace’s and I would say one of the top 5 best massages I’ve had in my life. Thai massage is different in that you wear loose clothes, they don’t use oil, and your limbs are stretched and contorted until the muscles relax. We were put into some interesting and awkward positions. The massage therapists actually get up on the table with you, wrapping their body on yours (I think we were being massaged with feet at one point in time) and are very hands on, often popping and cracking various bones in the process. 

 

The Cheeva Spa was a disappointment for me. I decided to splurge with $60 and get a 2 hour "massage package” with a Lanna hot oil treatment and food reflexology treatment. The therapist seemed to think that massage meant rubbing her knuckles over bones and ligaments rather than working with muscles. Even though I gave her feedback, shared about my back and disc issues, and asked her to modify the massage, she continued to put my body in painful positions. Ace’s massage therapist was better than mine but not by much. She chalked it up to them being younger and less experienced. Still, I was disappointed in Trip Advisor and would recommend instead the Women’s Ex-Prisoner Massage Program instead. 

 

If Monk # 2 were to hear me complain about the massage at Cheeva I’m sure he would encourage me to meditate until I was happy again. I do feel like an ungrateful ass when I don’t appreciate every minute of our travels and each experience (good or bad) that we are offered into our bowls. I find the things I worry about and do here are “the same-same, but different”. 

 

My goal has been to develop my sense of intuition and reconnect with my sense of gratitude. I think Monk #2’s description of “losing things” rather than "finding enlightnement” struck me as meaning that its not about finding intuition or gratitude but about losing worry and judgments… Perhaps the answer is: More love, More yoga, and More meditation...

 

INFORMATION FROM THE MONK CHAT:

What questions should we ask?

Monk #1 suggested that we ask about the robes and the color of the robes. He said he wears Orange because he likes that color and that he is no longer a novice. A novice is anyone before the age of 20. Once you turn 20 you can become a monk. He was a novice for 2 years and has been a monk for 8 for a total of 10 years. He is originally Cambodian. His parents wanted him to become a monk and so he said he would try it and after 1 week decided he really liked how it helped him to feel calmer so he decided to stay. 

 

What is the meaning of life?

He had a much longer answer but I interpreted it simply as "to be happy, but this is not easy”. He then explained how and why meditation is so awesome. He also gave us a history of Buddhism. (We found the monk’s were very chatty and seemed to enjoy sharing what they know, and talked and talked and talked even after they answered the question) 

 

What are you reading right now?

This got the longest answer and was also the most confusing. An ancient story about a pigeon. The pigeon flock was starving and they found some food in a field. The king/leader pigeon was afraid it was a trap and so he said, “Let’s not go”. There was another pigeon, a reel pigeon who wanted to go. He said, “Look we’re starving. Its probably not a trap. The risk that it is a trap is not that great. The risk of starving is certain if we don’t eat.” 

 

And after much arguing, the rebel said, “Well, I’m going whether you like it or not, whether you come with me or not”. That seemed to get the king pigeon’s attention and he said, “Wait wait wait, if you go, we all go together.” And so the pigeons all ate in the field and were trapped in a box. 

 

After they were trapped they started arguing amongst themselves. Some of the pigeons were frightened and started pushing against the box. Others were angry and blamed the rebel for getting them into the trap. Others were angry a the king pigeon for following the rebel and leading them into the trap. In the end, the king pigeon shared that it was not all bad because they were together. He organized everyone to push on the box together and they flew away (still trapped in a box presumably) to their friend the rat to ask for help.

 

The king pigeon asked the rat for help who agreed but said he was too old and had no teeth to chew through the box. The king pigeon insisted that he help. The rat said okay later. They went back and forth for a long time about this. In the end the monk said the moral of the story was that its okay to ask for our friends help…. which isn’t what I got out of the story. I understood more that its important to do things together to make decisions together and solve problems together, but maybe I’ll have to find the book and read it myself….

 

What if you don’t like the food the people put in your bowl when you go out in the morning, do you still have to eat it?

As I mentioned earlier, Monk # 2 was not concerned about this in the least. He shared that they are not specifically vegetarian because they eat whatever they are given. Every morning at 4:30am they wake up and prepare to walk thorough the streets carrying a begging bowl. Devout Buddhists will put food in their bowl and receive a blessing. The monk’s then return to the temple and He explained that he doesn’t think about it. They only eat 2x/day in the morning and then again at lunch. They don’t exercise (although they do have chores to do around the temple) but they 

 

How long do you meditate for?

15 minutes! Yep, that’s it. He said they meditate for 15 minutes at a time but do it several times a day. It also seemed that everything they do they try to do with concentration on that one task so that they are meditating in every activity they do (walking, cleaning, chanting, eating, etc)

 

What made you decide to become a monk?

Monk # 2 was also from Cambodia and had immigrated to Vietnam with his family when he was younger. He was born in 1978 and became a novice at 17, a full monk at 20 and has been i this life now for 20 years (17 as a full monk). He stated his uncle saw that he was a troubled teen and encouraged him to try being a monk. After much pestering he agreed to give it a try for only 1 week. But he was lucky and the monk he was sent to train with (live with and learn from) was the late, venerable elder monk who was very good and helped him to feel calmer. After a week he said, he liked meditating and would stay maybe 1 more week, but has been there ever since.

He visits his family in Vietnam and they are glad to see him. When he goes to visit he stays with the temple nearby and they come to visit him at the temple. Sometimes they cook for him and bring him food but he doesn’t see them often.

 

What do you do for fun?

This really stumped Monk #2. He said he doesn’t do things because they are fun. He does them because he has to. He stated he likes to hang out in his own room and listen to the news or read. He sometimes talks with friends. He then explained how meditation isn’t about finding things but about losing things instead.