Sawaidi Kaap Dear Friends and Family,
we are in
Laos-yes, another country before we start our slow returning to North America.
Last two weeks we spend in the North of Thailand, a city called Chiang Mai.
(see pictures at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604409018077/detail/)
There, in
the Wat Ram Poeng , we
had
a very challenging meditation retreat for 10 days. Challenging but very
useful. Meditating 8-11 hours daily and trying yet another new
Vipassana technique, have sharpened my mind way beyond its habitual
dullness.
Therefore, you will see how my writing now have become concise and to
the point. I will write separately about meditating at Wat Ram Poeng,
the technique we have mastered and interesting people we have met there
you can view pictures from the Wat at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604409257257/detail/After the retreat, we boarded the
Slow Boat and travelled indeed very slowly along the winding picturesque Mekong river
for two days, burning our bums on uncomfortable narrow sits and being
surrounded by all sort of folks: travelling monks as well as loud
partying on cheep Laos beer British.
sea pictures from this trip at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604393907745/detail/Now we are in charming and laid back
Luang Prabang,
a former French colonial city, full of flowers and treas in bloom,
small Buddhist Wats and smiling locals, who for some reason have not
lost their genuine hospitality in the face of swelling tourism. We feel
very rich hear, being able to afford dinners for 80,000 Kips (Laos
currency is not doing great.)
see first batch of pictures from Luang Prabang at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604389398328/detail/
We are planning to rest here for about two weeks, then travel south to the capital, Vientiene, and then fly back to
Bangkok for our final week in Thailand and Asia!!
We
are definitely ready to start our trotting back: full to the brink with
impressions, new leanings, new encounters, practices,tastes and roads-
we are ready for something more stable and quite, for example sleeping
in the same bed for more then just a few nights and making our own
meals.
Our flight is t
o San Franciso, as we will be working and studying for three months in
Tassajara, Buddhist Zen centre, 5 hours into the mountains from SF. It seems like an amazing place and we hope to explore integrating
meditation practice and work in the setting of a spiritual community.
sea their site at:
http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4,19&pageid=182
In the last few months Teodora and I have been talking about
starting a meditation centre; somewhere where the sea and sky meet and
where mountains try to hold such meeting together :-) So, living in a
spiritual community for a while will give us a taste of such life as
well as knowledge we could use later in creating meditation retreat of
our own.
If any of you are anxious to donate land or service to such an enterprise, here is your chance :-)
For all of you in Toronto, who are braving this harsh winter, we send our warm thoughts and best wishes!
As Buddhists say: while pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional. Do you think they are right? :-)
with love,
Misha
PS to see pictures from our elephant trip on Cochang, go to :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604099100980/detail/
and to view pictures from Cochang island beach life, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mishateodora/sets/72157604103640121/detail/
