After Bangkok it was time to head north. After a brief stopover in Sukhothai we reached Chiang Mai, the main town in the north of Thailand. Chiang Mai is famous for its temples, over 300 in a relatively small area and its night market. However, many tourists visit Chiang Mai merely to organise a hill-tribe trek. We had planned to do the trekking in Laos; apparently in Thailand, especially aroung Chiang Mai, the trekking is very explotitative towards the tribes, turning it into a 'human zoo' experience. We decided to opt for something a bit different; a meditation retreat. After having been in Asia for a while, especially after visiting our friend in Penang, we both became interested in finding out more about the Asian 'way of life'. Buddhism is the centre point of the lives of many Asians, especially in Thailand. We were struck by the calmness and peacefulness of the Buddhists we met, and decided we wanted to know a little more.
And so we found ourselves, with 15 others, all dressed in white in the courtyard of Wat Suan Dok in Chiang Mai, waiting for our transportation to the retreat, for two days of meditation, vegetarian food and silence. Now, the silence bit worried me. The retreat was let by two monks in their twenties. I was amazed straight away by their peacefulness and wisdom, despite their young age. They gave us a talk on the fundaments of Buddhism, followed by examples of sitting, walking and lying meditation. They portrayed Buddhism as a way of life, rather than a religion. Buddha is a man, a master, not a god; his followers aim to follow his teachings, not to seek eternal salvation. Meditation was defined as 'food for the soul', the chance for one to empty one's mind for a while and let it sit still. I thought meditation meant letting one's mind run free; in fact it is exactly the opposite. During Samatha, or concentration meditation, the mind is supposed to focus on one thing, such as breathing, pacing, the movement of the abdomen or meditation beads. Whilst during Vipassana, insight meditation, the mind is focused on itself.
What impressed me was how they portrayed Buddhist way of life a diametrally opposite from Western. Western way of life emphasises the value of multitasking, efficiency and the self. On the contary, Buddhist life cherishes the value of doing one thing at the time, and looking out for others. I disagree with the popular belief that the West is wealth-oriented; I'd say efficiency is a better word. Working in London, everybody wanted everything done 'quick and well'. It reminded me of my grandmother's favourite phrases: "presto e bene sta male insieme" (quick and well don't go together). This is the message I got from the retreat; efficiency is not paramount when it comes to wellbeing and happiness, mindfulness is. By 'mindfulness' the monks meant doing one things at the time and dedicating your mind entirely to the task. The result is a slower, less efficient life from a Westerner's eyes; but surely a life less prone to stress, anger and frustrations.
I have refused the craving for things a long time ago. I have no car, no fancy phone or TV, I don't like luxury or what is not necessary. Some may argue travelling is my luxury; I want to travel because I want to know more about life, about different cultures and traditions. The meditation retreat really hit the spot; I found out an alternative to Western mainstream thought, a philosophy that I wish to pursue in the future. The time spent in the retreat was time with myself, trying to train my mind to be still and practicing mindfulness. The silence helped; although I must admit I was glad to be talking at the end of it. It showed me how much we rely on spoken word for everyday interaction; how being 'social animals' emphasises the hectic interactions of everyday life. Mindfulness comes as an effort, something that goes against my instincts. In those rare moments my ming gained stillness I felt peace, but the moment was fleeting and soon my mind started jumping again. Practice would surely help; but even just participating to the retreat helped me to look at the world with different eyes, knowing that when I'll be back in Europe I'll be able to look back to this experience, feel happiness and peace.
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