Name: Wat Suan Mokkh Meditation Center
Item: Wat Suan Mokkh Meditation Center
Rating: 1
Author: gautier jean pierre

SUAN MOKKH STYLE :

The purpose of Dhamma practice here is to get free of the tyranny of ego in order to live peacefully (inrealization of Nibbana) and usefully (in service to Dhamma and humanity). Thus residents try to practice unselfishness in everything they do — meditation, study, work, talk, sleep, and whatever life asks. Suan Mokkh is not a “meditation center” per se where people come only to “meditate.” This is a Garden of Liberation,a place to study and practice Dhamma in a wholistic way.Study and investigation of Buddha-Dhamma given in the Pali suttas is an essential foundation for practice. Joyful service for others is the context of practiceThus cultivating RightUnderstanding and Right Aspiration with the path of samatha and vipassana becomes liberation now. Each person integrates the three as pects of study, service, and meditation in the way that works for them. With growing mindfulness and wisdom, temporary liberation blossoms into the perfect voidness empty of “I” and “mine,” full of wisdom and peace.

Anapanasati (mindfulness with breathing) according to the Buddha's Anapanasati Sutta. New students first learn some theoretical background and the purpose of Dhamma practice, then the preparations for and the 16 lessons (objects of investigation) which make up mindfulness with breathing. Walking meditation is also done using mindfulness with breathing; if one has difficulty doing this, one can observe sensations in feet or legs. One practices the first 4 lessons (the body foundation of mindfulness) to calm one's breathing and body and to stabilize the mind. Then one refines both thecalmness of the mind and one's understanding of how it works by working with lessons 5-8 (the feelings foundation of mindfulness) and 9-12 (the mind foundation of mindfulness). At any time that the mind is sufficiently calm and stable, while practicing with right understanding and motivation, insight can take place, even during the first lessons. Lessons 13-16 (the Dhamma foundation of mindfulness) further develop and perfect insight into right knowledge (vijja ) and liberation (vimutti ). The goal of this practice is to realize the voidness-emptiness of the 5 skhandhas (body, feelings, memory, thought, and sense awareness), that there is nothing worth attaching to as "I" or "mine."
To aid the development of right understanding (sammaditthi ), the Buddha's teachings on anatta (not-self) andpaticcasamuppada (dependent origination) are examined in detail and depth. The study and investigation of these principles are considered essential at Suan Mokkh

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gautier jean pierre

Overall Experience

Review from my last retreat in january 2019.

Dear friends,
It is not really what I expected when I decided to go to your place.
It was my first retreat .
I have been very surprised with all the talks and the comments during the day,
and I felt very inconfortable because it was not so easy for me to meditate in those
conditions.
I would have really appreciate more silence especially early in the morning and before all the meals.
That is really too bad because the place is wonderful , but some people took too much place in this retreat.
Please, let the silence be the most important …
Best regards,
Jean Pierre
7 years ago
cecile dubreuil

Overall Experience

Hello Dhamma friends,
I wanted to share with you my last meditation in January 2019 .
I came 6 times in this beautiful place , the first time was in 2011 january but I did come back since 2014.
When I did my first interview this year with the Thaï lady , she told me that there was a new restructuration .
And what a disappointment I lived during all this retreat ..
It’s not a silent meditatation retreat anymore, so many talks and individual comments broke this beautiful atmosphere…
It starts very early in the morning with a very long talk and a guiding meditation…. instead of letting the silent settle down slowly…especially at this time.
We finally meditate in silence for 15 minutes only …..
then…it continues before each meals with a very loud speech over a microphone to teach us the way Bouddha used to take his meal (it’s interesting but really not at this moment ..and not in this context) .
About the Dhamma talks, it used to be very active with Tan Dhammavidu but this time it’s was difficult to be concentrated all the time with the tapes of Bouddadassa Bikkhu talks .
The chanting used to be optional, it was this time obligatory. It will have been ok if we only have to chant but it was more about comments than chanting…
The best day was the 9th day….. peaceful , silence , presence , no talks, no comments, just the present moment …..

During all the year, it is difficult to find silence in our life, the media are more and more important, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to know that such a place like Suan Mokh existed and that we could escape from our noisy world to pay more attention about our mind and the way it works.
I have had a wonderful experiences over this place and thanks to the precious silence and it helps me a lot in my behavior.

I will have a proposition to make, why don’t you organize two halls of meditation, one is always free near the pond for the people who like to meditate without talks and noise and the big one for the one who need more explanation …?????

I feel sad because I am not sure I would like to come again in your new conditions.Please let me know how you feel,
I know that I am not the only person who feel the same way, I did not dare to tell you this when I finish my meditation that is why I wrote to you today but I read the comment in Trip Advisor and I know that people would like to find Suan Mock as it used to be.
Silence is sacred, please don’t waste it …..
Sincerely,
Cécile Dubreuil
7 years ago
Jennifer Hoult

Overall Experience

I went January 2016. A wonderful place for people who seek rigorous discipline living under Thai Buddhist monastic rules. Dedicated to the profound search for nibbana by practicing simple (but challenging) Theravada meditation techniques. Beautiful grounds. Waking to the sonority of the enormous Buddhist bell ringing at 4AM. Meditation beginning at 4:30AM. Yoga at dawn. Excellent simple vegetarian good. Magical coconut grove and hot springs. Not a spa vacation. Lights out at 9:30PM. A cement bed with a wooden pillow & mosquito net & blanket. Cold water communal bathing (in sarongs). No nudity outside your room. Daily chores. Many many hours a day of (attempting) meditation. Sitting, walking, standing meditations. No speaking. Two meals a day, plus afternoon tea (which is only tea). No other food allowed. No sex, no visiting dorms of the opposite sex. Not a pick-up joint. No alcohol or caffeine. No sugar. No electronic devices. No books. No cell phone. No TV or internet. A serious monastic plunge. Challenging, intense, you will be confronted with surprising realms (and storms and sorrows and peace and joy) in yourself. Heaven if it suits you. Probably hell if it doesn’t. As for me, the evening frog-songs still serenade me when I am on my zafu, and I feel the great Banyan tree sheltering me even so far away, while the millions of tiny ants race in their tiny alleys to and from her sheltering branches.
8 years ago

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Retreat schedules change through the ten-day period according to the teachers, but wakeup time is 4 a.m., breakfast 8 a.m., and lunch 1230 p.m. A typical schedule for meditators staying "between" retreats is 4 a.m. wakeup; 5 a.m. meditation; 6 a.m. yoga or other exercise (optional); 8 a.m. breakfast; 9 a.m. chores; 1130 a.m. meditation; 1 p.m. lunch; 430 p.m. meditation; 530 p.m. drinks; 7 p.m. tape or talk; 8 p.m. meditation; 9 p.m. individual practice; 10 p.m. lights out.

Although Suan Mokkh prefers not to make rules, it is much appreciated when visitors dress and behave within the rather conservative traditions of Thai forest wats. Laypeople observe 5 precepts. A daily charge of 50 baht (US $2) covers food and accommodation expenses during and between retreats.

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu founded Suan Mokkh in 1932 and moved it to its present location about 10 years later. He has sought to provide a natural setting where visitors can forget "themselves" and study, practice, and realize the Dhamma. His many books, some translated into English, skilfully explain anapanasati meditation and other aspects of the Buddha's teaching. Ajahn Buddhadasa died at Suan Mokkh on July 8, 1993; He was 87 years old.

The "Evolution/Liberation" newsletter comes out once a year with articles and news; it's available free by mail or at Suan Mokkh; donations support publication and distribution. The foreign library at Suan Mokkh has a variety of books on Buddhist and related topics. Most are in English, though German, French, and other languages are represented too.

In order to do the retreat successfully, you must be really free from all commitments for the period of the retreat. All phone calls, e-mail, letters, tickets, flight confirmations, money changing, visa extensions etc. must be arranged and organized before the retreat begins. There is no way to do them during the retreat. Your phone, tablet, notebook etc. has to be deposited for safe keeping during the retreat.

You must be in good general health, both physically and mentally. The retreat is not suitable for people with mental disorders or drug addictions.
A motto of Venerable Ajahn Buddhadasa was "Live plainly, aim high". This is reflected in the retreat's very simple living conditions in close contact with nature. For example:

The private room for your use is small, containing just a hard bed with a
simple straw mat, a blanket, a mosquito net, and a wooden pillow.
Toilets (mainly Western style) and baths (Asian style mandi) are shared facilities.
We'll have two vegetarian meals a day plus a drink in the evening.
We cannot provide any extras or special diets and you may not bring
any food or drink in the retreat.

Please bring

Loose clothing e.g. T-shirt, fisherman pants. Due to monastic custom the
body should be completely covered from the shoulders to below the knees,
including the upper arms. No see-through clothing please.
It is not necessary to dress in white during the retreat.
Slippers, since shoes have to be taken off in all buildings.
Personal toiletries, mosquito repellent, towel, hand mirror for shaving.
Umbrella or raincoat (during rainy season).

Some purchases (toiletries, etc.) can be made during the retreat at our small shop.

Wat Suan Mokkh Meditation Center

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