A Glimpse Into The Buddhist Immersion Program

I have been quite busy setting up the upcoming HIV/AIDS awareness camps in Bangkok, so I have a bit of catching up to do with the blog. I will be blogging more regularly, I promise! I am going to begin catching up by recapping some of my experiences with the volunteers, beginning with Jake. Jake was already in Thailand when I first arrived, teaching English and studying Buddhism at a wat near his homestay in Inburi. Before he left the GSC program he wanted to study meditation, and for this he went to Rachaburi and Wat Luang Phor Sodh. I went there to visit him and to meet his teacher, Phra Barton. “Phra” means monk in Thai. Phra Barton, or “Bart”, as he likes to be called, is an American monk who has been in Thailand for seven years. A master meditation teacher, Phra Bart is very friendly and eager to assist students in their practice. There are two types of meditation taught there. Unique techniques are used for teaching Tranquility Meditation (Somadha) and Insight Meditation (Vipassana), which lead to peace of mind and transcendent wisdom. Jake admitted that it took some getting used to, but he really came to like the technique and said it was actually easier to maintain focus, particularly under the guidance of Phra Bart.

Pick Your Cliche

Editor’s Note – Shirine M. participated in a 9-week HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program in Thailand. Here’s a little bit about what she learned while in-country. Thanks for the post Shirine.

 

About half way into my volunteer commitment, I realized that anyone of about five clichés could define my experience. Que sera sera. Let it be. It’s about the journey, not the destination. Even Shit Happens. Gone were the days of neatly planned and executed To Do lists. Gone were the days of being at least relatively in control of my time, my movements, my individual autonomy. Why spend the time struggling to understand the plan when it would only change? Why get upset when my best-laid plans are derailed by something seemingly irrelevant or unimportant? Why not just take it as it comes? So I did! And life got a whole lot better.

Adopting a more laize-faire attitude served this Type A control freak well. Not only did my frustrations diminish, but I was suddenly able to do things that I never in a million years would have imagined as part of my workday. Like sing and dance at a training session for community health volunteers. If you ask my kids, “Can your mom dance?” the answer will be a resounding “No!” As for my singing, well, my older sister says I sound like a dying hyena. But sing and dance I did! And, surprisingly, I had a lot of fun doing it, mostly because my audience was so delighted. (But let’s be honest. I’m in Thailand. Who’s gonna know?)