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Would you consider staying at Wat Pah Nanachat ?

jlljll Veteran
in Buddhism Basics
Would you consider staying at Wat Pah Nanachat ?

http://ekayanadirect.blogspot.com/2010/07/stay-at-wat-pah-nanachat.html


A Stay at Wat Pah Nanachat

So there I was, after many years of reading stories and accounts, on the train towards Wat Pah Nanachat in Ubon Ratchatani Province, northeast Thailand. “It had been a long time coming” I thought to myself. Would it live up to the hype and expectations or would it just be another place, to at least try, to practice? My slight anxiety kept my mind ticking over imaginations of what it would be like whilst periodically being distracted by the ever more forested countryside we were now passing through.

Comments

  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    I wouldn't live in a temple or ordain, but I love the Issan region, and Ubon is really "out there" in terms of being upcountry. Many lovely temples in that city and area...I may have visited that one...would have to look back to many pics to be sure.

    Once you get out in that area, there is a very strong influence of both Lao and Cambodian, and there were times my Thai friends could not really converse with other Thais there because of the language dialects.

    We did have the unpleasant experience of "meeting" a senile monk at one of the temples there...in fact he was the abbot.
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    Consider? Of course. Actually stay on a semi-long term basis? There are a few things I'm not willing to sacrifice at the moment to ordain or even be a novice, so probably not.

    On a related note about the skeleton: there's a real human skeleton in my classroom at school that we students frequently refer to for our human anatomy and kinesiology courses. A few of my classmates seem to be afraid to touch it, but I think it's really cool! So I think it's interesting that most people feel that it's morbid to have a skeleton in a temple, when in many Catholic churches you have bones (relics) of saints, and many health care professionals have to work with skeletons or cadavers as part of their training.
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    For a short period maybe. I honestly have no desire to go to Sri Lanka or Thailand.... with one possible exception, if it's possible and I remain a monk I'd love to do a thudong/charika there.
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    Invincible_summer said:

    Consider? Of course. Actually stay on a semi-long term basis? There are a few things I'm not willing to sacrifice at the moment to ordain or even be a novice, so probably not.

    On a related note about the skeleton: there's a real human skeleton in my classroom at school that we students frequently refer to for our human anatomy and kinesiology courses. A few of my classmates seem to be afraid to touch it, but I think it's really cool! So I think it's interesting that most people feel that it's morbid to have a skeleton in a temple, when in many Catholic churches you have bones (relics) of saints, and many health care professionals have to work with skeletons or cadavers as part of their training.

    Quite a few temples in Thailand have mummified bodies, usually of a monk or abbot.

    Invincible_summer
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    Jayantha said:

    For a short period maybe. I honestly have no desire to go to Sri Lanka or Thailand.... with one possible exception, if it's possible and I remain a monk I'd love to do a thudong/charika there.

    Anyone interested in Theravada Buddhism should visit Thailand. Seriously, despite its MANY faults (some of which are being vividly demonstrated as we speak), there are many wonderful things to see in Thailand, chief among them various types of temple life and influence.

    Invincible_summer
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    vinlyn said:

    Jayantha said:

    For a short period maybe. I honestly have no desire to go to Sri Lanka or Thailand.... with one possible exception, if it's possible and I remain a monk I'd love to do a thudong/charika there.

    Anyone interested in Theravada Buddhism should visit Thailand. Seriously, despite its MANY faults (some of which are being vividly demonstrated as we speak), there are many wonderful things to see in Thailand, chief among them various types of temple life and influence.

    Even though I'm a Theravadan, the little I've seen of cultural buddhism here really does not have me with a desire to go. Nor do I have a desire to see fancy temples, the holy places or relics. Maybe the jungles and remote forest monasteries, if that even exists anymore.

    Either way I'd never want to ordain overseas or live there. Dhamma is needed more in the west imo, for those searching.


  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    Would I stay there?
    Sure. I'm booked in to stay there for a month, starting at the end of February.
    I'll write you up a report of how it was for me.
    Invincible_summerjll
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