Come and join us on the ultimate experience for your spiritual journey…

 

Are you curious about deepening your knowledge of Buddhism?

Have you already completed at least one 10 day vipassana but felt it wasn’t long enough?

Ready to dive super deep into your subconscious?

 

 

*****PLEASE NOTE*****

There has been a date change, please double check the new dates before booking travel arrangements

************************

 

 

We are offering you the opportunity to become a real life MONK or NUN for an entire month in April 2020.

Join us for a traditional ordination ceremony followed by 30 days of living as a Buddhist monk or nun in Wat Pho Ban Nontan monastery in Khon Kaen.

This is the first time we are offering this experience, and we are super excited for you to join us!

Buddhism is not a religion, it is a lifestyle and path to guide you to your highest possible potential. We offer this month long retreat as an ultimate awakening experience. We think it will be transformational to all who attend, and we encourage you to share this event will all who could benefit*.

*Please note: In order to attend this event, you need to have completed at least one 10 day vipassana meditation retreat. Unlike our other retreats, this one is not for beginner meditators.

FYI… There will be a difference between the experience of the men and of the women. This is not under our control, and it is just the way it works here in Thailand.

The monastery where we will be living in is a male only monastery, so an exception is being made for this retreat in order to include women as well.

The  men:

You will go through the traditional ordination ceremony at Wat Pho on the 4th April, where you will then spend 30 days living as a Monk alongside other Thai and western participants.

The ceremony includes chanting which must be learnt by heart, so you are required to get to the monastery a week before the ordination to learn this chanting, hence the retreat starting on the 29th March.

Your head and your eyebrows will be shaved off during this ceremony, and you will be given the traditional saffron monk robes.

As an ordained monk, you are expected to give blessings in exchange for food or money from the local people, and you must eat what you are given. These are called alms rounds and will be done daily at 5:45am. This is a long standing tradition in Buddhism and is a very important part of being a monk.

The women:

The ordination ceremony will also be slightly different from the men’s. Women have it slightly easier for their ordination ceremony, they do not need to learn any chanting. The arrival day will also be the 29th March but there will not be the focus on learning any chanting.

For the full experience, it is recommended that the women also shave their heads and eyebrows. However, this is optional and the women can choose to skip this section of the ceremony.

Lets talk about hair…

As you may have noticed, Buddhist monks and nuns have shaved heads and eyebrows. This first gets shaved off during their ordination ceremony, and is then shaved on the full moon thereafter. There are a number of reasons behind this. The biggest one is that the hair is an aspect of the identity and is more often than not, associated with vanity. To find out who you truly are underneath the many layers of conditioning society has put on you, the hair is removed so that this level of identity is also removed. It puts everyone on the same level, and it is also for practical reasons as you save time by not having to take care of your hair.

Becoming a Buddhist monk or nun is about completely letting go of any preconceptions of who or what you should be, and all about finding out about who and what you already are underneath the conditioning. Its about leaving your old life behind, and starting to live a life away from the trappings of vanity. attachment, personality, and ego.

The symbolism of shaving your hair, and the occasion of the ordination ceremony has a deep impact on your subconscious.

Jewellery

Another aspect of individualism is jewellery. You will be required to leave all jewellery behind, including all piercings. Again, this is to remove any sense of identity and to really let go of your old life.

If you are worried about your piercings healing up, you can buy clear silicone/plastic piercing retainers which are virtually invisible but will keep your piercings open. These are acceptable.

Daily structure

The whole retreat will be in silence, to enable you to go deep into your subconscious and find real transformation.

The men will participate in alms rounds at 5:45am

There will be set meditation sessions throughout the day. It is essential that you have your own meditation practice as you are expected to practice alone and space is created for this. Teachings will be kept to a minimum.

You will eat one meal per day in line with the monks living at the monastery. This will be served between 7am and 10am.

Facilities

There will be an emphasis on simplistic living so you are encouraged to bring as little as possible with you.

Men and women will sleep in gender separated, shared rooms/dorms with toilets and showers.

Both men and women will be provided with their robes.

There will be one meal per day.

     

Food

One of the main rules in Theravada Buddhism is that you must eat only what is given to you. In Thailand, meat is highly prized and therefore is the majority of what is donated to the monks and nuns.

This means that 99% of the food available will contain meat. We have no control over this therefore we are unable to cater for any dietary requirements, even vegetarianism.

If you would still like to participate in the retreat as a vegetarian, you can pick around the meat and eat what you can. There are several Team members who will be doing this. This will be a much more restricted diet than the meat eaters, so if you feel the need, please bring supplements with you to compensate for this.

What to Bring

• Toiletries
• Towel
  • Men please bring a saffron coloured towel (these can be purchased in Buddhist stores in Khon Kaen)
  • women please bring a white towel
• Ladies please bring white underpants and bras (men do not need underwear)
• Any medication you may need
• Supplements

Cost

We have priced this retreat at 150 euros for the full 5 weeks. This covers the base costs of planning and running the retreat.

The culture here in Thailand is based on donations. Thai people donate according to their income and they are very generous.

The price listed does not include the donation to the temple for your time there, your living costs, and your experiences.

PLEASE DONATE ACCORDING TO YOUR INCOME WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD AT THE END OF THE RETREAT.

This retreat is for the serious seeker of self awakening and is not to be taken lightly. It will also be the best thing you ever did.

Come and find out who you truly are underneath all the conditioning and fears. We are waiting to meet you 🙂