The historical Buddha is believed to have lived from 563 to 483 B.C. in northern India. From there Buddhism was founded and two major branches of Buddhism have developed - Theravada and Mahayana. In Thailand, Theravada Buddhism is dominant. Roughly 95% of the Thai population identifies as Buddhist. Theravada is the oldest tradition in Buddhism. It is relatively conservative and generally considered closest to the form of early Buddhism. In addition to Thailand, Theravada Buddhism is practiced in many Asian countries mainly Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Mahayana Buddhism is more popular in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Korea, and Japan.
The principle teaching of Theravada Buddhism is that there are four Noble Truths -
There is suffering.
There is a cause of suffering.
There is an end to suffering.
The way out is the eightfold path.
On December 31st, 2022, I entered a 10-day meditation retreat at Wat Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage at Chaiya, southern Thailand. For ten days, together with 50 plus other participants from all over the world, I practiced silent meditation for 3 hours each session 4 times a day(with hourly breaks). We also had 3 longer breaks each day to during meals, to do chores, etc. We had daily Theravada Buddhist talks and did some chanting in the Pali language (with english translation available). We ate two vegetarian meals each day, breakfast and lunch. We only had tea for dinner. In addition we were required to be silent for the entire 10-day meditation retreat. We also surrendered our cellphones and other electronics so we would not be distracted from the outside world, and therefore could focus on the practice of meditation.
Lastly, the meditation retreat participants were required to follow the 8 Theravada Buddhist precepts:
1. Intend not to take away any breath(abstain from killing).
2. Intend not to take away what is not given (abstain from stealing).
3. Intent to keep one's mind and one's body free from any sexual activity.
4. Intend not to harm others by speech.
5. Intend not to harm one's consciousness with substances that intoxicate and lead to carelessness (no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking etc).
6. Intend not to eat between after noon and before dawn.
7. Intend not to dance, sing, play or listen to music, watch shows, wear garlands, ornaments and beautify oneself with perfumes and cosmetics.
8. Intend not to sleep or sit on luxurious beds and seats.
To summarize, I learned the following from the 10-day silent retreat:
- meditating on one’s breathing has been practiced since early human civilization.
- meditating helps you to pay attention to your breathing; to focus on the in and out of each breath as well as paying attention to both deep breaths and short breaths.
- meditation is an essential practice to gain insight regarding the challenges in life (or suffering).
- the practice of meditating on the your breathing helps people feel a deep sense of calm and they experience their life more in balance and equilibrium.
- meditation also helps practitioners focus on the “here and now.” In western cultures today, this is similar to the concept of “Mindfulness.”
- practicing meditation is the essential way to have a deeper understanding of Buddhist teachings.
One of the many Theravada Buddhist Images from Thailand - not from Wat Suan Mokkh
Photos of Wat Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage
1) Monastery grounds
2) Meditation hall
3) Sleeping room
A painting of Dependent Origination. Dependent Origination describes the Buddhist image of causality. The painting was created by previous practitioners at the monastery.