by Jodi, Carl, and Lauren
Of Souls and Skins
OR
Still Life with Peacock
A Peaceful Beginning
January 1st, 2008, was a holy day for most of us. We decided to visit a temple in the forest known for its meditation tunnels. After our Riverside Guesthouse breakfast of white toast with butter and jam, tangerines, and tea, we caught a sangtow and the driver wound his way out of the teeming city and straight into the jungle. Welcome to Wat U Mong.
Once there, we split into smaller groups and meandered across the extensive grounds, which included a museum, library, a hall of images, a 14th century stupa, zoo, a lake, the monks' humble huts and cottages, and an island filled with pigeons and people throwing bread to catfish.
At the top of the ground, a black starved Buddha, veins and ribs bulging, sits enlightened. (We will ask at a monk chat how, in his ascetic state, he could be enlightened.)
As a monk taught some of us proper postures for Buddhist meditation, others met Note (Phakhinai Phootron), a 20-year-old young monk who has been at the wat four years and studies Buddhism and the Thai way of life, Buddhist history, Sanskrit, Pali (one of the original Buddhist languages), and Buddhist teachings at a nearby university. At some point, everyone wandered through the famed meditation tunnels -- the dim air rich with the fragrance of incense. Within the tunnels, people kneeled in prayer to Buddha statues tucked into nooks and offered flowers and bottles of water (complete with straws).
Still Life with Peacock
While most of the group went on to lunch, a couple could not yet tear themselves away from this holy spot. Wandering back into the grounds, we found a fifty year-old monk who directed us towards "Animals," informing us that there was "No danger." "Deer, bull, peacocks.." We followed the path he'd shown us for several meters, realizing that we'd already been here once and seen nothing...we found ourselves at the same barbed fence and stoof there for a moment, unsure of where to go. Suddenly, the now-grinning monk (now carrying two baskets full of cabbage) called us over to other "path" (it was hardly more than a bit of dust on the forest floor). We followed him for several minutes deper into the woods, until we came to his hut, isolated in the forest. He started to make the strangest noises: "Maa-maa"and "leo-leo". We stood there, still puzzled, for a moment, before was saw several deer moving towards him. He tossed cabbage leaves and bananas to them, keeping up his calls of "maa-maa" before handing us a basket and several bunches of bananas so that we could follow his example. (Jodi managed to avoid hitting too many deer.)
After feeding the deer (and several wild kittens), we asked to see the peacocks. The monk motioned toward the forest and told us that the peacock was 100 meters away. Carl went off not asking for directions like a true guy, until this path, like the others we had been following, ended in a tree. Jodi went back and asked directions, at which point Mantana the Monk led us deeper into the woods, where we met with his other charges: four peacocks in a cage. "Maa-maa," "leo-leo," and the peacocks came for his bananas. After feeding the peacocks and watching one of the males display his plumage (absolutely gorgeous!), we spent several minutes talking to Mantana. On our way back, he tried to give us his sandals (he had already given us his towels, water, and fruit), and gave each of us a signed copy of his writings. The writings spanned four pages and helped to explain Buddhist perspectives on life, rather than prescribing some particular ethic or way of living.
We took a quick Took-Took ride back to the guesthouse.
More Heavenly Sensations
Meanwhile, others shopped or got real Thai massages. After an already relaxing time at Wat U Mong, the massage nearly made us melt away, or (as Anna says) took us to our "happy place." The ladies at Glow Thai first gave us tea as we waited. After they washed our feet and slipped on cloth sandals that were either too small for our big male American feet or too big for the ladies, we were directed upstairs to change into fresh linens and get comfortable on the massage beds. For an hour or two (for our well-deserving student leaders), the ladies skillfully rubbed, beat, pulled, and stretched until we felt as light and flexible as a rag doll.
The rest of the night included dinner with the much-anticipated mango with sticky rice and more shopping at the Night Bazaar. Our last free day came to a delightful close and tomorrow we get down to business with our first meeting.
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