Day 98! Time for the first full day of the silent meditation retreat! Here’s our schedule for the day:

6.00-6.30 | Morning Chanting

6.30-7.00 | Meditation

7.30-8.30 | Breakfast

8.30-9.30 | Continue silent time

9.30-11.00 | Meditation Principle

11.30-12.30 | Lunch

13.00-14.30 | Continue silent time

14.30-16.00 | Meditation with nature

16.00-18.30 | Free time

18.30-20.30 | Meditation with candle

21.00 | Bedtime / Light out

I set my alarm nice and early to wake up at 5:30am. I wasn’t the only one and a symphony of calming alarms set off at the same time.

I got up and brushed my teeth next to my friend Henry… but today was the first day of silence and no eye contact. It was a weird experience being right next to each other and not greeting each other.

Even though we couldn’t speak to each other, we silently helped navigate to our morning meditation in Center Hall. It was still very dark outside and we would’ve easily gotten lost if we both didn’t leave at the same time.

We were some of the first few to arrive and again I was right in the front of the room for the morning meditation class.

The morning meditation started out with chanting (I know, not silent). We chanted out of a book provided to us that had the English pronunciations of the Pali language. Pali is the sacred language used in Buddhism.

The chanting was difficult to read, even with the English pronunciations. But when everyone caught on to a word that was said multiple times it gave a very eerie and ominous feeling.

After chanting, we did a 30 minute meditation where half of it was guided by the monk in the front. This mornings monk was a Thai monk! I don’t think it really matters if they are or not, they all have been taught by the same teachings. But I feel like it adds an extra layer of authenticity and coolness.

We had about a half an hour after finishing up meditating before breakfast at 7:30am. So I found a quiet place to read more of the Building Blocks of Meditation.

7:30am rolled around and I could see the other travelers wandering over to the canteen. So I finished up the page I was reading and got in line for my first meal since lunch yesterday.

It was a pretty simple meal this morning, which included stew, salad, bread, jam, fruit, and nuts. The meal started off with the monks saying a blessing over us and the meal and thanking us for being here. They also thanked us for our donations to help keep the retreat running.

After eating in silence I had around an hour and a half before the next class, meditation principle at 9:30am. I spent this time relaxing and reading more. The atmosphere at the retreat is calm, beautiful, and serene. A perfect place to relax, read, and work on bettering our mental health and wellbeing!

Meditation principle was held outside of moon hall, where we had our late night meditation the night before.

The monk from this morning led us in a long meditation to kickstart the class. I can already feel myself starting to slowly grasp better meditation practices just from these past 3 sessions.

This session I practiced using the mantra method. The Thai phrase, that I forgot yesterday, is Samma Arahang, meaning a correct state of complete mental purity. Repeating the phrase over and over keeps the mind from wandering and helps keep it clear (also helps keep you from falling asleep).

I’ve never done 30 minute meditations before, only 10 minutes, and they are pretty intense! Breathing with your eyes closed for 30 minutes makes time feel like it goes on forever. I had to constantly remind myself to let go and ignore that feeling… because, where else do I need to be right now? Another reminder to keep taking things slow.

After the meditation, the monk lectured for around an hour about meditation and Buddhas teachings. The biggest thing he harped on was less is more in the spiritual sense. The more going on in our head, the less mental clarity we have. But the less going on in our head, if we can achieve stillness, the most mental clarity we’ll have.

Also he talked about less is more in the physical sense too. Monks live very minimalistic lifestyles. They don’t need many clothes, food, etc. This is one of the things they are trying to teach us at the retreat through wearing white, having minimal accommodations, and simple foods.

He also spoke about Buddha’s three teachings, one of which was the 5 principles (an abbreviated 10 commandments). Along with that he touched on how everything in life is impermanent, constantly changing, and because of this physical possessions won’t make you happy (you can’t bring them to the afterlife).

I definitely forgot a bunch of what he said during this hour, but it all was very profound and I found some statements, more than others, useful and insightful. I don’t necessarily agree with it all, but I do really love how Buddhism is about slowing down and working on ourselves. It doesn’t really stick with the status quo of working and hustling, in fact it’s exactly the opposite!

After the lecture it was time for lunch! I was really hungry and luckily there was a pretty big meal waiting for me.

It was another simple meal, but I was sure to load up since I wasn’t going to eat dinner tonight.

After a quiet lunch, I took a 30 minute power nap and woke up quite sweaty. I took the temperature this morning for granted because it went from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit real quick.

I sat in the shady breeze reading more of the book I’ve been devouring and I actually finished it before heading to my next meditation session.

There was a lot of insight in the book that I’ll use to help keep up with daily meditation post the silent retreat.

The monks were late again, I guess monk time must be different than regular time… but it was all good because we still had a 45 minute meditation session in nature!

There were two groups to choose from, going to a waterfall with two of the volunteers or head to the riverside with the monk. I chose the latter because it seemed like the smaller group. I also thought the sounds of the river would be quite calming.

We followed the monk down the road and after a few minute walk we arrived at a perfect area to meditate at by the flowing river.

This ended up being a self guided meditation session. I broke up my 45 minutes into four different segments, taking breaks to drink water and enjoy the view of the river. This was a bit harder of a session for me because I was seated on a slant which gave a nice little pain in my back. But what’s crazy, is when you enter a state of stillness the pain goes away for a bit!

After 45 minutes, the monk brought us back to the retreat and we split off for the next two hours before our next session.

I cheated the fast a little bit and snagged a couple snacks. There were very ripe mangos and some apricot cookies to snack on and then I found a cozy spot to read my latest Wilbur Smith novel while the sun set behind the smog and clouds.

The last session of the night was candle light meditation. This included a 30-40 minute meditation followed by the Thai monk telling us more about Buddhas life.

As it got darker and darker out, all the candles lit up everyone meditating. It was a fascinating and mesmerizing sight!

The big takeaway from the ending talk was that meditation is for everyone, not just Buddhists. Whether you are atheist, spiritual, or religious, meditation can (and should) have a place in your life so that we can all live a happy and healthy life. And maybe reach enlightenment.

It was a very long day and I’ll have another full day tomorrow! But even though it was long, I felt like I learned a ton and gained a lot of knowledge on meditation, meditation habits, and Buddhism.

I’ll be starting my day at 6am again with a meditation walk. I’m looking forward to seeing what that entails!

– Elie

(Just a reminder, I won’t be replying to comments until after I’m done with being silent!)