Experience the real Dhamma

Dhamma
I thought, this is the Dhamma, the Buddha’s teaching. This is the supreme teaching because what the Buddha experienced at the time of his enlightenment were the very things I was experiencing. I thought I must have truly learned from the stories of Buddha and the Buddha’s life and philosophy. I understood what he meant by “mara,” or suffering, as the enemy inside; and Kilesas, or defilements, be they greed, hatred, delusion, fear, worry, attachment, craving, aversion and anger-- everything inside. When I faced my fear, Panna, or wisdom, arose.
As I thought about the dead body in front of me, I realized it was merely the combination of the four elements—earth, wind, water and fire. I also realized there is no soul nor mind in the dead body. It’s just like wood in the forest. As the fire burned and burned I saw that nothing is permanent. I thought, if everything is impermanent, then why am I afraid? I asked myself that question and I found that fear comes from the mind--from my mind. If I could stop my thinking, or my mind, then I could stop the fear. I simply closed my eyes so that I couldn’t see the dead form, to stop the form from controlling my eyes. When I heard something, I wouldn’t cling to the sound. I simply listened and let it go. I didn’t create any scary things in my mind. The sounds of birds and dogs were just sounds.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning
I truly enjoyed being a novice in the monastery. When I had been there a year, we received a visitor who was to have a profound influence on my life. He was an old monk from a neighboring province coming to visit my teacher, or Achan. When the old monk met me he said, “This novice has a special gift. If he is well-trained he shall be a good monk.” I asked him how I could be a good monk as he said. His answer was to go with him to the forest where I could train my mind. The old monk felt this was a good opportunity for me. He felt it was much easier to teach those who are young, because their minds are pure and uncluttered. When people grow up there are many distractions to cloud their minds. A young boy’s mind is very clean, very soft, and easy to train. After my year’s education at the village monastery, I agreed to go with him to the forest. However, there was one thing that worried me, that really scared me. I told the old monk that I was afraid of ghosts.
He asked, ”Where are the ghosts?” “I don’t know,” I responded, ”but at night I’m very, very scared.” ”That’s because you’re afraid of the dark, not of ghosts.”

Stories
When I was a young boy my mother would tell ghost stories before I went to bed. Every night she would tell me ghost stories or folk beliefs. I liked to read and listen to them, but I was afraid when I was by myself. When my Achan asked me to stay with him in the monastery, I was especially afraid because the forest monastery was close to the cremation area. In Thailand 95 percent of the people are Buddhist, and in Buddhist tradition, when someone dies they are cremated at the cemetery. My Achan, or teacher, sent me to spend a night at the cremation spot nearby. Naturally, I was very frightened. The events of that night were influential in my life and practice.
Someone in the village had died and was to be cremated the night I was to stay there. Late that afternoon my teacher took me to the area and set up an umbrella and mosquito net for me to sit inside, next to the burning pile of wood. At about 4:00 p.m. the villagers put the body on the wood pyre and lit it. Afterward the remains would be returned to the family.

Life of the Novice

The ordination
When I turned fourteen my mother my relatives took me to Wat Srisumongala, the main temple in Sakon Nakorn province, which is about 9 km from my village. The ordination ceremony was quite simple and we didn’t waste money. Ordination for monks and novices differs. The ceremony for novices simply requires acceptance of ten precepts, however a monk must accept 227 rules with many chanting in the ceremony. During my time at the temple, in preparation for my ordination I practiced meditation, chanted, and repeated after the preceptor. At the time of my ordination, I requested ten precepts and the preceptor gave them to me. That was the entire ceremony, which wasn’t too long or complicated, and I was accepted as a novice.

My Life as a novice
In Thailand there are at least one to three temples in every village. My family took me to the monastery in my hometown. There were about five other novices living there as well as two or three monks, and our own abbot who was the chief monk of the temple. The abbot was a very kind, calm man. He taught me how to bow down three times and to chant in the morning and evening. I learned these things and also how to perform Buddhist ceremonies.
At about 5:30 a.m. we would hit the gong and rise. In Thailand monks receive food from villagers on their alms round. At 6:00 a.m. we would walk into the village and received food (rice, fruit, etc.) and return to the temple. From 7:30-8:00 a.m. we ate breakfast, when devoted volunteers would come to serve our breakfast. After breakfast we studied the Buddha’s teaching and sutras from 8:30-10:30 a.m. We studied the Dhamma, forms of discipline, rules and regulations for monks and novices, and the life of the Buddha.
I was truly inspired and impressed when I read about the life of the Buddha. The Buddha’s life was one of sacrifice and devotion, having once lived in a palace in a life of luxury, leaving it behind to search for truth. For six years he stayed in the forest and meditated until the moment he reached enlightenment. I was very impressed. I thought if I had the opportunity I would study more and practice more. I wanted to learn even more of Buddha’s life.


Back to Lay Life
My days as a novice were coming to an end. When my mother asked the Buddha for help she promised to ordain me for only seven days, afterwards disrobing to become a layperson again. My ordination was also fulfilling the Thai custom of male members of a family ordaining as novices at least once in their lives. My seven days in the monastery were drawing to a close.
My novice friends at the temple pleaded with me to stay longer. In those seven days I had learned a lot about meditation and the life of the Buddha, and I wanted to learn even more. When I returned home, I asked my mother if I could stay longer, and she said, “Okay, up to you, if you can stay longer I would be very happy”.
From that moment on I studied every sutra and every aspect of each function of Buddhist ceremonies in the temple. I stayed during the Phansa, or rains retreat which lasts for three months. (This year, 2001, it takes place from July to October.) Phansa is a time for serious and intense practice in the monastery, when novices and monks study together and practice meditation all day. Experiencing that first Phansa made my mind very calm, cool, and clean, and I really liked that state of mind.

Recovery2

Soon after that night my mother prayed to the Buddha, I recovered from my disease. I returned to finish elementary school, and graduated when I was eleven years old. The educational system in Thailand is different from the US. In Thailand, when students finish elementary school, they have the choice to continue with their education or to go on to something else. In my situation, my mother wanted to fulfill her promise and have me ordain as a novice and stay at the village temple. However, when I was eleven I was still too young to take care of myself, and wasn’t able to be away from my home and family. My mother thought I should wait until I turned fourteen to ordain as a novice, so I continued to work and help my family on the farm as much as I could.

Recovery

My mother was distressed and fearful at leaving me in the hospital. On the way home, there was the Buddha statue has been set up under the Bodhi tree in front of the hospital building, she went before a Buddha statue and prayed for his help. She promised the Buddha that if I survived she would place me in a temple and have me ordained as a novice when I finished elementary school. She lit a candle and incense sticks before the Buddha statue, all the while truly believing that if she asked sincerely, the Buddha would really help her.

Turning Point

My life would have continued in this way except for a significant event. When I was eight years old I became seriously ill and my mother placed me in the local hospital for care. I had a disease of the stomach, although I do not know the name in English. The doctor felt the best option was surgery, but my mother was very worried and frightened. I was young and very frail and she wasn’t sure I’d survive an operation. She pleaded with the doctor to find another method to cure me.

ชีวิตเด็กเลี้ยงควาย

ชีวิตเด็กเลี้ยงควาย คือ ชีวิตที่มีอิสระ เสรีภาพ ทั้งด้านร่างกาย และจิตใจ จะเห็นว่าร่างกายก็ปล่อยว่าง ไม่ใส่เสี้อผ้าเลย

จิตใจก็ปราศจากเครื่องรบกวน ...จึงมีความสุขมาก ๆ

I was born in the region of northeastern Thailand known as Issan, in a small village named Baan Pangkhwangtai of Sakon Nakorn province, and was raised in a typical farming family of that region. My family was very poor, with four brothers and five sisters and my mother. Unfortunately, my father passed away when I was 5 years old. When I was older I helped my family with the farm work by taking care of the cows and water buffaloes. I also learned to cook. While they worked in the rice fields, I stayed indoors and cooked for them. I cooked so often and gained so much experience that now I know how to prepare every Thai dish.