New Years Eve 2023 in a Thai Forest Monastery

The Chinese calendar and the Buddhist calendar are both goverened by the phases of the moon. I was invited to spend a Buddha Day at Wat Tahm See Nin on the new moon of January. It was also the Chinese New Year.

Buddhist monks are ordained in a Sangha. Buddhism is the official religion of the kingdom. The Sangha of the ornate temples Thailand is famous for, are found in every village. These monks are the spiritual leaders of the majority of Thai people.

The forest monks are not part of the government Sangha. They are instead ordained into a Forest Temple Sangha that began in the late 19th century following Ajaan Mun in Thailand. It has since spread around the world.

This more ascetic branch follows practices such as living off alms food, wearing robes made of cast-off rags, dwelling in the forest and eating only one meal a day. Monks following this tradition are known as thudong. They are equally respected by the people of Thailand.

The Wat Tahm See Nim Sangha is of this tradition. The founding abbot was living in a cave within the Srilanna National Park. Other forest monks have joined. It is a spartan place and a wonderful place to meditate.

The abbots quarters are in a cave beside the waterfall. The rest of the monks are living higher up on the mountain.

The monks do their alms round at dawn. They come back and our friend Da and others prepare the food for eating. The monks are fed, the laity are fed and then the rest is given to needy families in the village with a couple buckets for hungry dogs. Win, win, win.

Thai people are very aware of ghosts. When Da introduced me to the head monk he asked me if I was afraid of ghosts. The hut the put me in was the most secluded, quiet and dark. Thai people don't like staying there because they are afraid. Farangs (westerners) love it.

It's a three sided hut with the back of the cave as one wall. I had a sitting meditation platform and a walking meditation path. It also had a deafening silence. What it didn't have was any wifi or cell service. In other words, perfect.

The rest room wash basin was built into the limestone. The tent inside the hut was for bugs. There weren't any but I was glad to have to have it for warmth. The right picture are some meditation platforms above the hut. I passed on that 😉

In the evening we got together for chanting and meditation. Chanting in Pali is beautiful and creates a great ambience but hasn't been all that meaningful for me. They did one I actually knew and it clicked. Same feeling of singing a hymn. It's just comforting.

In the morning I did an hour by candle light and then was treated to a beautiful sunrise.

On the last day after I answered all the questions about the hungry ghosts they showed me their wood fired sauna. Maybe ascetic but not a bad life.

Oh I didn't see or hear any Chinese New Year's fireworks.