So I'm going to be a monk...

I've been drawn to Buddhism for sometime now. I've read a few books specifically on Buddhism and many philosophy books that have many of the same values and views as Buddhism. The more time I spend here in the Thailand the more I want to learn and discover. I have a truly once in a lifetime opportunity to become a monk at a temple here in Tak where the head monk speaks English. I after my teaching contract is up at the end of February I will spend the month of March living at the temple. I found some information on the internet that gives a brief explanation of what it means to become a monk in Thailand.

http://www.sukhi.com/the%20monk.htm

The short-term monk

Since a Buddhist monk is not required to make a lifetime commitment, there are those who wear the robes for only a brief period of time - a few weeks, a few months, even a few days - as well as those who remain in the monkhood for many years or a lifetime.

In Theravadin Buddhist countries (such as Thailand), a man is regarded as 'unfinished' if he has not served, for however briefly, as a monk. Therefore, most young men will be ordained, usually before marriage, for a period of three months, during the rainy season lasting from mid July to mid October.

One of the motives for a short term ordination is to 'earn merit' for one's parents. Another is to prepare oneself for life as a layman, householder, and family head.

While in robes, the short-term monk lives under the same conditions and with the same discipline as the long-term monk. Each morning he leaves the temple grounds to make his neighbourhood rounds carrying his alms bowl, in which local residents place food for his sustenance. He eats only two meals a day (some eat only one meal), and after noon no food, except liquids, is eaten. He meditates, he chants, he studies the Dhamma, he obeys all the monastic precepts. Yet he is best perceived as a layman wearing the robes temporarily, rather than as a monk who has renounced the layman life. (A monk may disrobe whenever he wishes, with the permission of his abbot, permission is never denied and easily granted.)

Lan Sung National Park

So my friend Juan, he is from Columbia and he teaches English at a local college, decided to ride our bikes to Lan Sung National Park. The park is about 20 km from Tak. It was a good way to spend a Sunday in Tak. I was disappointed with the park. I thought the waterfalls would be bigger, but it was beautiful. The adventrue getting there was really the highlight.

Christmas in Thailand

P. Nid and I decorated a little Christmas tree the other day and we took some pictures. This is where we have tea after dinner.

Pictures from the King's Birthday

Here is a picture of the three people who have really taken me in and welcomed me in Tak. Starting from the left they are Pi Noon, Pi Nid and Pi Daeng. They are sisters who are also teachers at my school. My favorite nights in Tak are when I go over to their house and eat dinner with their family.

This is a picture from the King's Birthday. On national holidays it is common for monks to come to schools for offering. It is really something to see all of these kids lineup and give to the monks. People believe by giving food to a mond one will gain merit and improve their karma and ulitmately improve their current life and their next life. After the offering I was lucky enough to be invited to a lunch with the monks and some of the other staff. The bottom picture is before the lunch and the monks are chanting.

English Competition in Lampang

There was an English competition at a school in Lampang and me, Pi Nid and a bunch of students went. The competition had all types of categories like impromptu speech, spelling contest, scrabble contest, story telling and a bunch of other stuff that I had no clue about. I was really excited to go, but when I got there I was a bit disappointed. The teachers weren't allowed in the classrooms that the students were performing in. So the students performed infront of three judges and that was it. My day was spent sitting outside of a classroom watching my student talk through a window. After that, Pi Nid and I walked around a market. That is what the pictures are of. The market was in a dusty field. Safe to say it was pretty dirty. On the way back Pi Nid and I rode in back of open bus for three hours. It was the longest three hour ride of my life. All in all I left my apartment at 5am and got back at 6:30pm. Long Tuesday, but on the bright side I got Wednesday off because it was a national holiday.

Wat Pratart Apanagluang: Temple in Lampang

This last weekend I went to Lampang. On Saturday I went to a national park and on Sunday I went to a really interesting temple in Lampang. The pictures I posted are reflections of the first picture. I went into a completely dark room and the temple was reflected on a piece of cotton. Really strange. I have never seen anything quite like it. It was like the early development of the camera. I photoshopped the photos to make them brighter. There were two different reflections, the second to last photo was for men only (I'm not sure why). This reflection was pretty amazing. I could see the people walking at the base of the temple. The best way I can describe the reflections were that they were almost like holograms instead of reflections.

Happy Birthday Gung Gung!

Wanted to say Happy Birthday to my Gung Gung in LA. I wish I could be there to celebrate with everyone else in LA. Love you Gung Gung.
Brian