Two of photos two are on Monday when the village comes to feed the monks at the temple that I participated in twice. I will attempt to describe some of the wisdom that came out of this experience while being a novice. On the day before I left there, the abbot was walking to the sala, a big open air place with a huge white Buddha at the end, to give diplomas away to children that completed his dhamma course. He motioned to me with my camera in hand, that they needed one, and the guy who runs the dhamma radio station on the Wat’s grounds came and got it from me. Of course, it was offered freely and it made think about the whole experience there. It was really obvious that there was little or nothing that was owned by one person. Everything was community property, and one could walk into the abbot’s office and use his computer if he wasn’t using it. When they shot photos, they freely offered a disc copy to me. So, it became obvious that ownership is a source of delusions about our own perceived self-importance.
Another thing I felt coming out was that all the meditation, be it walking, praying or sitting along with the whole environment made the highs and lows of life less pronounced. It felt like a move to a more balance state of mind. Patom proved to be a good example of this as well. When I gave him my flashlight I bought and he used — he said thank you, but was not excited. And when I left he said bye, was not upset or show any emotion. All the extremes of life are nearly wiped out with all the mindfulness that was taught and existed at this Wat, nearly a small city of peace unto itself. And all this can be yours anywhere with meditation.
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