Brains, Floods and Books

We went to Wat Pathum Wanaram hosting Buddha’s and other monk’s relics on loan from Sri Lanka. My partner was not being irreverent but he did talk to me about some of them being fossils or in stone form when it is only been 2500 years. One in particular was a small mass of knotted stone that was supposed to be a monk’s brain. He just whispered it takes a lot longer to become a fossil, or to become stone. And he left it at that. One of the many reasons I love him. I did like the fact that the temple had an area to meditate set up and I will return. The rest of the weekend we spend with his friends, who I have known for years, enjoying the storm like ending of both days with a huge lightning and thunder downpours. On Saturday, we had to put up two of his friends stuck here with 2 ft of water flooding the street. I joked we can dive from the balcony. But it was so welcome giving the extreme heat I have seen since I have been here.

At Chatujak market on Sunday looking for a chameleon, had spicy noodles and walked around for two hours, before I left them and bee-lined home to read and relax in AC. I am currently reading, “A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks” about settling in Sri Lanka to have a organic farm. This is particularly interesting to me as both my partner and myself would like to settle there after visiting there a few times. The author runs Samakanda the bio-diverse idea that brought him to Sri Lanka and inspired this book.

Suffering Without A Camera Battery

There are times when you leave the mind and body connection and today was just one of those days. After taking the boat to the pier close to some temples I wanted to visit, I walked in the hot sun with the brain still ticking, constantly asking ….how will my stay at a temple change me?

I have already met and talked to a couple of people. Yesterday, while waiting to have my hair cut a monk walked in. He was tired from a bus ride back to Bangkok from Chiang Rai. We talked until it was my time for the chair came up and I offered to him. He said, “You go ahead.” A quick buzz later, and before biding good-bye offered to get him something cool, and again he said, “ No, thank you.” This short encounter showed me some of his wisdom and pure heart. He was friendly and interested in me as an equal …albeit suffering person.

Back to today, I walked to Wat Ratchapradit, just in time to sit and watch and pray with the Monks. They do it all in Pali, but the first prayer of refuge is to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha(Buddham saranam gacchami). That I can join in, knowing it in English, but thinking about next month I’m curious how much Pali I will have to learn. It was just me and older folks in a beautiful painted temple. Oh, wait I am old, I'm one of those, sorry I forgot. I watched the monks when they entered and during the prayers, holding hands in prayer for an hour(difficulty), and few times they would glance at the asperas painted on the wall above. It was hot, even with the fans in the temple, and I saw a couple of older people fight sleeping. But extreme peace came over me and made me separate mind and body. I moved with purpose with this calm.


I did not take photos after my battery needing charging from earlier. It was just as well. I think it would have been rude. Just outside I had a talk with a sangha member, who was in a chair because it hurts too much to sit. I sat down and talked to him, peaceful and attentive to his questions. The number one question I get is, You are not Christian???? Once I get past this, it seems to open a door with everyone including my cab driver later. I am a farang in looks only, but we all bleed the same!

Temple Guards

I sometimes put pressure on myself to make the most of any visit, seeing temples I have not seen, and really getting out there in 95+ heat and incredible air pollution. This is after an early wake-up to enjoy coffee with my partner before his work. So, I venture out in fresh clothes, and a location in mind. Hoping to find something that catches my critical eye visually, and challenges me to be a better photographer. An hour into it, and even with 55 spf, and I am looking for the shade, and moving like a wilted flower and looking spent.
Looking around, Thai’s are fanning themselves in the shade, or napping. I half-way wished I were in AC and reading while sipping iced tea…and drifting into a nap.
With all this I am trying to smile, to lighten up my expectations of the location and myself. And yes, my meditation has slacked only because of the new schedule, and fatigue of doing too much. Making it to the temple I wanted to see, only to find out it was closed. Then I retreat to the river, for some breeze and refreshments. It is no wonder that it is just too hot to bother getting angry, and so now I see how “cool heart” was a logical way to deal under these circumstances. Today is Wisakha Puja Day, the sacred occasion of Buddha’s enlightenment or passing into Nibbana. It will make for an interesting day and perhaps a photo opportunity after I make merit.

Going, Going, Gone

I cry for you, Krung Thep. You are making a foolish mistake. I saw this time, the tri-point colonial house off Phet Buri is gone….flattened! It was pinned uncomfortably between ugly apartment houses. Can’t you please rehab them? Impermanence, you say. I have not learned, yet. Next the old firehouse on the river will go. If you have something better I would say fine and let go. But most buildings built here, never last 20 years with the poor maintenance. Now don’t get me started on the teak houses quickly leaving as well. Pssst. I know something hella modern you like so much, like a building made of bricks of IPhones. That kills two birds with one stone, name brand identity and it makes noise.

Finding Peace in Odd Moments

My plane was late taking off so I took the opportunity to meditate in a place away from people and in a corner. About 20 minutes into it(yes, I set my cell alarm for 30 minutes), I was kicked by a woman, who upon opening my eyes was bending down to pet my knee saying, " Sorry, I did not see you!" It was not like I was in high traffic area, and if she did she was walking straight towards a pillar that supports the structure with no possible way to go further unless she planned on jumping through the window. What was amazing, I was really not fazed, nor even expressed any anger, and only a bit surprised, so I just looked at her and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine and it’s OK”. I continued with my meditation until the gate call. I was able to get a business class seat in my own row, only to be lucky to have a couple with a young son behind my seat, to keep me up the entire 10 hour flight. The child was not abnormally loud for his age, but even so, did not allow me to sleep. The parents apologized, but I found his hide and seek with me charming, far more than annoying. The plane after this, way was worse. I am trying to transform every experience this trip into a pleasant one, knowing trying to control the world, which I finally found out you can’t possibly do. Maybe I am slow learner. Nevertheless, it helped to make for a great three days upon arrival, running on nearly little sleep we packed a weekend with my nephews within two hours of arrival. Everyone knows two seven year olds can wear you out fast, but we still managed to teach them to swim in two days, go to the zoo, and more.

A Heart Appears Before Departure

Faced with an unbelievable amount of things to be done before a trip, I relax after making dinner for a friend. Looking around at piles of things that beg for me to place them in the appropriate places and get them the hell of the way to clean my house. “Because, you knows hows I hate coming home to a dirty house!” Secretly, I placed the piles in such a way to avoid cleaning too fast. Just so I can do it in a rush and forget something only to remember it over the pacific while slugging a glass of champagne. And you would not know it looking at me. I did get my nephews gifts today to pack in my luggage, because we skipped the dad phase in its entirety and I graduated to Grandpa. And you can’t disappoint kids.
I was pleasantly surprised when a friend stopped by with this beautiful ex-voto heart as a gift for me. It most likely was worn on the chest of a clothed saint. We tried to guess which one with the “A” monogram, perhaps El Alma De Maria. No matter who it was, it was a gift from the heart. Suggesting to me once again that Buddhas are everywhere, and I could learn more about giving. I actually feel more humbled. My friend is someone I have learned much from in our years of friendship, and I must never to take his wisdom lightly. Thank You.

If You Don't Believe...

With the lyrics “If you don’t believe all the nights while you are gone, I sighed for ya” going through my head when I went to sleep and jumped into one of my crazy dreams. With a set of pointy ears, I was involved in a strange game in a multi-level house. I got the ears as a gift that I made it past the man upset because I pulled a WWII vintage nickel of his collection of stuff I was sorting for him and put in different box. I was helping to sort through all his stuff to get rid of some and sell some. He thought I should have thrown in with the rest of his junk. I do have the eye, so I only made him more money. He gave the set of pointy Spock ears had gathering dust, so much in fact that were like flocked. I took them away and proceeded to play a game in a huge compted house. By that I mean it was faked, the floors were painted paper stick down and the walls foam core board just like I used create packages before they were signed off on and produced. In this fake house was a boy with me tickled by jumping up and down on the floor where the paper did not stick down well. We were play chasing each other like hide and seek, a favorite children’s game of mine. I had him laughing at my ears, too. I was buzzed from coffee I had, that was dispensed in lip-gloss containers with a flavor like Blueberry Chiapas coffee. That you would make by swirling the applicator saturated when you dipped it into the holder and placing in hot water. This dream goes on and on and may be a sign of intelligent life just waiting for a good idea to emerge. Thanks, Deniece Williams for the inspiration.