A Heart-Felt Wish

Very few times in life you meet a person that is truly a wisdom body, where everything they do and say is pure. I was lucky enough to meet that person in Dr. Acchandrapisit Pingchaiyawat(Dr. Aphisit) a source of inspiration on my path. He comes to mind when chanting Reflections on Shared Blessings. He is trying to build an international dhamma centre and is in need of $30,000.

An opportunity to help Dr. Aphisit.

Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 8:59am
As many of you know, Dr Aphisit has a visionary idea for developing an international dhamma centre just on the land behind Wat Sri Boon Ruang where the Monk for a Month program is run.

The land was largely donated by local owners who support Dr Aphisit's dream of a community centre. It is a place where people from around the world will come to learn and practise dhamma and shall also provide resources for the local community including facilities such as pre-schools, schools, hospitals and hospices. The land is adjacent to the temple 'burning place' where the local funerals are conducted. Dr Aphisit has often said his vision is to create a centre that will care for the community from birth, through life and even through death.

It is a beautiful vision of the future, a great example of socially-engaged Buddhism and together with the many meditation huts intended to be built, represents a real global centre for applied Buddhism and international spirituality.

A recent development is that one of the owners, who is from a distant part of Thailand, has found an alternate buyer for the 30 acre property and is requesting that the temple pay something for the land in the next week or risk losing the entire project. This has come as an unexpected surprise and all hands are on deck to ensure it doesn't happen.

This land is an ideal spot for Dr Aphisit's vision, it is flat area with lovely clear views of the mountains along the border. This is something that many of us would love to be involved in supporting.

So here's our chance. The temple needs around $30 000 in the following days in order to step forward and secure this property and move closer to making the vision a reality.

We are calling on all friends of Dr. Aphisit

to help him reach this target.

You can send money to:
Krung Thai Bank
Account Name : Buddhist Community Development Centre
Account Number : 532-0-19920-1
(SWIFT CODE - KRTHTHBK)

OR

You can do a PayPal transfer to Blood Foundation here http://bloodfoundation.org/blood/main/paypal-donation and we will ensure the temple gets your donation.

The Monk for a Month project is contributing 20 000 Baht ($620) to this important project. All contributions are welcome. If we each pitch in a bit we can help them to get there.

If you do support this project please send us an email to info@monkforamonth.com to alert us.

Dr Aphisit will certainly be aware of who has been able to help him at this time.

We hope you are able to share in the fulfilment of this dream, the vision of a man who has been a friend to so many of us.

This is the time.

With Kindness,
Ben Bowler

Not Really a Conclusion

I am sitting here, in regular lay person’s clothes, and trying to pull out an impression quickly which is damn near impossible. But put it this way, I really don't want to leave. There is pervading peace here, it doesn't seem necessary to tell the whole story.
There are many posts, to go back and add in, as time was precious. It makes me happy to hear that the originator of this concept will take the robes, to get a feel for it. Hopefully, watching people change going through this made a great impression. I think it has finally hit him how lucky he is to be associated with a great wise person.
First, I have to say that the atmosphere comes from the top and that would be Dr. Aphisit who inspires all with loving kindness. He doesn’t even get firm in any way, and things get done by the novices, and it never seems to be a difficult chore. He will let them have time off to play and rest when it is too hot. My last night and I watched the novices at play, combining work with it, and no one got cross. Guiding others with wisdom, calmness and respect. He made a great example of where I am trying to head in this lifetime.



On Friday, I went to go arrange for a time to talk to him, and he said, “Quickly, go pack a small bag and take alms bowl, I think this is rare opportunity to go (in robes) to a Dhamma camp in Mae ai.” He drove us there. So, both of us went arriving before lunch, after stopping a near-by temple. We ran into a ex-german monk who made it clear to the other guy with me, it was not proper to carry money in a pouch around his neck. I was happy that I was not the critical one in this instance. It has been a work in progress just dealing with the other participant in this program and now I will have to room with him for a night and share a towel. Later, he had to wake up and turn on the light like seven times to write his dreams down and they were not really that profound. I think this all done for me to accept all that comes to me. If I am lucky I can take this difficult experience and use as a base with my old age that seems to be creeping in fast.

While there, the Dr got a call to go back to his Wat because equipment arrived to trim some trees. So his driver friend, took us up to the “camp.” Just below Wat Tha Ton, sat a lodge with great view of a river, hills, and Wats, and Buddha images nestled in a nearly Shangri La layout missing the snowy peaks. We met the monks and novices attending this event, and I have never seen so many smiles. We ate lunch, served by people in white who had take the precepts. I watched in shock when the other “farang,” jumped into his food before prayers. But no one made any notice, and this went on for the whole time we were there. These were totally accepting and non-judgmental monks, with some more wisdom that can hopefully rub off on me. We did sitting, walking and laying meditation, and learn to practice mindfulness in each with a great demonstration on prostrating very slowly. On break we walked to the top of Wat Tha Ton, marveling at our great luck.
The following day, Saturday we walked in line mindfully to the top again at dawn, to say prayers to the relics in the crystal pagoda at the top. When walking the monks lead the white clothed(in precepts), and I loved talking to a couple of novices, but forgot to get their contact to follow their progress and to inspire me.
More later.

Dear Novice,

This is an email from my partner reflecting on his experience as a novice when he was a boy.

Dear Novice,

I am proud that someone like you are interested, enough to become a monk. Your pictures remind me of when I have been a chunky monkey when I was 13-14 years old. I do understand about other persons needs more than other people understand me. After I finished primary school then I have been the chunky monkey for a year. The life was troublesome then, because I have to live with many monks who came from different families and different personal natures. Then, I was a child and still need warmth from my family. I believe that the novices in the temple with you will need the same things as I did back then. They are still being children and left their families to live with many people from different places. If in the Western countries, I think that the students leave their family to stay in the school the whole semester but they will have time to spend with their families when vacation arrives. The Thai novices don't have time to leave temple to spend the time with families to get the warmth that children need. I think some novices are come from poor families, family problem, etc. So, we as adult (monks) should be understand about children’s life and nature. We should treat them as children more than use them for work whatever we want.



After I left the temple then, I felt scared to be monastic again. Now, I feel that I would not trust in monks (some) as much like before (thinking), but I also trust more in other’s monks. When I was a chunky monkey, I was a servant of the monks. My feelings were based on the fact that the monks in the temple used make work for them a lot. But my experience taught me to be patient. I know you will practice within the ten precepts of rules. That will be your merit and another way you can give your knowledge to others by English teaching that I can't do.


From my experience then, I never got an English class in school in my temple. So, I think that is not my fate and decided to leave and come back to continue high school and try to continue schooling all time when I have chance. I think I was lucky to spend life for a year in the temple to learn how to spend life with others and more patient. And more luck that I decided to leave for continuing high school and now on to my masters. I am happy with you that you are happy.



Novice Ket came to clean and organize my room of respect for me since I am a novice, too. He was not forced to, obviously with love I see around this temple. Certainly there is some curiosity about what I have in my Kuti, too. He is a joker and we often help one another with robes. And he comes over to eat an evening snack away from his superiors watchful eye. Upon finishing he promptly fell asleep on my floor. The photo at bottom is the Abbott, Dr Aphisit with the camera with novices playing with their monkey.