Sorry for not writing for a while. No surprise to those who know me, I did end up talking more with fellow residents and reading library books like an overeater who was about to go on a diet. No time to write when I was also trying to fit in yoga in the suddenly severely limited free time during the intensive meditation session.
I obviously survived the intensive mini-session which went from a Friday morning to a Sunday noon during my second week. Seven plus hours of meditation a day. My left knee was definitely not pleased with me by late Saturday. I wish I could write here that I got a lot of great insight and just got a favorite meditation method down so well that I could fall into it as easily as I fell to sleep after 4 hours of yoga a day. But, no.
The famous analogy that trying to meditate is trying to pin down legs of an angry centipede fits for me. Maybe three or four of the legs aren’t as spastic and prone to epileptic like seizures but I’ve many, many legs of this centipede/journey to go. Now, I’ve patched together a method combining the Hindu meditation mantra that I chose but got initiated with at the ashram, a Zen Buddhist counting method, a Tibetan Buddhist visualization and mudra (hand position), and a Hindu and Zen breathing regimen. So, I’ll see how it goes but at least I’m using my multi-tasking ability that has proven to be more a curse than a blessing within the meditation world.
I did end up getting a koan…although I didn’t ask for it. I met with AMA Samy to ask about what type of personalities/temperaments are more drawn to Zen Buddhism. He didn’t give me a clear answer but said that koans can make life more fun and can give an individual insight into themselves. So, he gave me one that turned out to be THE typical first koan for him. It was “How do you stop a bell from ringing in the nearby hill that is bothering you?”
I gnawed on the koan for a day or so and ended up settling with a two part approach based on how I typically resolve noises that bother me. Try to figure out the what and why and see if the noise producer can alter or just plain stop. If that isn’t possible, change the sound in my mind into something pleasant or use it as a trigger to remind myself to be present. The latter is the Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Thanh’s approach which is a lot harder than it sounds. After gently laughing and responding with my answer was still dualistic, he sent me on my way.
I’ll admit here that I just didn’t spend that much more time on my assigned koan after that. Koans to me seemed like trying to learning how to do a very complex tango in high heels when I can’t even stand straight or still when I am barefoot. Really, how efficient was it to spin my mind tightly around this koan when I could use this precious quiet time to relax and work on figuring out a meditation method? A meditation method that might actually help me prepare to be able to at least put on a pair of walking shoes that I could tentatively take some meditative steps even though I soon would be out in the chaos and noise of the “real world.”
I went to see AMA Samy again during the intensive session’s Saturday afternoon to give my second response and to give my left knee a break with the standing time while waiting to meeting with him. I was a little closer but he ended up telling me that I needed to be one with the bell. To feel the “ding dong, ding dong” within me. I think he could tell that I felt like a ding a ling as he didn’t offer me a second koan and rang his own hand held bell as a signal for me to leave and to usher the next koan responder into his room. Upon later reflection, I realized his answer didn’t stop the sound of the bell if I could still hear the “ding dong.” So, yes, koans are clear as mud for me. And, no, the koan meditative method is definitely not for me….at least in this decade.
After 13 days of rejuvenation mixed with agony at this very non-Indian oasis, I left on January 14 because a large group of Australians were coming to stay for a week and then the Bodhi Zendo was booked solid until mid February. Since I’ve now shared my experience with some of my friends from the Madurai ashram, it will be even harder to get a spot in the next six weeks as they have now joined the waiting list or have had spots confirmed.
The day I left the center, I took a night train to Trivandrum (the formal name is, wait for it, Thiruvananthapuram) which is the capital of the state of Kerala. Kerala hugs India’s southwest coastline. One day of no schedules before going back into the Sivananda’s yoga environment at their mother ship encampment at Nayyar Dam. But, that is another blog entry because the stay there was a sad, disappointing one and shouldn’t be paired with oasis of quiet that I will always remember with a gentle, peaceful smile if I can just forget the koan.
Logistical note: Bodhi Zendo has a website: www.bodhizendo.org. To reserve a spot, email mail@bodhizendo.org and request a possible time frame of your stay. A minimum stay is three days. The cost is 250 rupees a day which is about US$5 a day for a room with bathroom, three meals, and two coffee/tea breaks. Dana (a buddhist term for donation) is also warmly accepted to support the center’s Montessori school and women empowerment program and/or the center itself. Bodhi Zendo can easily be reached by a 3 to 4 hour bus ride from Madurai. An express, deluxe bus takes about 3 hours and costs 50 rupees or about US$2. Bodhi Zendo is located 12 kilometers down hill from the former American hill station, KodaiKanal.
If you are going to stay in Madurai one night, I would recommend the conveniently located International Hotel which is at 46 West Perumal Maistry Street. The phone number is 0452-4377463,4377364. The staff are very friendly and it is clean and comparatively quiet despite its location near the train and bus stations. A single with cable TV is only 200 rupees and a double is 300 per day. They even give free buckets of hot water, a towel and soap. A tasty, cheap, efficient and very clean south indian restaurant is Meenalaksmi Bhagvan which is about four blocks away on the main street to the temple. The special vegetarian dosa was excellent. They serve pretty good ice cream. The place is packed with locals and even has an air-conditioned dining room upstairs.
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- the simple alter
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- My seat was at the end of the drum row
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- entrance from the road
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- AMA Samy
