Walking the path

Went for a 4 days meditation retreat
with UNIBUDS last week. Feeling refreshed now:)

Sunnataram Forest Monastery is in
Bundanoon, Southern Highland of NSW. The temple ground is about 100
acres of bushland, right beside a national park. The air quality is
great, and there is no sound or light pollution. The night sky was
dotted with stars, amazing.

The Abbot, Phra Mana is naturally
warmth, at peace with himself and the world. I can feel loving
kindness radiating from him.

60+ members of UNIBUDS attended this
retreat. As usual, this is a bubbly, energetic group. I was really
impress with how some of the girls took care of another member who
was not so well, making sure that she was comfortable and safe. If
only the health care workers are as dedicated as them.

Special thanks to the Aunties
volunteering in the kitchen. Food was good and healthy, much better
than the food that I am feeding myself for the past 1 year in
Australia.

Meditation was not so great for me. I
was finding it really difficult to concentrate and be mindful. Most
time, I could hardly managed one pointedness beyond 20 seconds…
Just felt really empty in me, could not find the mental energy to
meditate… Is this an excuse?

I enjoyed the physical work of chopping
up firewoods and making the “boxes” (coffin for contemplation
about death). It was good relaxation, non taxing on my brain.

The wildlifes in Sunnataram roam freely
in the Monastery compound. There are a few wombats,   Indian
Peafowls, and plenty of parrots and ducks. The wildlife are calm and
undisturbed.

Read YangYi’s blog and Julian’s blog
about this retreat.

Australian King Parrot (Male)

Australian King Parrot (Female)

Crimson Rosella

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 12th, 2007 at 8:04 am and is filed under Birdwatch, Photography, Religion, Travel, WildLife. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.