As the final stop on our “Thailand
Bhikkhuni Tour 2013” Ayya and I are spending 3 nights at Suansiridham monastery
in Samut Sakon. It’s hard to believe that we are only an hour drive from
Bangkok (when the notorious traffic has subsided).
The monastery is very small; the
current residents are a Bhikkhuni, 2 Samineri and a lay woman who, I am not
exaggerating, is the butchest woman I have EVER met. She confuses even me, truly
I keep thinking she’s a man but Ayya assured me that she is a woman. The best
part was the big pink sunglasses she wore on our outing today.
The monastery is in the middle of
a few hundred acres of farmland, actually orchards, and has been owned for
generations by the family of the Bhikkhuni who runs this monastery. I’m told
her family is very wealthy and famous in this area; what comes to mind upon hearing this from
one of the samineri (who is too new to
understand that one should not speak of these things when in robes) is a deep
respect for this bhikkhuni’s choice.
She is someone who could have any
tangible thing in the world, could live in luxury anywhere in the world. But I
assume that she sees the truth, that none of that is the pathway to liberation
and freedom. She must see that money cannot buy happiness,that things are not
worth spending all of one’s energy on.
Instead of living in a big house
she chooses to live in a tiny kuti with no furniture, in a monastery with very
modest accommodations. Although she could eat the best food in the world, her
only food is the alms provided every morning.
At this point I’ve gone on
pindapata (alms round) at 5 different monasteries including the Vihara in SF.
Pindapata here is the most unusual; it is done both by boat and on foot.
There is a large canal that runs
into the Chao Phraya river (a major river that flows through Bangkok), fed by a
network of small canals. There are many houses and markets along the canal;
private boats and water taxis (we took one today – fun!) provide transportation. Concrete pathways
line the canal on both sides and run between the houses and the water; the
pathways have a steep incline and decline each time one of the little canals meet
the big canal so that boats can pass under the archway to transverse between
the 2.
This morning the Bhikkhuni, with
the butch laywoman rowing, went down one side of the canal while Ayya, one of
the samineri and me collected alms by foot on the other. I walked along the
canal at dawn this morning passing houses, barking dogs protecting their
territory and people brushing their teeth and bathing outside. It occurred to
mind that I had no frame of reference, that there was just no way for me to
explain to you what I was seeing.
An interesting interaction
happened twice here that has not occurred in other parts of Thailand; once on
pindapata this morning and once yesterday when we went for a walk on the land
and met some neighbors. Both times an
old woman smiled at me and took hold of my forearm and just held it for a
minute. I think that they had not much exposure to many white farang; as has
been the case everywhere except Bangkok, Ayya and I are the only farang here.
The land is amazingly beautiful as
I said; the monastery is surrounded by Thai style fruit orchards. The monastery
is set back from the big canal and is a much needed return to nature for me.
The last monastery we visited was literally on the highway that runs all the
way to Singapore; the traffic noise was LOUD and constant, the smog intense (as
it is in Bangkok where I spent the first 6 days of this trip).
To my city eyes the abundance of
food that grows on the trees is staggering.
We are surrounded by row after
row of coconut palms (a new breed that grows relatively close to the ground to
make the coconut easier to harvest), banana trees (whose big purple flowers
when cooked taste, look and have a consistency surprisingly similar to
artichoke leaves), papaya trees, mango trees, lemon trees (which I think are
limes – now I finally understand why they always bring me lime in Thai
restaurants when I ask for lemons!) and guava,
each fruit individually hand wrapped so the birds won’t eat them before they are ready for harvest. (Did you catch that Greg? Hand wrapped!)
There are also fruits and
vegetables on the trees that I have never seen before and can’t name. Rectangular shaped beans with crinkly edges,
very small green fruit that’s a bit bitter and tapioca root.
Thai people are
incredibly kind and generous. When we met the neighbors yesterday the bhikkhuni
told them I’d never tried the little green fruit growing on the tree in front
of their house. The woman immediately picked a whole bunch off the tree and gave
them to me to taste. The man then dug up a huge tapioca root so Ayya and I
could see it AND they cooked it overnight to offer on pindapata this morning
so we could try it (pretty good, it’s a very starchy tuber).
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