The walking meditation was calming for me
Naditha Wickramage
On the first day of the
retreat, we had to wake up much earlier than usual at 5 am. Normally I would
wake up at 7-9 in the morning so waking up this early was a first. As soon as I
woke up, I had to carry candles to the shrine room for the Buddha Puja. We
carried the candles for candle meditation early in the morning. After the
candle meditation, we did a walking meditation. The walking meditation was
calming for me. This didn’t last long as we stopped for Buddha Puja a few
minutes later. I took the 8 precepts during the Buddha Puja and then went into
the main building for breakfast. Before eating we chanted a Gatha that
generally said that “I will not waste this Alms food given to me” and “I will
only take as much as I can eat” which is what I did. After everyone finished
eating we shared merits. I did sitting meditation after I ate breakfast and
after that, I was taught about the Mangala sutta from its origins all the way
to its meaning. It was confusing but also interesting to learn about the 38
high blessings preached from it. Once again we did Buddha puja before lunch and
then I went to get lunch. Once again I chanted thanks for the food and ate. During
lunchtime, we were told there was no dinner so I ate as much as I could and I
made sure not to be wasteful of the food I was given. I learned that there was
going to be an event later where we could go to visit another temple. Directly
after lunchtime, we had an art session where we needed to draw something based
on a Buddhist quote. The art session allowed me to focus after lunchtime.
After the art session, we did more walking meditation but outside this time and
for half an hour instead of 15 minutes. It was less calming as I was outside
and the ground was much more uneven and hot since it was the afternoon. Yet it
was still enjoyable. After we came inside, Bhante Deepankara talked about some
suttas that I couldn’t see the name of. In the afternoon we were given the
choice of going to a Cambodian temple however I chose to work on my journal
instead. We finished the day off by doing the Atavisi Puja and going to sleep.
The second day started
off pretty much exactly like the first one did with the main difference being
that we didn’t take the 8 precepts again. This day I did standing meditation
which was much easier to do and more calming than walking meditation in my
opinion. We also learned that meditating before sleep can considerably help
with sleep which is something I might do before sleeping in preparation for
high school. Also, I might use it for calming down as it seems effective. There
was another trip to a Laos temple, I chose not to go but to work on my journal.
The people who went to the Laos temple came back after we did Atavisi Buddha
Puja for the night.
The third and final day
started off well and most of us were in a good mood since we were going home
today. We once again did walking and standing meditation to wake ourselves and
calm ourselves. When we went into the shrine room to talk about suttas, we were
talking about the Metta Sutta which many of us wanted to know more about.
Bhante Deepankara also talked about trust and how to determine if someone is
lying or trustworthy. This is important as choosing who I trust can determine
good or bad things in my life.
What I learned from this retreat is the mindfulness of
meditation and some ways I can use it in my daily life. I also learned many
other things like why some suttas came to be like the Metta sutta first used by
monks to convince Devas to allow them to meditate in the forest to become
arahants. Thanks to the parents who organized and who stayed with us during the
event and the Bhante Deepankara, Bhante Wajirabuddhi, Bhante Wajirabodhi as well as all others involved who
helped. who helped us through it. I hope that you consider more retreats
to help us next year as well.
