The Retreat at Ban Sanaam Chai Forest Wat
Abbot Luanpho Udomsap
Meditation, Buddhism, Isaan Culture.
Live in a Forest Wat environment from 3 to 10 days and learn meditation and Buddhism then spend 4 days absorbing the Isaan culture and way of life. Abbot and senior monk at Ban Sanaam Chai, Luanpho Udomsap has had a continual vision of one day attracting people from all over the world to learn meditation, Buddhism and Isaan Culture in his Forest Wat at Ban Sanaam Chai(Near Roi-et.).
The author was a visitor at the Wat and spent two weeks under his tutelage and was so enlightened by this experience that he decided he would devote time in getting this project going with Luanpho. Since he had married a Thai girl in a nearby village the plan quickly fell into place.
Female Monks 
Graham and Nattaya 
For a Perfectly Peaceful Life.
- Learn how to meditate clearly
- Learn the basics about Buddhism
- Isaan Cultural Life.
The 7 – 13 day Experience.
The experience located in a Forest Watt lasts 3 – 10 days in total. 3 – 10 days of Meditation and learning about Buddhism and up to 4 days experiencing the Isaan Cultural way of life..
Monastry Life…early morning bell ring, to rise, meditation, reading, chanting. Two regular meals….time for reading, contemplation and peacefulness. Morning Thai stretching excercises (optional) Forest walks getaways for peaceful thought in the Forest park. Remember this is your journey, we are here to help you on this journey. We will go over your program on arrival. Self Help, Self conquest and Self help.
Meditation. Meditation is universal. It transcends all divides like religion, country and culture. It is a gift given to mankind to access the infinite spirit not limited by any identity. It is the only tool that can aid a person to return to innocence
Modern life style has a high exposure to anger, hate, fear and other negative emotions which have a high tendency to duplicate and spread.
Meditation helps individuals overcome these emotions to facilitate a calm and peaceful mind and a healthy and stress free body.
Benefits of meditation.
- Happiness. Happiness does not depend upon outer events.
- Inner peace. Switch off from the noise of the mind.
- Health benefits. Practical solution to relieve stress. Simplicity.
- Living in the present. Neither be fearful of the future or ruminating in the past.
- Better relations with others. Do not delve on minor faults of people, look naturally to their good qualities.
- To discover a real sense of who we are. Who am I. Be aware of our own soul and go beyond the mind.
- Meditation simplifies out outer life and energisers our inner life. Meditation gives us a natural and spontaneous life, a life that becomes so natural and spontaneous that we cannot breathe without being conscious of our own divinity. Sri Chimoy.
- Buddhism
- For more than 2000 years the religion we know as Buddhism has guided many great civilizations, inspired refined cultural achievements and produced a vast body of profound teachings.
- Some of the wisest people have walked the planet have been Buddhist monks or nuns. Today large numbers of me and women from diverse backgrounds throughout the world are following the teachings of Buddha. So what is Buddhism. Who was Buddha and what are his teachings. We want to learn to understand meditation, do it successfully and know what potential there is for you in meditation,
- Meditation period involves learning about the 8 fold Noble path, the 10 Precepts etc…Use these to start building yourself decide what to concentrate on at this point.
- Every person will have a different experience…just follow your hearty and all will be revealed to you.
- We have very experienced people to help you plan your journey and assist you along the way.
The Buddha.
By the age of 35 Siddhattha had realised that neither self- indulgence nor self-torment would lead to true happiness. Sitting beneath the branches of the Bodhi tree he developed his mind in luminous and tranquil states of penetrative power that is generated by inner stillness, he focused his attention on investigating the nature of existence, its cause and cessation. Through this he attained enlightenment or Nirvanna.
Art of enquiry.
There is no fixed beliefs a person must adopt to be a Buddhist. The traveller on the path of enquiry maintains an open mind and thoroughly investigates his or her own experience of life.
Meditation.
Meditation refers to the mental activity of sustaining awarenesss on one thing an object, a perception A concept a process or a sensation for the purpose of peace and understanding.One sees clearly, wisdom is born, and thus serenity and insight form an inseparable pair that are gradually cultivated until the realisation of full enlightenment.
Buddhism is a realistic in that it faces up to life’s many imperfections and optimistic in that it offers a practical solution: enlightenment or at least peace of mind, in this very life.
The middle way.
The middle way consists of cultivating virtue, serenity and wisdom and is further elaborated as the Noble Eightfold Middle path.
The perfection of:
Understanding. 2. Intention. 3 Speech. 4. Behaviour. 5. Work. 6. Effort. 7. Conscious Awareness. 8 Meditative Concentration. Deep unification, peace and purity of mind.
The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha’s first sermon after his enlightenment centred on the 4 Noble Truths
Which are the foundation of Buddhism.
The Truths are:
The truth of suffering.(Dukka) The truth of cause and suffering( Samdaya) The truth of the end of suffering. Nirodha. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering. (Magga)
Karma
According to natural Law Karma ones intentions are causes that lead you to experiencing results in the future. The Buddha deeply understood this process of interrelated causes, conditions and effects and then taught a way to live within it. This leads to peace and happiness. Insight into Karma naturally leads to living an ethical, compassionate and wise life.
Remember Buddhism is self help. Self Conquest and self Culture. This is your journey. We can help you design a program for yourself