I went to the Dhamma Dipa meditation centre for the ten day course. I arrived on Day 0 and left on Day 11. From Day 1 to 10, the 160 or so others on the retreat and I lived the disciplined and intense rigours of monks and nuns, meditating from 4:30am to 9pm, learning the Vipassana technique of meditation as it was passed down from the time of Siddartha Gautama.
The location, outside of Hereford, Herefordshire was lovely. The little walking area had patches of daffodils and patches of snowdrops. There were 5 or 6 holly trees with their shiny dark green leaves interspersed between other trees where I saw the beginning buds in bright spring green appear over the 10 days. We had little rooms with comfortable beds. We ate delicious vegetarian food. When I looked through the trees over on the men's side I saw a hill covered with wandering sheep. We heard them bleating many times--they didn't get the Noble Silence memo. At night I watched the moon go from new to three quarters in a starry sky unaffected by light pollution. There were few sounds. No talking or phones ringing. No distractions of any kind.
I found it hard. Hard to concentrate, focus and sit still with my eyes closed for ten hours a day. The ten days is set aside to do nothing but practise the technique, thereby establishing a foundation from which to continue the practice of clarifying your mind, letting go of cravings and aversions (our attachments), and acquiring equanimity, compassion for all beings and the wish that "all beings be happy". Waking up at 4 with the bells (gongs), and following the precise daily schedule hour by hour was not difficult. The difficulty I had was being alone with my own mind, without any distractions. We couldn't read or write, communicate in any way, stand longer than five minutes, lie down, or be late to your mat. I wouldn't wish my mind on anyone. Hard as it was though, I'm glad I did it.
The evening "discourse" talked about the technique and its history. Though it was reinforced many times that there are no sectarian or religious intentions, the technique is clearly Buddhist. We were to recognize "truth" on our own. Some people call this truth God, Jehovah, Allah or Manitou. Others say The Universe, The Spiritual World, the Other than Human World, Spiritual Beings, Energy, Vibrations, Science, Peace. We say, "God will provide" "The Universe will provide" "Science will explain" "Humanism will guide". Whatever we call it, I think the thing that humans have in common is looking for meaning in our existence. Humans are the only beings that do this, fish not so much. Some of us are perhaps thinking of these things more often than others, but if we could all recognize what we have in common, rather than the differences between belief systems, we would bring the world a little closer to peace for everyone.
On Day 10 the Noble Silence was lifted and I hadn't a thing to say. When everyone started talking I heard English accents and remembered where I was. I spoke with a few women at the end of that day and I was relieved to realize that others found it hard too. I also heard stories of trauma, addiction, grief and directionless that was helped by focusing on this technique. I met Eva, and this was her 13th time on the ten day course. She has also had longer stays as a volunteer server, sometimes for several months. I loved learning that this was so helpful to her. Her experiences were quite admirable and inspiring.
We were all tired on Day 11 even though we had been "sitting around" all week. I have been sleeping.
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