"Mind is the forerunner of all events" - Buddha
Our final stop in Laos and where we would all be departing on our separate journies was Vientiane. Our arrival coincided with an open meditation session at one of the nearby Wats and so we tuk-tuked over for a taste of peace and enlightenment. After a quick explanation about various meditation practices we soon took up our positions and gave it a go ourselves, spending time on both seated and walking meditation. Ven. our teacher - an Australian Buddhist monk, stressed the importance of attention being the key to achieving mindfulness. It is this state of mindfulness that has been highly praised in the practice of meditation to alleviate a wide spectrum of both mental and physical conditions. It is a great way to rid your mind of all your current stresses and concentrate and focus on the present moment that you are currently living in!
"Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must also step up the stairs." - Vaclav Havel.
After our meditation, we walked across the garden surrounding the Wat to a small dwelling where we had heard about a local herbal sauna. We changed into the cloth sarongs provided and after some tea ventured into the little wooden sauna. The heat was immense but the aromas from all the herbs and spices were incredible, there was so much steam you couldn't see anything inside ("We could totally get naked in here") ! We stayed in for as long as we could and then came outside and sat around with some others having tea. After a few more quick heat-blasting and refreshing teas we changed into clear sarongs for our massages. I don't think i have heard my own body creak and click in so many places before. The massage was a full manipulation of all my joints and felt amazing. Clearly, the numerous bus journeys and rickety mini-bus jerky trips had taken their toll!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment