Monday, 12 January 2015  Hiking Up to Wat Palad

I met Steve Epstein, the leader of the Green Papaya Sangha meditation group at the front of the 3-Sis at 8:15, and headed out to Wat Suan Dok in a Red Truck (driven by Ms. Ying, a driver I have used in the past) to pick up some other friends of Steve’s who would be making the hike with us. With the group assembled in the truck, we pushed on past Wat Fai Hin to the trail head. We met there with a Thai gentleman who is a long-time friend of Steve’s and of the Green Papaya Sangha (and whose name I forgot).

It was decided that the group would do a mindful silent walking meditation up the hill to Wat Palad. The concept of a walking meditation is that each step is to be synchronized with the breath, and each step is to be deliberate and one is to be mindful of the placement of the foot, and shifting of the weight, and movement of the other leg and foot. It helps to repeat to oneself a mantra to keep everything synchronized. One of Thich Nhat Hanh’s mantra is the following (typically starting with the right foot):

          I breathe in,

                          I breathe out,

          I have arrived,

                          I am home,

          In the here,

                          And in the now,

          I breathe in,

                          I breathe out,

It was a beautiful day, and the slow, deliberate walking meditation was not difficult. In about an hour we were at the outskirts of Wat Palad.

I always love being at Wat Palad. And, with Steve being an English teacher to these monks, we made an offering to the abbot (head month of the temple) and he gave us a blessing. It was quite ceremonial and interesting.

We then walked around a bit, and (of course) I took more pictures, not that I do not have enough of Wat Palad, but I do like it here, at the temple in the jungle.

A close image of the Aponsi, a mythical half-woman, half lion creature, often seen guarding temple entrances. (There are two at this entrance, I think seen in my post when I was at Wat Palad a week ago.)

The Singha guarding what I call the Thewada stairway. 

Thewada (pronounced tey wa da, with approximately equal emphasis on all three syllables, or maybe a little more on the last) are “angelic beings who live in the heavenly realms”, or what we in Christianity call angels. Thewada have no gender. Depending on the artist, sometimes they appear male and sometimes female.

Another type of Aponsi. This appears to be half-woman, half serpent (or dragon, or as the Thai call it, the great snake).

We sat for a meditation in the oldest viharn (worship hall) after we each lit a candle. I was last, so I lit the one at the top.

Then we headed for the walk down. Steve had appointments this afternoon, so he bid us all farewell and hustled away.

We headed down the mountain, the look was very much like my post from yesterday. sometimes the path was almost stair-like, as seen here.

And sometimes the trail is rocky. But it is always clear and easy to follow.

And because of the recent rain, we could see and hear the creek several times along the way.

We made it out of the woods/jungle, walked the kilometer down to Chiang Mai University, and got a Red Truck to take us back to our various destinations in the old city.

I then went to Blue Diamond for a late breakfast/lunch, and had a fruit bowl with muesli and yogurt…no picture, I was too hungry to wait. And I had a coffee – Blue Diamond has strong coffee, but it does taste good.

Blue Diamond is an organic restaurant that makes their own baked goods and uses hill tribe coffee. Very nice place, very good food. The owner is a no-nonsense, almost abrupt lady, some people liken her style to a New Yorker.

I have always found her to be very nice, I love her food, and I have told her that.

Next: Lamphun and the Five Temple Journey