My Dhamma Brothers

Part 1 of a series of 5:

There we all were. In the middle of a field. A bit like Glastonbury with all of the rain, mud, tents, vegetarian hippies and hallucinogenic experiences but none of the music or drugs.

I’m sitting on a cushion in the meditation hall, looking around me and I’m starting to get this sinking feeling that I’ve got myself into something where I’m soon going to be rapidly floundering out of my depth. I’m going from twitchy meditation sittings of 20 minutes every morning (well, most mornings, ok, some mornings) to 9 or 10 hours every day for 10 days. That and I was up against some shaved head, super meditators who looked like they’d been meditating since they were born. I couldn’t help but be awed by the steadfastness of their determination and the one-pointedness of their focussed intensity.

As it turned out, my fellow meditators were a great bunch of chaps. Lovely people. Here they are in order of seniority: (the people who had been on the most retreats sat nearest the teacher and then students were ranked in order of age)

1. Super Meditator – closest to the teacher for a reason. Impressive posture and unswerving in his commitment. Or so I thought. Mysteriously disappeared on day 9.
2. Mr. Pink – rain, wind or shine he wore the same pink sweatshirt. I used to project many of my frustrations onto him, especially when he noisily slurped his tea in the canteen.
3. Mr. Noisy – he slept in the tent next to me and could enter the 2012 Olympics for Japan if there was a contest for snoring. He would probably also make the squad for belching and farting without needing to put in too much training. Again though, an impressive meditator.
4. Freddie Mercury – another crack meditator. Seemed to exist on a meagre few grains of rice and had a faraway look in his eyes. He was going to some deep places. He lost half of his face when he shaved off his moustache.
5. Baby Face – a young university student who looked like he should still be at high school. His meditation put me to shame though. I wish I could have had that focus when I was his age.
6. Tom Cruise – or so Mr. Noisy insisted on calling me. Struggled at the beginning but began to get into his stride around about day 5.
7. Mr. Jujitsu – impressed me with active leg stretching outside the hall before meditating. From the get-go he seemed to be able to sit for the two hour early morning session without moving.
8. The Poet – seemed to be a calm and sensitive soul. He paints and writes poetry. He had a slow careful walk as one of his flip-flops broke and he had to fix it with string.
9. The Californian – another fierce meditator, he arrived with the callouses on his ankle joints to prove that he had put in some serious hours meditating in the zen halls across Japan. He looked very calm on the outside but different things must have been going on on the inside. He disappeared on day 5.
10. The Backpacker – off to bum around Thailand after the course, he’s been working part-time jobs off and on for the last 5 years to fund his travels. This nomadic, itinerant lifestyle was reflected in the restlessness of his sitting.
11. The Dealer – didn’t seem to fit the mold. He deals at a baccarat table in a casino, 6 days a week, 12 hours per shift. I can see why he needed to escape and think about what comes next.
12. The Yoga Instructor – more like the expected attendee. Long haired, skinny vegetarian yoga teacher who looked very comfortable sitting cross-legged. Very solemn on the outside when he was meditating but so friendly and warm on the inside when I got a chance to talk to him on the final day.

I’m not going to write about the meditation techniques on the course as there’s plenty of stuff on the internet and books written by people who actually know what they’re talking about. If you want to learn a little more about what a 10 day Vipassana retreat may entail, I suggest you check out the inspiring and thought-provoking documentary Dhamma Brothers, where the inmates undertake a Vipassana meditation retreat in a prison. The results are profound and very moving. If anyone wants to question the value of an intensive meditation program then they should watch this first. To be continued …