Online Retreat

Temple Altar

On Sunday, I participated in the online retreat that the Temple had organized.  The above is a picture of the altar, taken with my cell phone, from the computer screen, so the quality is not the greatest.  But, it shows some Vesak lanterns someone had made in the background, behind the statue of the Buddha; they are all in white as appropriate for a temple.  The flags are Buddhist flags, originally designed in 1884, by a committee of Buddhists, including an American retired Army Colonel, Henry Steele Olcott, in Colombo, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon).  The flag was first flown in May 1885, to mark the first Vesak Poya (holy) Day to be declared a public holiday by the ruling British government (Ceylon was a British Crown Colony from 1815 to 1948).  The colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and orange) are supposed to represent certain physical attributes of the Buddha with each color having a meaning.  The current flag is a modification of the original flag in size and the color of one stripe; there are variations of the flag in other Buddhist countries, but, this flag is recognized as a symbol of Buddhism throughout the world. 

Although I tried to go to sleep early on Saturday night, I didn't actually fall asleep until after 3:00 a.m.  But, I managed to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and I had my cup of tea and got dressed.  Had I actually attended the retreat at the Temple, I would have worn a white sari, but, since this was going to be held at home, I wore a long white skirt and a white blouse, which is a more casual attire.  Over which, I wore a shawl made from a white piece of fabric; the shawl is sort of a representation of the robes a monk or nun would wear and it signifies that one is an observant of the eight precept.  One wears it, cross body, going over one shoulder.

I logged on to the meeting site at 7:00 a.m., and the chief monk led us in meditation for the first half hour as we waited for more people to log in.  They had arranged for a full day of programs! 

7:00 a.m. - Log in and breathing meditation

7:30 a.m. - Morning offerings (of flowers, incense, food, etc.) to the Buddha, followed by the administration of the eight precepts.  The monks say the precepts and you repeat after them, undertaking to spend your day in accordance with these precepts.

8:00 a.m. - Breakfast.  Normally, at the Temple, breakfast (and lunch) would be served to the monks and those observing the eight precepts by other devotees (and they would also eat, afterwards).  The act of serving food to the monks and those observing the eight precepts would be considered a meritorious deed.  If one was observing the retreat at home and there were others in the household, they would be expected to serve the meals to the one observing the retreat.  However, in my case, I made my own breakfast.  I warmed up a frozen paratha (a type of Indian flat bread) and had it with onion sambol (seeni sambol). 

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Sermon and discussion by a guest monk who logged in from another Temple, with questions and answers afterwards.  The Q&A session lasted a little longer than anticipated, but, that was good as it showed that people were actively participating.

10:10 a.m.- Loving-kindness (metta) meditation.  During this meditation, thoughts of loving-kindness and compassion are extended in ever widening circles, starting with yourself and going outwards to include family, friends, neighbors, community, state, country, the world, and beyond, to encompass the entire universe.  The idea is that whatever you wish for yourself (good health, well being, happiness, etc.) is also being wished for every other being, known or unknown, without any boundaries.

10:30 a.m. - Walking meditation!  The walking is supposed to be done very deliberately, being aware of each step, and each part of each step - putting the right foot down, shifting your weight to that foot, moving the left foot up off the ground, putting the left foot down, shifting your weight to that foot, lifting the right foot off the ground, putting the right foot down, and so forth.  The aim is not to walk far or fast, but to really focus on the process of walking.  I went outside for the 20 minutes of walking meditation. 

10:50 a.m. - Offering of lunch to the Buddha. 

11:00 a.m. - Lunch break.  Again, if we were at the Temple, lunch would have been prepared by other devotees and served to everyone, present.  As things stood, we each went off line and served and ate our own lunch.  I had rice with cabbage and cashew curry (I had a packet of previously cooked cashew curry in the freezer, which I had kept in the fridge, overnight, to thaw).  I wanted to keep it a vegetarian meal in observance of the day.

During this time, I listened to and watched a video of blessings being chanted. 

12:30 p.m. - The Temple program resumed with the chanting of blessings by the monks. 

1:00 p.m. - A sermon in English for the benefit of the Sunday school children (and adults, as well), with a discussion session, afterwards.

2:00 p.m. - Breathing meditation

2:15 p.m. - A short break to have a cup of tea or juice.

2:30 p.m. - Sermon and discussion, about the two main ways of showing devotion as a Buddhist - one being the participation in activities and rituals such as going to the Temple, offering alms to the monks, etc., and the other being putting the Buddha's teachings into practice by living according to the tenets of Buddhism.  One is considered good and helpful; the other is considered better and essential.  Again, the discussion went on for a little longer than anticipated, but, I found it to be very interesting.

3:45 p.m. - A short, 15 minutes "rest" break!

4:00 p.m. - Another sermon and chanting.

By this time, I had begun to get a headache.  I think it was due to a combination of insufficient sleep during the night, continuous screen time, and having to concentrate on what was being said!  Most of the sermons were delivered in Sinhalese, which is my first language.  However, it has been almost 47 years since I left Sri Lanka and I haven't had to use it as much, lately.  So, my Sinhalese is a little bit rusty.  Add in the fact that there is a more informal everyday spoken Sinhalese and a more formal oratory style used to deliver sermons, and I really needed to concentrate to truly comprehend what was being said.  Also, I might have been a little dehydrated and I was starting to get hungry!  I seem to need to eat something every 4 hours or so and it had been a little over 4 hours since lunch.  But, one of the precepts I undertook to observe was not to eat anything after 12 noon until the retreat ended.  I could have chosen to end it, then (doing so would have been easy; I just had to recite the regular five precepts I undertake on a daily basis), but, I was determined to stick it out! 

5:30 p.m. - Evening offerings and ending the retreat.  I was glad I was able to wait until the very end!

I really did enjoy this retreat and was glad I could participate, even with the headache and all!  If this opportunity was offered again, I would gladly participate - but, next time, I'll make sure I had plenty of water and juice to keep me hydrated and my blood sugar levels stable! 

The monks were holding the regular evening blessings later in the night, yesterday, starting at 8:00 p.m., but, I decided I would not participate.  It would have been just a little too much! 

Hope you find this post interesting. I've tried to explain just enough to give you an idea without going into too many details!  If you have any questions about anything I've described, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities.  Or, I can ask the monks for further information, if I need to.  Of course, there is quite a bit of information online, as well.  And, if you have read all the way to the end of this post, give yourself a big pat on the back!