The bad thing about having a good time is that I want to repeat it. The first few days that I got back, I'd been looking at my appointment book and a calendar to see if I could sneak out of Bangkok. I had to remind myself that I'm about to detach myself from one thing, only to form another. If I am truly practicing mindfulness, I ought to be able to do it anytime & anywhere. If I keep Sukato as my escape, then I'd long for it whenever I run into troubles, and as a result, I'd never learn. Plus, I have many responsibilities to answer to: teaching, research, family and family business. (P'Ed's blog translation is out of my to-do list. He or his girlfriend will do it himself, to my relief and my regret.) If I ignore my layman jobs, then I don't think I can excel spiritually either.
Strangely, since I got back from Sukato, I don't feel like fashion shopping that much. Seeing how much stuff I have, most of which I have more than one, I feel kind of ashamed and rather silly. Who am I to possess so much? What's so special about me? Though I knew, theoretically, that I didn't need much, but being able to get by with few things at Sukato, without any difficulties, reminded me that it is indeed possible. Five closets of clothes, 30+ pairs of shoes, 20+ bags are ludicrous. (Nonetheless, before I left for Sukato, I asked my friend who was going to Paris to get me Louis Vuitton stuff, so now I have them.)
At Sukato, I was reminded of how much divide/differences between rural lives and urban ones are. City dwellers don't know where their water comes from, where it goes to after use, how their food gets onto their tables, or where their trashes would go. Because we don't see the connection, we don't realize how our actions impact what's around us. At Sukato, I knew that my tab water comes from the pond in the Wat, the drinking water is rain stored in tanks, the waste water goes to the ground, the bio-degradable trash goes to EM (Effective Microorganisms) bins to be made into plant fertilizers, the non-biodegradable stuff is burned. We are told to take these non-degradable stuff back with us. So, I got to see how much trashes I create during just over 8 days, and I wasn't even going shopping!
Strangely, since I got back from Sukato, I don't feel like fashion shopping that much. Seeing how much stuff I have, most of which I have more than one, I feel kind of ashamed and rather silly. Who am I to possess so much? What's so special about me? Though I knew, theoretically, that I didn't need much, but being able to get by with few things at Sukato, without any difficulties, reminded me that it is indeed possible. Five closets of clothes, 30+ pairs of shoes, 20+ bags are ludicrous. (Nonetheless, before I left for Sukato, I asked my friend who was going to Paris to get me Louis Vuitton stuff, so now I have them.)
At Sukato, I was reminded of how much divide/differences between rural lives and urban ones are. City dwellers don't know where their water comes from, where it goes to after use, how their food gets onto their tables, or where their trashes would go. Because we don't see the connection, we don't realize how our actions impact what's around us. At Sukato, I knew that my tab water comes from the pond in the Wat, the drinking water is rain stored in tanks, the waste water goes to the ground, the bio-degradable trash goes to EM (Effective Microorganisms) bins to be made into plant fertilizers, the non-biodegradable stuff is burned. We are told to take these non-degradable stuff back with us. So, I got to see how much trashes I create during just over 8 days, and I wasn't even going shopping!
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