Day 0

Drive to Merritt

We are driving through British Columbias misty mountains on the way to Dhamma Surabhi, “The fragrance of Dhamma”, British Columbia’s Vipassana meditation centre. Dhamma (Pali) or Dharma (Sanskrit) literally means “The Universal law of Nature”, the law which when understood on an experiential level can lead an individual towards freedom from misery and suffering.

I am in an old 70’s ford with driver Malcolm, a Canadian born Irish gentleman in his fifties, Kenji from Tokyo, a Japanese young man in his early thirties, and Juliana, a young lady in her early twenties (I am guessing ) from Russia. It is fascinating how people of various age groups from various parts of the globe are brought together unified by the search for depth and truth in life. Appearance and background are truly becoming of  less and less importance with every new day. Barriers are fading, slowly but surely.

Day 0, Dec 8^th 2010

9.56pm

In bed. Cabin #2, my own sweet spot to call home for the next ten days to follow.

I have come home again, that’s how it feels. It has been about two and a half weeks since I returned to Vancouver from my first 10-day Vipassana course, and it has been a rocky period, falling straight back into compulsive overeating patterns my first day back in the city. I got a taste of freedom though, which has tremendeously fuelled my desire to keep working this path.

Blessed to be back at Surabhi near Merritt, a three and a half hour drive from Vancouver, to play out my role as a Dhamma Server on a 10 day meditation course. Server means that I am volunteering my time to help out making sure that the course runs smoothly. In this particular center it involves mainly kitchen work such as preparation of meals, dishwashing, dining room preparation and cleaning.

Even approaching the center by car I could feel the mind settle down, and blissful tingles tickling my heart. Albeit a cup of coffee consumed along the way, There is a powerful energy vibrating around here.

After having been introduced to kitchen duties and having had a guided tour of the main work areas, the first group sitting took place at 8pm. I felt like a child returning home to his family after a period of uncertainty regarding whether he’d ever see them again.

It was with an underlying sense of joy that I sat down and relaxed best I could into my tense and troubled body, tuning in to the awe-stricken energy of the Dhamma hall (group meditation hall).

The atmosphere was charged with hope, eagerness and determination, students knowing very well that they were committing to 10 days of intense inner work carried out under a vow of noble silence, meaning no talking in between students whatsoever for the first 9 days. The first discourse was launched, discussing the technique and precepts taken for the sake of a strong practice with utmost results.

All these individuals, young, old, and everything in between, here on such a noble mission, dedicating 10 days of their most likely busy lives to deal with the dirty luggage most of us carry in the depths of our minds, that our social conditioning habitually prompts us to do everything in our power to consistently seek to escape from, by any means possible in our daily lives.

11.03pm

Turned on the light and picked up my journal again. Although I only slept around 3 hours last night, I am now overflowing with energy and inspiration. My soul is shaking this body vigorously, as if it has had it with these mental shackles and is now strongly determined to break out and blossom. I intended to arise at 4.20 an hour of sitting before the server meetup at 5.30am, but am now reframing to allow myself close to 6 hours of sleep to properly digest today’s impressions.

Whereas journaling is prohibited for course participants, for servers it is not, giving the serving experience a very different dimension. I actually found it frustrating at times while partaking in the course as a student, often feeling overcharged with energy and inspiration without any means of outsourcing it other than going for walks outside the course facility, leaving me with several nearly sleepless nights.

Journaling helps me spend this freed up energy in a constructive manner that also potentially may serve others.