The Story of Two Meditation Dropouts
About a year and half ago I came across a website for the Northern Insight Meditation Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Having dabbled in martial arts and meditation courses in the past, I was intrigued by the opportunity to take my practice even further and get the benefits I had seen in more dedicated meditators. While other wats like Suan Dok advertised three day courses, the Wat Rampoeng offered a 26 day beginner course. For extremists like myself, this seemed like the best (if not only) option. The course looked difficult; rising at 4am, breakfast at 6am, lunch at 10:30am, no food after noon, no talking except during your report to the teacher once per day, and then to bed at 10pm. In between those times, you meditate on your own. I was intrigued, Gage was wary, and a year and a half later, we were walking through the front gates with packed bags, big smiles, a lot of optimism, and no idea of what we were getting ourselves into. This is how it all went down.
The Great Stupa and Temple of Wat Rampoeng
