The most recent of my escapades.
Kaohsiungliving.com has been my saving grace while I have been here. It is the online key to finding out everything that is happening in our big city and around Taiwan including but most definitely not limited to: moving sales, festivals, swap meets, job opportunities, and best of all the silent retreat that was opened to all the foreigners living around this area.
The reason for the retreat was for ex-pats, teachers, and students to have a “getaway weekend” at the most peaceful and beautiful location, Fo Guang Shan, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in the world.
It rests on top of a mountain separated by the business of Taiwan, much as I would picture Tibet to be.
Running on its own resources, the place exudes a healthy lifestyle and discipline.
What I did learn in this peaceful environment was refreshing; it was the importance of silence- to release, to think about the present, not the past and not the future. I have forgotten to breathe. To be alive.
We spent time writing, walking, eating in silence with all the monks (which was a crazy experience because all of your needs for more food of less food are done by placement of your bowls and plate), we listened to a prominent monk speak about some of his experiences, and we relaxed, taking the time to just breathe.
Now do not be fooled, I was not fully able to be serious and contemplative the whole time. I am a talker, and apparently so were the two other girls in my room and we stayed up much of our “supposedly silent” night giggling and being very un-monastic. But, to me, laughter is part of meditation too, and especially when I laugh really hard because I tend to get really silent and my face distorts a bit, and I look like I am going into silent convulsions. Now that is what I call silent meditation.
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