Wandering

I just read Bill Porter's  (Red Pine) excellent book Road to Heaven, Encounters with Chinese Hermits and followed it with Four Huts, a collection of ancient Chinese and Japanese essays on the simple life. Now I'm reading about Ajahn Mun, one of the founders of the Thai Forest Tradition. His story is beyond inspiring. Here is just a taste, from the all-knowing sage Wikipedia:

After ordination, Mun went to practice meditation with Ajahn Sao of Wat Liap in Ubon, where he learned to practice the monastic traditions of Laos. Ajahn Sao taught Mun a meditation method to calm the mind, the mental repetition of the word, "Buddho." Ajahn Sao often took Ajahn Mun wandering and camping in the dense forests along the Mekong River, where they would practice meditation together. This is known as "thudong" in Thai, a name derived from the term "dhutanga", which describes a number of specialized ascetic practices. One of the first long distance thudong was a pilgrimage to Wat Aranyawaksi in Thabor district, Nong Khai Province. At the time, Wat Aranyawaksi was a ruin, an abandoned, overgrown temple in the jungle. Ajahn Mun spent a year in "illumination" in the teak forest around the temple at this early part of his monastic life.
In 1899, Ajahn Mun was re-ordained in the Thammayut Nikaya, a reformed Thai sect which emphasized monastic disciple and scripture study. Having practiced under the guidance of his teacher for several years, and with his teachers blessings, Ajahn Mun went out on his own to search for advanced meditation teachers. During the next several years, he wandered extensively throughout Laos, Thailand and Burma, practicing meditation in secluded forests. Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Sao went on pilgrimage together in 1905 and venerated the Phra That Phanom shrine, a center of Theravada Buddhism for centuries, most sacred to the Lao people.

Thudong alone

Ajahn Mun then wandered alone, onward to the north, to Sakhon Nakhon Province on the highlands of the northeastern Plateau, inland from the Mekong River, into the Phu Phan Mountain Range. Today, a museum to Ajahn Mun is located here in the temple residence of Wat Pa Sutthavat, in the city of Nong Han Luang.
He then wandered on toward Udon Thani, into a region that was a wild forest filled with prehistoric caves. He continued his wandering pilgrimage deeper into the wildernesses of Loei, a land dreaded and feared by the Thai people, who describe it as "beyond" and "to the furthest extreme" of the world. This rugged wilderness along the Mekong consists of mountains, and extremes of weather, both cold and hot.

To Burma

In 1911, Ajahn Mun decided to walk to Burma in search of a highly attained meditation teacher who could help him in his struggle for enlightenment. He walked by stages from northeast Thailand down to Bangkok, through the wilderness mountain ranges. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, a student in Ajahn Mun's lineage, "his search took nearly two decades and involved countless hardships as he trekked through the jungles of Laos, central Thailand, and Burma, but he never found the teacher he sought. Gradually he realized that he would have to follow the Buddha's example and take the wilderness itself as his teacher."

~

As for me, no doubt remains as to the value of massive doses of meditation in the context of a simple life close to the earth. It's only a question of how to transition to such a life. Personally, I'm doing it the easy way--going to Thailand in less than a month to learn from the pro's. 

Free, Wild, Simple, Silent, Horizontal: Roots of Trees Principles

What should be done for his disciples out of compassion by a Teacher who seeks their welfare and has compassion for them, that I have done for you, Ānanda.  There are these roots of trees, these empty huts.  Meditate, Ānānda, do not delay, or else you will regret it later. This is my instruction to you.   (MN 152.18)

Roots of Trees Sesshinkai (retreat club) is an informal group for self-organizing DIY meditation intensives in the wilderness.

Principles

1. Free. The foundational principle is that retreats must be free for participants. Dana (freely given generosity) is accepted from people who want to "pay it forward" and make it possible for others to sit.

2. Wild. We recognize the unique value of practicing in quiet, natural places. Staying close to nature, we may catch a glimpse of our true nature. National forests are ideal because they conform to the first two principles.

3.  Simple. We embrace frugality, simplicity, and a spirit of renunciation. We practice "original affluence," finding satisfaction and joy in having just the basics. This is how we keep it cheap. This is how we keep it real.

4. Silent. Retreats are conducted in noble silence.

5. Horizontal. Roots of Trees is a club, not an organization. It is and must remain leaderless.

Anyone can organize a retreat that conforms to these principles and call it a Roots of Trees retreat. 

Kammatthana

Thanisarro Bhikkhu wrote an inspiring essay recounting the decades-long wilderness sojourn of Ajaan Mun. It puts the fire in my belly for practice amidst ferns and pines and fragrant grasses. Here is the gist:

"...Buddhism has always straddled the line between civilization and wilderness. The Buddha himself gained Awakening in a forest, gave his first sermon in a forest, and passed away in a forest. The qualities of mind he needed in order to survive physically and mentally as he went, unarmed, into the wilds, were key to his discovery of the Dhamma. They included resilience, resolve, and alertness; self-honesty and circumspection; steadfastness in the face of loneliness; courage and ingenuity in the face of external dangers; compassion and respect for the other inhabitants of the forest. These qualities formed the 'home culture' of the Dhamma.

"Periodically, as Buddhism spread and adapted to different societies, some practitioners felt that the original message of the Dhamma had become diluted. So they returned to the wilderness in order to revive its home culture. Many wilderness traditions are still alive today, especially in the Theravada countries of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. There, mendicant ascetic monks continue to wander through the remaining rainforests, in search of Awakening in the same environment where the Buddha found Awakening himself. Among these wilderness traditions, the one that has attracted the largest number of Western students, and is beginning to take root in the West, is the Kammatthana (Meditation) Forest tradition of Thailand.

"The Kammatthana tradition was founded by Ajaan Mun Bhuridatto in the early decades of this century. Ajaan Mun's mode of practice was solitary and strict. He followed the Vinaya (monastic discipline) faithfully, and also observed many of what are known as the thirteen classic dhutanga (ascetic) practices, such as living off almsfood, wearing robes made of cast-off rags, dwelling in the forest, eating only one meal a day. Searching out secluded places in the wilds of Thailand and Laos, he avoided the responsibilities of settled monastic life and spent long hours of the day and night in meditation. In spite of his reclusive nature, he attracted a large following of students willing to put up with the hardships of forest life in order to study with him."

~

"Buddhist history has shown that wilderness traditions go through a very quick life cycle. As one loses its momentum, another often grows up in its place. But with the wholesale destruction of Thailand's forests in the last few decades, the Kammatthana tradition may be the last great forest tradition that Thailand will produce. Fortunately, we in the West have learned of it in time to gather lessons that will be help in cultivating the customs of the noble ones on Western soil and establishing authentic wilderness traditions of our own."

May it be so.

Forest Wat Wild Monks

"When we speak of the Lord Buddha, never forget that he was born outdoors, awakened outdoors, realized nibbana outdoors, taught outdoors, lived outdoors, had a hut with an earthen floor, and so on. We give it as much of a try as we can. Even now, we see that we're sitting on the ground, which is much different than in the city wats. There they sit on wooden floors, on mats, on carpets, depending on the status of each wat. Some wats spread expensive carpeting in the temple building for all eternity. So they sit in their chapels on carpets. Here, we sit on the seat of the Buddha -- the ground. This is one example for you to understand what nature is like, and how different it is from the cities, and how different are the hearts of those who come sit and interact with Nature.
I've tried my best in this matter. When Suan Mokkh was first started, I slept on the ground. I slept next to the grasses in order to know their flavor. I used to sleep on the beach, too. Then, when I first slept in the "middle hut" after it was newly built, I would stretch my hand out the window to fondle the plants next to the window. This completely different feeling is the meaning of 'forest wat wild monk.' - Thai Forest Monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

http://www.suanmokkh.org/archive/arts/wildmnk2.htm

The Buddha's Teaching on Forest Dwelling

~ The Buddha's Teaching on Forest Dwelling ~

(Reposted from Aranya Bodhi Forest Hermitage) 

 

From the Anapanasati Sutta ~ the Teaching on Mindfulness of Breathing ~ Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Nyanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi

"...And how, bhikkhus, is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?

"Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, ever mindful he breathes out..."

from the Dhammapada ~ Arahantavagga 98-99 ~ translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"In village or wilds,
valley, plateau:
that place is delightful
where arahants dwell.

"Delightful wilds
where the crowds don't delight,
those free from passion
delight,
for they're not searching
for sensual pleasures."
Arannika Sutta - the Wilderness Dweller - Anguttara Nikaya: 4.259, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu 
"Endowed with four qualities, a monastic is fit to stay in isolated forest & wilderness dwellings. Which four? [He is endowed] with thoughts of renunciation, with thoughts of non-ill will, with thoughts of harmlessness, and he is a discerning person, not dull, not a driveller. Endowed with these four qualities, a monastic is fit to stay in isolated forest & wilderness dwellings."

The Jina Sutta - Old - Samyutta Nikaya 16.5, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"...Kassapa, what compelling reason do you see that you for a long time have lived in the wilderness and have extolled living in the wilderness... that you have kept your persistence aroused and have extolled having persistence aroused?"

"Lord, I see two compelling reasons that for a long time I have lived in the wilderness and have extolled living in the wilderness... that I have kept my persistence aroused and have extolled having persistence aroused: seeing a pleasant abiding for myself in the here & now, and feeling sympathy for later generations: 'Perhaps later generations will take it as an example: "It seems that the disciples of the Awakened One and those who awakened after him lived for a long time in the wilderness and extolled living in the wilderness; were almsgoers and extolled being almsgoers; wore cast off rags and extolled wearing cast off rags; wore only one set of the triple robe and extolled wearing only one set of the triple robe; were modest and extolled being modest; were content and extolled being content; were reclusive and extolled being reclusive; were unentangled and extolled being unentangled; kept their persistence aroused and extolled having persistence aroused."'"

"Good, Kassapa. Very good. It seems that you are one who practices for the happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, benefit, & happiness of beings human & divine. So continue wearing your robes of cast off hemp cloth, go for alms, and live in the wilderness."


Aranna Sutta ~ The Wilderness ~ Samyutta Nikaya 1.10, translated by John D Ireland

Thus have I heard. At one time the Lord was staying near Savatthi, at the Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's monastery. Now when night was passing a certain devataa, lighting up the whole Jeta Grove with her surpassing beauty, approached the Lord. Having drawn near and prostrated herself she stood to one side.

Standing there the devataa said:

Those living in the forest,
Peaceful and calm, of pure life,
Eating but one meal a day:
How is it they appear so radiant?

The Lord replied:

They sorrow not for what is past,
They have no longing for the future,
The present is sufficient for them:
Hence it is they appear so radiant.

By having longing for the future,
By sorrowing over what is past,
By this fools are withered up
As a cut down tender reed.