Saturday August 7, 2010

From my handwritten journal


~1:45 pm

I took the 8 Precepts! Horrible day to do so, though. Right before lunch I started feeling really nauseous and as a result hardly touched my food. Man I'm going ot be hungryyy :/ We made a Tesco's run (the supermarket) and I got some Ovaltine, soy milk, bug spray, hand sanitizer, Nutella, cereal, throat drops, and a lighter (so I can actually light the mosquito coils!) The first evening chanting that we went to proved Ovaltine + soy milk (warm) is ridiculously delicious. Mmm. Can't wait. I'm glad we can still consume liquids past noon. Okay everyone kept telling me how comfortable fisherman's pants are..but I have to disagree. Sucks that I'll be living in them for the next week. I guess I can pack up my normal clothes now. Oh! So we finally had a practical meditation class this morning, both walking and sitting. Easy enough, be mindful of each little movement while walking, and count your breaths while sitting. I've already practiced some sitting meditation before coming here (and before OSHO.) Right now there's some sort of performance going on in the Sala. I'm pretty sure that Fred's 12 year old daughter is there. I hear lots of Kim (hammered dulcimer) being played. I'd love to go watch and take photos but I'm just not feeling up to it. Luckily I can hear it really well from my room. I'm about to nap, that sounds really great. I've got nothing until evening chanting so I'll probably finish up Introducing Buddha and maybe sew or something. Meditation would be good, of course. It's going to be a challenge to keep myself busy without specifically entertaining myself! Ugh..now I got hungry. I might cheat and have something very little to eat. I confirmed with Graham that those who are ill can exempt themselves from things like that. Health comes first! I'll put it off and then later have something to drink then take it from there. I'm already kiiind of cheating a precept now…my tunnels and nose ring are currently in. But again, no one is seeing it so it's not really "decoration." I think the other precepts are more important to follow (self discipline) anyway. Alright, nap time.


9:50 pm


Well, that was a great nap. I woke up a bunch of times but I was in bed for three hours. I started reading a new book, The User Guide to Life...The Moral Diet. I'm hoping this will be what I've been wanting to learn about. The little tag line is "A book of practical advice for understanding and following the Buddhist path to true happiness." Sounds good to me! So yeah, I've done great in terms of no food, especially for what little I ate for lunch. Since about noon all I've had is two cups of Ovaltine. I went to evening chanting tonight and then Fred came around for a chat. We all know what I think of those by now...so I've just showered and cleaned my room. So refreshing! It's Max's last night..boo! I'm going to miss him. I guess I'll just have to go to Brazil :)
Today I finally took photos of the temple grounds. It was around 5 pm so it had fantastic lighting. Okay, time to read for a bit and then go to sleep. The sooner I wake up, the sooner I get to eat! Also...I can't believe tomorrow is Sunday!!