I had a quick chat with the abbot this morning and he said that it was absolutely fine for me to stay until the end of March and also disrobe at WPN. I could not be more thankful for the opportunity and had tears in my eyes the whole time. He encouraged me to stay for as long as I needed and I really have to make the next few weeks count now.

Since today is Wan Phra we have less chores to do than usual but there were more sitting meditation sessions. My left knee is still struggling. This was a painful reminder as to how slow Pali-Thai chanting was. I decided to stay a little later to listen to the abbot’s Dhamma talk in the evening which he gives to the laypeople every Wan Phra and he was wise and insightful as usual.

I did feel sympathy towards the other monks who also stayed behind. Towards the end I was struggling to stay awake not because the talk was dull in any way, but because I was so tired. Most of the other monks didn’t even understand Thai but remained steadfast in their meditation posture. The talk lasted for an hour and finished at 10:30pm. Some stayed for the Nessajik (all-nighter that happens every Wan Phra) but I won’t have the endurance for that any time soon. Seeing that I needed to be up at 2:45am, I went back and crashed. It’s no surprise then that monks don’t care much for bedding. When you’re so tired, you can sleep anywhere.