Another interesting alms round today with Tan B. and I’m really fortunate to be walking with him. He recommended me a book called Forest Recollections which goes into how the Thai Forest Tradition came to be. He explained about how WPN should also be considered as part of a bigger whole of WPN, เต่าดำ and ภูจ้อมก้อม and each have their distinct personalities. WPN is like the city hub and the liveliest of them all where monks from all over congregate. เต่าดำ is a true jungle full of wild animals and you don’t see anyone at all other than when the monks gather for the meal. ภูจ้อมก้อม on the other hand is more cave like and he compared it to the surface of the moon where nothing lived.

He also recommended another book called Keeping the Faith which is a collection of newspaper articles from the Bangkok Post from 1980-2000 related to Buddhism in Thailand. Controversies surrounding the religion haven’t really changed all that much and we wondered if there was a newer edition available. I thought I was going to get through it quickly reading under my kuti but eventually I got so tired that I fell asleep for an hour.

Later in the day after Nam Pana I found a new refuge. There’s an old light blue (almost completely faded) deck chair at the dye shed that is the most comfortable chair I’ve found at WPN. It’s a wonder to think that I’d appreciate so much simply having a reclining chair but when you’ve spent so much time on the floor, it wasn’t all that surprising. There’s actually a cushioned one at the same place but it’s a bit too warm to use now. The best thing is there are almost no mosquitoes there. The same could not be said of the bowl drying shed.

Also, Ajahn K. is well again so the Ruam Sang route is over for us. It was great while it lasted but you know that when something becomes too comfortable, it won’t last long. I learnt so much in these two days from Tan B. about the practice and the history of WPN but I didn’t come to be spoon-fed knowledge while taking a stroll. I came to know and understand suffering!