Last night was the best sleep that I’ve had since coming here. It was to be expected given the conditions and I woke up at 3:50am, a whole hour after the usual time. It was still dark so I thought I’d just go back to sleep. I fell asleep again quickly and then woke up two hours later. I really needed more rest after all. The monk’s life had taken a toll on my body and it really showed. There’s a large mirror in the bathroom and only now am I aware of how skinny I had become.

I spent a while listening to the news on the radio. It really is all about the coronavirus and it was constantly developing. I had finished all the Buddhist books and comics that Tan B. passed to me and found a particularly good quote in the photo book about words being meaningless unless they are actioned.

Tan Ajahn came by while I was listening to the radio and I openly admitted it. He didn’t seem to mind and said to just listen to the coronavirus news and not music. I asked him about it and he said that it was getting worse and that he’s shutting down the monastery as a precaution. This meant no alms round and there would only be three kitchen staff to help out. Wow, I wonder how that will be.

Later on I took a walk to the bowl drying shed at around six and ran into the other monks so I said hello. I went to check on what was going to happen tomorrow. Just like Tan Ajahn had said, there’s no alms round in the schedule.