Unexpected Freedom

Unexpected Freedomsome of Ajahn Tate’s disciples in Bangkok I was impressed bytheir conduct and outward demeanour, and so, with theblessing of my preceptor, I moved up country to spend myfirst rains retreat (vassa) at Wat Hin Mark Peng. I travelledthere in the company of another western monk I’d also metin Bangkok. We had coincidentally attended retreats aroundthe same time in Australia, and now shared the same interestin spending time with this great teacher. Wat Hin Mark Pengwas a remote monastery on the forested banks of theMekong River, about thirty miles upstream from Vientiane,the capital of Laos. When I was there, the communists wereinvading Laos. My kuti was high on a cliff, directly above theriver. When I first arrived we would go down to bathe eachmorning, but as conditions between Thailand and Laosdeteriorated, Russian soldiers began patrolling the Mekongin their boats and there was too much shooting going on forit to be comfortable to continue.Living in a war zone certainly added to theintensification of my experience. I was already trying toadjust to the food and climate, and I couldn’t speak thelanguage either. Where I came from in New Zealand, livingin the forest was a treat – no snakes, scorpions or even antsto be troubled by. But in the tropical forest of Asia real careneeded to be taken as you got into bed at night in case a snakehad crawled in there first. There were times when I wouldwake up in the middle of the night with my body covered instinging ants, and the walls of the hut apparently moving asthey teemed over the entire building.The Heart and the Activity of the HeartOn the occasion of the first interview my companion and Ihad with Ajahn Tate, he was keen to hear about our practice.4