Breaking the silence

 So I’m back, in one piece from the world of Vipassana silence. We landed smack-back in Kathmandu from our monastery in the hills yesterday morning. A small group formed which included a German, a Belgian and a Pole, and we headed directly for that garden café that I love so much in the centre of Thamel. There we talked, laughed, compared experiences and enjoyed one meal after another. Food never tasted so good and it felt wonderful to stretch the vocal cords. 

While I was at the Sivananda ashram in Kerala last month, on hearing that I was going to spend 10 days at a silent meditation retreat, a fellow Irish yogi, Monica, cracked a joke:

“Every ten years, the monks in the monastery were allowed to break their vow of silence to speak two words. Ten years go by and it’s one monk’s first chance. He thinks for a second before saying, “Food bad.” Ten years later, he says, “Bed hard.” It’s the big day, a decade later. He gives the head monk a long stare and says, “I quit.” “I’m not surprised,” says the head monk. “All you’ve done since you got here is complain”.

This joke stayed with me during my 10 days at the Vipassana centre, bringing with it a wry smile, so close to the truth it turned out to be. Not that it was a bad experience; not at all. Quite the opposite. It was in fact quite possibly one of the most life-altering experiences I have ever had. It did, at times, have its discomforts and times of struggle. But those times were an important part of the learning as the times of peace and the times of important realisations and deep letting-gos. But more about that later. There’s still so much to process about the 10 days and I’m not quite sure how to express it just yet. In the meantime, I think it’s time for another cafe latte and a croissant. Ya gotta love KTM sometimes..