After yesterday’s TBSUK meeting I went over to see my friend Lord Avebury for a chat about a couple of the issues of concern to us. Here I am with Eric and Lindsey (Lord and Lady Avebury) just about to leave for the drive back to Warwickshire, which at that time we confidently expected to be traffic free but how wrong we were!

I’ve just added a note to the Angulimala page of this site about the forthcoming Prison Service Chaplaincy Conference in April. Unlike the last two conferences, for this one I am not part of the organising committee. I was probably not much use but I did come up with some good ideas and I’m pleased to see that two of them that weren’t used when I was on the committee have been taken up this time. The first is the venue. I complained strongly that the NEC was not a good place for a conference of this kind and said more than once that somewhere like Warwick University would be much better. This time it’s at Warwick University. The second is that there are to be short presentations about the various principal faiths. I often said that when I attended a couple of the old style Christian Chaplaincy Conferences years ago the most interesting bit had been a sort of forum with chaplains from overseas. Admittedly they were all Christian but of different kinds and it had been very interesting to see and to hear them. So, I had suggested something that would inform delegates about faiths other than their own. That too was never taken up but I have just received an email asking me to prepare and lead a twenty minute session on Buddhism. I’ve also been asked to offer a two minute reflection. The only trouble is that everything including these presentations has somehow to relate to the conference theme of a journey. The title of the conference is Trusting the Journey.

Thinking about this has brought flooding into my mind memories of New York in late 1965. I was an actor then and there for a couple of productions that never quite happened and while flat hunting I bumped into the wife or girlfriend of an actor called Walter McGinn and we became friends. Walter was then on Broadway in a dreadful epic called The Subject was Roses. He got me tickets and took me to meet his co-stars, Chester Morris and Maureen O’Sullivan and then I had to sit through a matinee with his wife. Well, because she was with me I couldn’t leave and so I had to endure the whole wretched thing, including the supremely cringe-making moment when poor Walter had to utter the line that contained the words ‘the subject was roses’ and a frisson went round the auditorium as the New York matrons whispered excitedly to each other that that was the title, that was the title of the play!

If anyone thinks that at the Prison Service Chaplaincy Conference in either of my presentations I’m going to include a line that has ‘trusting the journey’ in it, they’re going to have to think again!

All good things come to an end and so did our short stay at Sri Panwa. With so little to do and only the simplest and most basic of decisions to be made our time there passed at nothing like the snail’s pace you might have imagined. It was soon over, our few things were packed and the tuk tuk to take us to the car was at the door. Then it was the ride to the airport, the flight and the drive through Bangkok’s legendary traffic to the kuti at Khun Jung’s for our last night.

Again there were visitors, that evening and the next morning. In the afternoon of our last day we drove over to Wat Sraket to pay our respects to Somdet Keo, then went to get me measured for a new pair of glasses before calling on Sulak Sivaraksa for tea. Sulak is described on the cover flap of his autobiography as a prominent and outspoken Thai Buddhist social critic and activist who throughout his tumultuous life has endured death threats, exile and gruelling legal ordeals – and somehow has thrived. Of course I have known of Sulak for years and people have thought we ought to know each other but we’ve never quite managed to meet until that afternoon. Ken, another Thai former Warwick student, succeeded in arranging it and I’m very grateful to him for that. Sulak was very welcoming, very gracious, fascinating to listen to and generous – he presented me with a stack of books to add to the boxes we had already.

Back at Khun Jung’s we hastened to get ourselves ready and then off we sped to the airport where Thai Airways staff were waiting to speed us through check-in and care for us all the way to Heathrow. Khun Tipvadee, looking younger than ever, was there to see us off. So were Pie and Mark, who was looking forward to getting off back to Korea in a day or two. And Tahn Dhammabhojo, now Chao Khun Chonnyanamuni, with the young monk who hopes to join us in England in the summer, were also there to speed us on our way. Once through Immigration, we were sat in tall futuristic buggies that raced us as near as could be to our Departure Gate, from where we were ushered onto the plane and into comfortable seats to cushion our approach to the culture shock awaiting us at Heathrow.

If you’d like to see some of the photos you can look here.

So here we are now on the island of Phuket. And just for the record Phuket is pronounced Poo-ket. Literal transliteration doesn’t always take into account pronunciation.

The sun has not long gone down on our first full day here and I’m sitting at a table in our villa and looking out across the darkness of the sea below to a few lights twinkling on the boats and islands opposite. We came here to Sri Panwa yesterday after a night in Bangkok. Since my last entry we have gone from Bangkok to Ubon, back to Bangkok and now Phuket. But before setting off for Ubon there was Pie’s wedding to go to.

We had nothing to do with the actual ceremonies but on the morning of the 15th, the wedding day, we were invited over to the house to take our meal there. We set off in plenty of time with a map and directions that Pie’s mother had supplied but still somehow our excellent driver had difficulty following them and we got lost. I’m afraid I seldom have much idea where I am in Bangkok so I was no help. Eventually the mystery was unravelled and we drew up in the drive of a large house overflowing with people obviously at a wedding. Ant was there to greet us but he didn’t quite know what to do so Pie was summoned and he led us up to the Shrine Room where food soon appeared and we had our meal. Afterwards we were invited to join the photo call. That was when a rather troubled Mark made his second brief appearance of the day. Poor Mark had eaten somtum the night before and been sick ever since. It’s always fun when you suddenly meet people you’ve known as students and always seen dressed as students in another context with smartly brushed hair and wearing suits!

The 15th proved to be a full and varied day. By the evening we’d left Bangkok, taken a plane to Ubon in the North-east, and were busy settling in to our rather more austere forest accommodation at Wat Pah Nanachat. Although I’d better add that monks there have a pretty comfortable lot compared to what I knew in my younger days.

The next day, the 16th, was the sixteenth anniversary of Ajahn Chah’s death and many of us went over to Wat Pah Pong to eat there. There were a lot of monks, a lot of food and quite a lot of old friends. I sat next to Ajahn Inn who I hadn’t seen for years and who had been one of the chanting acariyas at my ordination. Afterwards the meeting that I was supposed to attend was postponed to the evening and so back I went to Wat Pah Nanachat for a rest. By this time Mark, Ant and Peng, another former Warwick student who’d come for the wedding, and Pie’s cousin, Sandy, were in Ubon. They came out to Wat Pah Nanachat and with them Tan Manapo and I returned to Wat Pah Pong in the afternoon in time for the big circumambulation of the Ajahn Chah Chedi.

The students had the use of a pretty handy vehicle and driver for two more days so on the 17th I took them to Kow Phra Viharn which is a pretty impressive ruin on the Thai Cambodian border. It’s also quite high and a fairly energetic climb. We left the students well behind but they did eventually join Tan Manapo and I at the top. Then on the 18th I took them to Wat Keuan where I lived for about a year in 1973. There were never more than a handful of monks there but it was immaculate in my day. It’s on a peninsula that juts out into a huge man-made lake and we drove, then walked to the furthest tip, to Hua Hin, where we spent a jolly time sitting, scrambling about and posing for photos. That evening, back at Wat Pah Nanachat we said goodbye to the two girls, Peng and Sandy, who were returning to Bangkok and so the day after, with only Ant and Mark left, Peter came over from Amper Deht to take the four of us to see my old friend and mentor Ajahn Dang and then to Peter and Tipawan’s splendid home for afternoon tea served in best, beautiful china. The next day we’d lost Ant who’d gone off to see a family he knew and so with only Mark left of our student party we went over to Wat Pah Pong for my guided tour. We were taken there by the two judges, Katekaew and her husband. Katekaew was at Warwick for a year nine years ago. And accompanying us was my wonderful attendant for my stay at Wat Pah Nanachat this year, an Indonesian novice called Visilo. We finished up our visit to all the important sites, the Ajahn Chah Chedi, Ajahn Chah’s kuti, his hospital kuti where he died and the place where he had first camped, by picking up four boxes of books to bring back. Two subsequently went with Mark who had to race off to the airport to meet up with Ant to join him on the plane to Bangkok and two were later added to by a third and all three boxes are now waiting for us in Bangkok. Later on that day at Wat Pah Nanachat I took a Question and Answer session with the monks and novices that seemed to go down quite well. The day after was Monday, the 21st, and we didn’t go anywhere.

The 22nd was a Wan Phra, a Full Moon Observance Day, and we had to hear Patimokkha, the basic Rule for Bhikkhus. At my request that was done after the meal in the morning so that Tan Manapo and I could be there for it before catching our plane in the afternoon. After Patimokkha I was invited to address the Sangha and I enlarged on some of the points I’d made in the morning Ovadas I’d already given. I spoke of the importance of a caring community. What we are committed to as monks can be difficult and demanding and it’s important that we can care for and help each other through any hard times. I have known communities where the emphasis has been on surrendering to the community but it seemed without any corresponding duty of care by the community for its members. It’s easy both for individuals and the community itself to become harsh and judgemental and that’s not helpful. As Ajahn Chah has pointed out, metta or loving-kindness is a vital ingredient in the way of life and training that we have adopted. I also reminded them to not take things for granted and to appreciate the wonderful facilities and support they have and to be worthy of it. I also pointed out that while some things about our life can be inconvenient, this discipline is forever reminding us of our kilesas (defilements) and keeping us aware of them. During my Question and Answer session with them earlier I had described how in the past instead of collecting our food, as is done now, from a buffet and being able to pick and choose, we used to have to sit and watch the food being dished into our bowls by the monks delegated to go down the line giving it out. We could refuse some things if we were quick enough but it wasn’t good form to do so and we were taught to watch our minds, especially when something delicious was immediately swamped by some curry we didn’t like or we didn’t get as much of something as we wanted. At the end of the day, that food is given in faith, it does the job and we’re jolly lucky to have anything at all. And so the old monk rambled on.

Back in Bangkok that evening a few people came to see me, mostly students or ex students who used to come to the Forest Hermitage when they were in the UK. And then the next day, our Nok Air flight having been cancelled, we stepped aboard a One,Two,Go plane for Phuket and here we are.

I don’t want to make you jealous but if you want to see where we are go to www.sripanwa.com.

For another account of Pie and Nun’s wedding and some of our adventures have a look at Ant’s blog.

Well we’re here. We arrived safely early on Sunday morning. Inside the aircraft it hadn’t been too warm, when we got out in the new airport it didn’t feel too warm and outside it didn’t look too inviting either with fog swirling all around. Never mind, we pressed on and hiked our way through to Immigration, Baggage Reclaim and out at Exit 4 where Goong met us and drove us through the fog and into Bangkok and to where we’re staying. By the time we got here the sun was out and it was definitely warming up.

Sunday then proved a pretty leisurely day. We didn’t go anywhere but there were a few phone calls and in the afternoon Ant and Mark came to see us, Mark with a present of small temple bell from Korea. Later on plans for the rest of our stay were discussed and laid. Then in the midst of his wedding preparations, Pie phoned.

On Monday morning it was an early meal before Ant and Mark appeared with a mini coach and more ex Warwick students to take us off on a trip to Ayuthia. There we had a gently strenuous time wandering round the ruins and the beautiful gardens of Ban Pa In Palace.

We’d not long got back when Tahn Maha Dhammabhojo, who used to stay with me some years ago at Warwick, arrived to see me. He’s a Chao Khun now and has his own temple. He came with two other monks, one of whom would like to come to Warwick. Then we’d not been talking more than a few minutes when another old friend, Sathienpong Wannapok, made his entrance. We chatted until quite late and took photos and all the rest of it.

Now it’s already the early hours of Tuesday and soon Pie’s wedding ceremonies will begin. We are to go over to be there for our meal at eight. Then in the afternoon we take a flight to Ubon. After that while I’m at Wat Pa Nanachat I’m not sure how easy it will be to update this blog but I’ll try.

I did my best to take it as close to the wire as I dared but yesterday just before I went off for an evening prison visit I took the decision to leave for Thailand on Saturday. So that’s it, all being well, early on Sunday morning, January 13th, we should be landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport not far from Bangkok. We should be back early on January 29th.

For anyone in Thailand who wants to reach me while we are away my mobile number in Thailand is 08-3383-0089.

Hopefully I’ll be updating this blog while I’m away.

เบอร์โทรศัพท์ติดต่อในประเทศไทย: 08-3383-0089

As I stood waiting to speak in Trafalgar Square at the meeting for Burma, I was for a moment transported back to rehearsals at the Old Vic forty years ago, in the days when it was home to the National Theatre. We were rehearsing a Sunday night showing of ‘In His Own Write’ and I was Me. Victor Spinetti of the Beatles films was directing. As I spoke John Lennon’s verse staring into the blackness of an empty auditorium, now and then somewhere out there a lighter would flicker to reveal Victor’s smiling and lively face encouraging me to talk to him. On Saturday as I stood in the chill of a January afternoon in Trafalgar Square I looked up and and amongst the gathering audience saw a hand waving and then there under a cap and behind a beard, older now but still as lively and encouraging, Victor’s smile and wild, friendly eyes.

When it was over we went out of the cold and into the warmth of his flat on the edge of China Town for tea and the offer of a hot shower to warm up. I didn’t bother with the latter but the Jasmine tea in a big generous cup was very welcome and the gossip and reminiscing was fun.

I’ve still got the signed copy of In His Own Write that John gave me.

Yesterday we went to London to join a silent march to Trafalgar Square to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Burma’s independence from Britain and to offer our support for the monks and people of Burma who live now under one of the world’s most oppressive and brutal military regimes.

Here are two videos of my talk.

We’ve just spent a very peaceful and meditative evening leading up to the stroke of midnight when we saw the New Year in chanting the Parittas as those present each lit a stick of incense to symbolise letting go of the old and determining to do better in the future.

We had our usual Monday evening sitting with a little talk from me that focussed on letting go, not just of the past but the future as well. Just as the revolving wheel hits the ground always at one place only, so really our lives are lived just in the present even if our minds don’t usually acknowledge that. Afterwards we had tea and were joined by the little group who are in retreat at Bhavana Dhamma. I read to them a few passages about some of the great forest monks of the past, passages that focussed particularly on overcoming fear. The last few words I read were one monk’s appraisal of what threatened Thailand at the time. Instead of mentioning insurgency as everyone present expected he pointed to kilesa, defilement, greed and anger and all the rest, as the greatest threat. And so it is. It’s the enemy within that we ought to be most careful of. My hope for the New Year is that more of us may make a better job of facing that enemy.

Earlier in the day we had a visit from Karen who has not long returned from Burma, where she saw something of the terrible events that gripped that sad and beautiful land a few weeks ago. She described arriving somewhere soon after a monk had been tied to a lamppost and beaten to death. What can you say! Arrests and brutality are common and the people live in fear. What can you say, what can you do but determine to hold fast to what is good.

A Boxing Day present for Larry was a new home kindly crafted by our new samanera.

Here’s Larry emerging and greeting a new day after his first night in his palace.