Meditation in Thailand

If work load, stress and peer pressure has been taking a toll on you lately, its time you indulge in some soul searching. Thailand is a land of Buddhist meditation, with more and more people flocking from different parts of the world to find answers to the most difficult questions of existence.

Buddhist meditation is of two types: the Vipassana or the insight, stressing more on mindfulness and Samatha or calmness and concentration. Both of them are inter related and train one’s mind to attain eternal peace. As a part of Vipassana sessions, an opening ceremony ensues where the student offers incense sticks, flowers and candles as a mark of respect to the masters. Thanking the teacher at the closing ceremony is equally important too.

Mantra meditation is yet another form of Thai meditation. In this, one has to chant “Buddh” while inhaling and “Dho” while exhaling. The sole purpose of this is to increase concentration of the mind thereby enhancing the person’s focusing abilities. Kasinas is yet another technique where the meditator is asked to concentrate at an external object

Before you enroll yourself for a long mediation session, try out the 1 or 2 day classes to understand what kind of meditation will suit your needs. Buy yourself white pair of clothes beforehand. Food and accomodations are usually provided free at the monasteries.