Dhamma Day: and a lesson in Buddhism

When I arrived to work this morning, I was looking forward to my 7:00pm flight to Phuket for a 4-day holiday weekend on a tropical island beach with friends courtesy of the enlightened Lord Buddha.  Once I got to school, I discovered that there was a special alms ceremony to begin the holiday weekend.  My colleague Ajarn Jay (a native Missourian and 25-year expat Buddhist) invited me to come to the ceremony....But before I continue, a brief lesson on Buddha, Buddhism, and Dhamma Day:

Friday marks the day that Theravada Buddhists celebrate Dhamma Day, also known as Asalha Puja or Asanha Puja Day (*nothing is spelled the same way twice using the Roman alphabet*). The festival is celebrated on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month. Dhamma Day commemorates the first teaching of the Buddha.  After the Buddha attained enlightenment, or gained realization of the truth about reality, Buddha traveled throughout India from the city of Bodh Gaya to the deer park in Sarnath. Today, both Sarnath and Bodh Gaya are major sacred Buddhist sites.  Upon reaching Sarnath, the Buddha gave lessons to his five original disciples. Those lessons delivered by the Buddha are often referred to as “the first turning of the wheel of dhamma.”  Dhamma comes from the ancient Pali term Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. Dhamma is the teaching of the Buddha and includes norms of behavior and ethical rules.  At this time, the Buddha told his disciples about the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are: life is suffering, the cause of suffering is craving, suffering can be eliminated by the extinguishing of craving, and there is a way to achieve this goal.  The Buddha prescribed the Eightfold Path as the way to achieve the goal of extinguishing craving. The steps are: right understanding, right intent, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Throughout the world, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path remain central doctrines in Buddhism.  Finally, the Buddha spoke about the Middle Way. The Middle Way is an avoidance of the extremes of indulgence and asceticism. The Buddha believed the Middle Way led to knowledge, calm and self-awakening.  Dhamma Day coincides with the beginning of monsoon season, when the Buddha and his nuns and monks would suspend their wandering lifestyle for three months. The heavy rains would prevent them from journeying forward. They would use this time for meditation and reflection. At the end the rainy season, they would resume traveling and passing on the Buddha’s teachings.

Dhamma Day is a chance to express gratitude to the Buddha and other enlightened teachers. Many celebrate Dhamma Day by reading Buddhist scriptures and listening to sermons. Monks receive small gifts such as food and candles on Dhamma Day. Monasteries in countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar hold three monthlong “rains retreats” shortly after Dhamma Day. The rain retreats are used as a time for study, meditation and teaching new monks.

*taken from: http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/07/16/dhamma-day-celebrates-buddhist-teachers/

Monks collect alms (food and money, whatever is needed to help them sustain their lifestyle in the temples). Buddhists make merit by showing gratitude through offerings, and Ajarn Jay was kind enough to share his offering with me.  He received more merit by sharing, and I earned merit by giving the food.  It was a win, win for all!  It was a satisfying feeling to stand among 3000 students who have the inherent qualities of generosity and gratitude.  I found some of my M3 students to share the experience with--and I think they appreciated my interest and participation.  We waited together for the monks to make their rounds.  I was aware that monks cannot touch women, but I learned today that they cannot even take something directly from a woman's hands.  As you can see from the photo below, I had to place my offering in the alms bowl first.

So, needless to say, later in the morning I found my gratitude in a much purer place.

wokin' hard in the kitchen

I've heard great things about Thai cooking classes, so I decided to plan a weekend in town and take one.  I even got a friend to do it, too!  The Silom Thai Cooking School--sounds fancy, but it's tucked away at the back of a long, narrow alley on the third floor of a small apartment building, as quaint as it can be.

We met at the market to pick up the supplies on our menu and learn a few things about the vegetables, herbs, and other ingredients we would use.  Including chilies from set your hair on fire inferno hot to they're only used to add color.  I'm a mai sai prik (or a 'ah no spy-CEE') kind of a girl, so if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's too hot!...or something like that...At least I was able to control the spiciness of my own dishes, and my taste buds actually enjoyed some delicious Thai food for a change.  Because there's nothing worse than have the spice hit you in the back of your throat--the kind that makes you cough and your eyes water.  Especially when you have to ration your water because you're no longer in the land of free drink refills.  But I digress.

They had the tiny 3 room apartment running like a fine oiled machine with at least 15 students cutting and stirring and eating and never getting in one another's way.  It was traditional cooking in the sense that we were preparing our food while sitting on the floor.  Despite having strangers' bare feet within inches of my food, I was into the experience.  Kind of liberating.

My favorite dishes:

• Chicken Galangal Coconut Soup (tom-kha-gai)--it was very much like tom-yum without the intense spiciness and a different base. 
• Fried Cashew Nuts with Chicken (gai-pad-med-mamaung)--lightly fried cubes of chicken, cashews, and vegetables, lightly coated in a sweet sauce. 
• Desert Banana in Coconut Milk (khluy-buad-chee)--it's as simple and delicious as it sounds (I think.  I don't remember preparing this).

It was a fun day!  What's great about this cooking school is that they offer several different courses (menus) on different days, so I plan to go back and learn how to make some of my other Thai favs--vegetable fried rice (khao-pad-pak) and green papaya salad (som-tam).  I can't wait to come home and test these recipes out for friends and family and share this part of my experience.  Cheers!