silent retreat

Not me.  I am not in the right frame of mind to do a 10-day silent retreat with meditation everyday from sun up to sun down.  But Iron-wife is doing it with the good fortune of this year's mid-Autumn festival is 3-day long next week.  The week after that, people just don't work hard because of October 1 holiday, our motherland's birthday.  So there goes 2 more weeks of "celebration".  With that, she'll be doing this everyday!   It's also like camping, have to bring everything and I mean everything!  The fee?  Since this is her first time, it is in the form of a donation amount at her choosing.  

4:00 a.m.---------------------Morning wake-up bell 4:30-6:30 a.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room  6:30-8:00 a.m.----------------Breakfast break 8:00-9:00 a.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall 9:00-11:00 a.m.---------------Meditate in the hall or in your room                                 according to the teacher's instructions 11:00-12:00 noon--------------Lunch break 12noon-1:00 p.m.--------------Rest, and interviews with the teacher 1:00-2:30 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room  2:30-3:30 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall 3:30-5:00 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room                                 according to the teacher's instructions 5:00-6:00 p.m.----------------Tea break 6:00-7:00 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall 7:00-8:15 p.m.----------------Teacher's Discourse in the hall 8:15-9:00 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall 9:00-9:30 p.m.----------------Question time in the hall 9:30 p.m.---------------------Retire to your room; lights out

Before we send her off to the mountain, she'll visit with our good friend's parents first.  They happen to be at the same area, at Tai Zhong.  Not bad.  To make Iron-wife's travel arrangement and all, thanks to the Internet, Instant Messaging and cheap LD via VOIP, our friend and I were able to make this travel arrangement in an hour.  I was in Shanghai, he was in San Fran, his parents sitting at home in Tai Zhong.  We had her overnight hotel booked and transport picked up done, very smoothly.  What I am getting at is the convenient the Internet technology provided for us these days.  We took it for granted.  My Taiwanese friend showed me the hotel, actually a home-stay, instantly along with the vegetarian restaurant.  Here are the links: http://www.romancehouse.com.tw/room.htm     http://www.bodhi-aranya.com/beginning.htm.

The first one is the home-stay and the second is the restaurant.  I would have gone along just for the visit while Iron-wife does her retreat.  There are two groups of Canadian friends visiting spanning the two weekends.  So no go.  Next time I guess.