Do i have to let Wat Pah Nanachat, Wat Suan Mokh know i am coming beforehand?

[Strive4Karuna]

Do I have to let Wat Pah Nanachat, Wat Suan Mokh know if i am coming beforehand?

Necessary to let them know beforehand? Takes a long time to send them request by mail. Maybe a few months to get a reply.

Has anyone just showed up and have been allowed to stay? Looking to stay for about a month.

I saw a video on Youtube and a person said sometimes he just shows up there and is allowed to stay. Is this common? Especially for first timer?
Regards.

[JamesTheGiant]

When I asked the Guest Monk at Nanachat why he never replied to my letter, he said they don't usually reply to people asking to come. They have a lot of accommodation, in dorms if there are no kutis available.
He said he only replies to people if they are unsuitable or if there's some huge festival.
So just send a letter with all your contact details, arrival date, duration of stay, etc, and then just go, expecting to be able to stay. Letters take a maximum of about two weeks from anywhere to Ubon I think.

Take some white shirts, and arrive in the morning before the meal. That way the guest monk can process you after Dana. Taxi from Ubon Ratchathani is pretty cheap.

[DooDoot]

Do I have to let Wat Suan Mokh know if i am coming beforehand?

No.

For retreats (held in formal meditation centre):

Suan Mokkh 10-day silent med­i­ta­tion retreats start at the 1st of each month. Regi­stra­tion is the day before, which is the last day of the pre­vi­ous month (eg 31st of December for the January retreat, 30th of June for the July retreat). Registration has to be in person. Advance booking is not possible. There are no facilities for postal, telephone or email bookings. We strictly adhere to the "First come, first serve" - principle. The dead­line for regi­stra­tion is 3:00 p.m. You can arrive at Suan Mokkh a day early, the day before reg­is­tra­tion, spend the night free of charge at the main mon­as­tery and walk to the retreat center early on Reg­is­tra­tion Day.

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-registration.html

Before & after retreats (in the old forest monastery):

Anyone arriving early for a retreat, wanting to stay longer or arriving during re­treats is wel­come to stay, ini­tial­ly for up to seven days, at the main mon­as­tery. If, after seven days, you intend to pro­long your stay, you need to get per­mis­sion by the abbot of Suan Mokkh or his rep­re­sen­ta­tive. Per­mis­sion will readily be granted to dedi­cated medi­tators and students of Buddhism. Doing a chore (com­mu­nity work like sweeping leaves) while staying is part of the practice.

Ac­com­mo­dation in dorms (for men) or in­di­vid­ual rooms (for wom­en) is free; food is avail­able inside the mon­as­tery or at the nearby stalls.

Please note that there are neither organised activities nor a certain schedule to be fol­lowed, no teachings or instructions been offered while staying at the main Suan Mokkh mon­as­tery. This possibility is there­fore most suitable for people who have done a retreat at the In­ter­na­tion­al Dharma Her­mit­age already or for experienced med­ita­tors who can use the wat's facilities without guidance.

Staying at the main mon­as­tery provides an in­ter­est­ing op­por­tu­nity to get in touch with the monastic lifestyle of forest monks in Thai­land. It is not necessary to dress in white and you do not have to keep silent while staying there but you are asked to dress and behave re­spect­fully and to keep the Eight precepts as described in the Basic Rules page of this website.

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-wat.html

[Strive4Karuna]

When I asked the Guest Monk at Nanachat why he never replied to my letter, he said they don't usually reply to people asking to come. They have a lot of accommodation, in dorms if there are no kutis available.
He said he only replies to people if they are unsuitable or if there's some huge festival.
So just send a letter with all your contact details, arrival date, duration of stay, etc, and then just go, expecting to be able to stay. Letters take a maximum of about two weeks from anywhere to Ubon I think.

Take some white shirts, and arrive in the morning before the meal. That way the guest monk can process you after Dana. Taxi from Ubon Ratchathani is pretty cheap.

James, thank you for the reply. Best Regards

[Strive4Karuna]

Do I have to let Wat Suan Mokh know if i am coming beforehand?

No.

For retreats (held in formal meditation centre):

Suan Mokkh 10-day silent med­i­ta­tion retreats start at the 1st of each month. Regi­stra­tion is the day before, which is the last day of the pre­vi­ous month (eg 31st of December for the January retreat, 30th of June for the July retreat). Registration has to be in person. Advance booking is not possible. There are no facilities for postal, telephone or email bookings. We strictly adhere to the "First come, first serve" - principle. The dead­line for regi­stra­tion is 3:00 p.m. You can arrive at Suan Mokkh a day early, the day before reg­is­tra­tion, spend the night free of charge at the main mon­as­tery and walk to the retreat center early on Reg­is­tra­tion Day.

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-registration.html

Before & after retreats (in the old forest monastery):

Anyone arriving early for a retreat, wanting to stay longer or arriving during re­treats is wel­come to stay, ini­tial­ly for up to seven days, at the main mon­as­tery. If, after seven days, you intend to pro­long your stay, you need to get per­mis­sion by the abbot of Suan Mokkh or his rep­re­sen­ta­tive. Per­mis­sion will readily be granted to dedi­cated medi­tators and students of Buddhism. Doing a chore (com­mu­nity work like sweeping leaves) while staying is part of the practice.

Ac­com­mo­dation in dorms (for men) or in­di­vid­ual rooms (for wom­en) is free; food is avail­able inside the mon­as­tery or at the nearby stalls.

Please note that there are neither organised activities nor a certain schedule to be fol­lowed, no teachings or instructions been offered while staying at the main Suan Mokkh mon­as­tery. This possibility is there­fore most suitable for people who have done a retreat at the In­ter­na­tion­al Dharma Her­mit­age already or for experienced med­ita­tors who can use the wat's facilities without guidance.

Staying at the main mon­as­tery provides an in­ter­est­ing op­por­tu­nity to get in touch with the monastic lifestyle of forest monks in Thai­land. It is not necessary to dress in white and you do not have to keep silent while staying there but you are asked to dress and behave re­spect­fully and to keep the Eight precepts as described in the Basic Rules page of this website.

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-wat.html

Doodoot, thank you!

[DooDoot]

Doodoot, thank you!

If you are interested in formal retreats, an addition 7 days retreat is also on Koh Samui Island, where bookings are required: http://dipabhavan.weebly.com/retreat-booking.html It is a beautiful part of the world.

Click image to enlarge.

[Zom]

Has anyone just showed up and have been allowed to stay? Looking to stay for about a month.

I've been there in Suan Mokh some 3-4 times, I don't even remember now, it was quite some time ago. Back in those days you didn't need to inform them about your visit. And you could stay as a guest in a guest house for as long as you like.

[Strive4Karuna]

Doodoot, thank you!

If you are interested in formal retreats, an addition 7 days retreat is also on Koh Samui Island, where bookings are required: http://dipabhavan.weebly.com/retreat-booking.html It is a beautiful part of the world.

Click image to enlarge.

Sounds amazing thanks doodoot

[Strive4Karuna]

Has anyone just showed up and have been allowed to stay? Looking to stay for about a month.

I've been there in Suan Mokh some 3-4 times, I don't even remember now, it was quite some time ago. Back in those days you didn't need to inform them about your visit. And you could stay as a guest in a guest house for as long as you like.

Zom, thanks for the reply