I've been doing quite a bit of hiking lately around the many mountains and lovely forests that envelope Chiang Mai. The picture above was taken by David on the way up Doi Suthep mountain a few weeks ago were discovered that the sky, often full of smog, was the clearest we'd ever seen! We just had to take in the view. (That day we also discovered that my not-so-young car can make it up the steep mountains! ... good girl.)
I recently went up to national cabins with my colleagues on a meditation retreat, just 150 meters uphill from the Doi Suthep temple. The picture above is my walking meditation in the spirit of the forest-monk traditions of Thailand.Incidentally, our spiritual retreat was held the same weekend as the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. All morning the faithful made their walk up the 300 plus flights of stairs with flowers to place on Buddha images.
The monks were chanting and the temple bells were ringing, tapped by the constant flow of the faithful into the temple. At the same time, 150 meters up the mountain, we were singing Taizé Christian songs between contemplative silences. Our music and singing, along with the bells and the monk-chants, made for a surprisingly pleasant cacophony of spiritual sounds.
The monks were chanting and the temple bells were ringing, tapped by the constant flow of the faithful into the temple. At the same time, 150 meters up the mountain, we were singing Taizé Christian songs between contemplative silences. Our music and singing, along with the bells and the monk-chants, made for a surprisingly pleasant cacophony of spiritual sounds.Listen to the spiritual cacophony by playing both parts at once
(above Taizé 'Alleluia,' and below chant of 'The Three Refuges')
[Listening may require Quicktime plug-in and settings]
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5 comments:
wonderful pictures (especially that gorgeous panorama at the top of the page!!) you're the ezra pound to my t.s.eliot of the blogosphere! (me being eliot of course). enjoying immensely.
D, I have only you to thank for those wonderful pics! On the subject of writing, you may have noticed that I have fused several incidents into a single coherent narrative ... call that the modernist muse if you will, or basic storytelling.
Hey, I am not religious, and I can live without music, but the blending of choir and chanting sound nice to ears ;-)
Nalika, that I got you to listen and enjoy choir and chanting, at the same time no less, is in itself a masterful achievement! Now for the 'not-religious' part ;) ...
Great shots of the cities. Reminds me of the Philippines. The people there were very warm, particularly to outsiders (probably because American). Jealous of the great experience you are certainly having.
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