Ever hear of a forest monk?

[rug]

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- Venerable Ajahn Cagino, 43, lives in a cave with two snakes and eight bats. The cave is 2km from the nearest village in Mae Hong Son in northern Thailand. Nestled in a deep valley hemmed in by high mountain ranges that border Myanmar, Mae Hong Son is isolated from the outside world and is covered with mist throughout the year.

“I’ve had enough of wandering,” says the Malaysian monk of the Thai Forest Tradition, which is a branch of Theravada Buddhism.

For 12 years, Cagino had been walking through the remotest jungles of Thailand, before settling down in a cave. It was all part of the spiritual training of a forest monk.

All those years in the forest have brought out the best in him. Cagino, who is back in Malaysia on a vassa (a three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners during the rainy season), is out to raise funds to build an orphanage in Thailand.

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=5,10435,0,0,1,0

[orpupilofnature57]

1. I have to say ,Buddhists don't Jihad or Crusade or preach, they exist.

[Speck Tater]

2. Google Ajahn Chah, my teacher's teacher. nt

[Warpy]

3. Check this out

http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/ The abbot was trained in Thailand and his lectures and guided meditations are available for download.

If you've ever had any questions about this stuff, this is as good a place as any to find the answers. It's all extremely accessible and non dogmatic.