Dharma direct

       Cultivating mindfulness is still possible in a hectic urban lifestyle
       Story by SIRINYA WATTANASUKCHAI
       Find a place that puts your mind and body at peace, and practise
       "Phra Rajchapatiphanmuni Assistant abbot of Wat Prayurawongse
       " How could I completely change in just a few days? Patty Lerdwittayaskul Practitioner
       Dressed in business attire, Patty Lerdwittayaskul entered her riverside hotel room on a Friday afternoon in February to find a room without a fluffy king-size bed as indicated in the hotel brochure. Surprisingly, Patty didn't complain, and even seemed satisfied with the odd arrangement.
       After all, this wasn't her usual weekend break, a point underscored by her all-white outfits in her overnight bag, and absence of her usual cosmetic pack. Patty, a marketing communications manager for an international hotel management chain by profession, had been seeking a vipassana course to attend for the past year.
       "I could never tolerate the shared bathroom with dozens of practitioners at the temple," says the young executive in her early thirties who's used to the city lifestyle and modern facilities at home and in her office surroundings. She applied for the course and requested the bed be removed to meet the eight precepts, which include refraining from sleeping on a comfortable bed, all forms of entertainment and wearing make-up.
       A part of the Montien Tham project, the vipassana course is designed especially for people like Patty,urbanites who wish to practise vipassana without leaving their lifestyles behind. The programme features morning and evening prayers, walking meditation by the river and dharma talks by Phra Rajchapatiphanmuni, assistant abbot of Wat Prayurawongse - all held in a peaceful, air-conditioned function room of a hotel.
       This is a new approach to dharma for urban people. In the past, Buddhist practitioners comprising mostly elderly people - learned dharma only from the monks in the temples. Instead of waiting until retirement, people are now absorbing dharma into their everyday lives as the content has not only been simplified but also become more easily accessible in the form of print and sound.
       After the vipassana course, Patty listens to dharma talks from CDs in her car. Busakorn Onpradit,marketing director for Thai Edible Oil Co Ltd, studies it from books, while others turn on the TV, visit dharma websites, or download dharma talks onto their MP3 players or mobile phones to listen to during the day, or on the bus.
       Phra Rajchapatiphanmuni says many Buddhists are too attached to the conventional way: Going to the temple wearing white - the symbol of purity - listening to dharma and practicing vipassana.The assistant abbot says people in ancient India enjoyed a sermon by the Buddha in the heart of Delhi.
       The new approach of dharma is to cultivate mindfulness in order that practitioners can be mindful of their every thought and action. Studying dharma and practicing vipassana can be done elsewhere: A religious or non-religious institution, a hotel, an office or at home.
       "Find a place that puts your mind and body at peace, and practise," says the assistant abbot. Practising vipassana in a hotel can put city people at ease and increases their willingness to learn things,he says. There's no point in forcing them to live in the simple confinements of a temple or surrounded by nature if they are used to the luxury of modern facilities."They will never learn a thing in a forced situation." People will eventually come back to the temple when they feel comfortable.
       Dharma has therefore become more easily accessible for all, especially urban dwellers who are often viewed as loose religious practitioners.Excuses such as lack of time and bad traffic are not applicable. Dharma talks and evening prayers can be held in the heart of the city. Turn on the TV and a new generation of monks are communicating with simpler messages. Or just check your SMS:Dharma content is being delivered direct into mobile phones.
       Busakorn started practicing vipassana 10 years ago out of curiosity. Since then, the mindfulness she learned from the different courses at religious institutions and temples has kept her sane in the secular world. She's been enjoying books and talks elsewhere, in and outside the temples.
       Believers are opening to the fact that dharma can be discussed everywhere, not just in temples.Kalind Surawong Bunnag once discussed dharma with Christians and Muslims in a church."So why not in my hotel?" he queried.
       The Tawantham project was launched three years ago at Tawana Hotel for people in the Surawong area to attend evening prayers, every first and third Monday without being stuck in the evening rush hour. Many hotels in the area have followed suit.
       In the past decade, DMG CEO Danai Chanchaochai has held dharma talks in his Buddhakaya meeting room every Monday and Wednesday evening. All these talks cater to the urban demand, says Danai.
       The urban craving for dharma has become visible during the past several years.
       Half of the best-selling books in Thailand are basic and applied dharma. Having earned success with his business how-to books in 2003, Danai's best-seller turned out to be Sia-dai Khon Tai Mai Dai Arn (What a Shame the Dead Can't Read It) by Dungtrin, which topped the best-seller list for four years and is now in its 43rd edition. Amarin Dharma Books has released dozens of books on basic and applied dharma during the past five years.
       The craving for dharma is the mixed result of a faster pace of life and stress from the declining global economy, says comparative religion lecturer Tavivat Puntarigvivat at Mahidol University.
       Unlike people of the past generation, who sought nirvana through vipassana practice, people today are happy to seek moments of peace and serenity in their chaotic life.
       Financial stress often forces people to seek moral support, and many of them are lured into black magic.
       Tavivat points out dependency on the supernatural reaches a high only when the economy and spirit of the people falls low.
       The Phra Suphan Kalaya phenomenon emerged during the Tom Yum Kung crisis, while the Jatukham Ramathep amulets became a hit a few years ago.
       The new economic crisis is here, the lecturer says; fortune-tellers are making a fortune from people who are made to believe that their bad karma from past deeds in a previous life can be discontinued by certain rituals.
       "People are willing to pay for any possible solutions when they come to a dead-end, although it's a science of the ignorant," says Tavivat. Karma is only a consequence of the previous deed.
       Patty believes so. She does not expect to attain nirvana or become a nun after her three-day vipassana at the riverside hotel, but expects to cultivate mindfulness."How could I completely change in just a few days?"
       But even before the second course at the same hotel begins next week, Patty has learned how to spend a few peaceful moments with herself something she never knew before - and how to let go of things. She has begun to visit temples and make donations.
       The donations support the religion and the religion supports the people, keeping them balanced.
       Phra Rajchapatiphanmuni is glad to hear this;his mission is complete.
       His weekly trips to the hotels to preach to urbanites not only help keep them at peace but also brings them back to the temples.