Break to Meditate

Returned on March 20th from serving on a 3 day old-student Vipassana meditation course at Dhamma Āloka - a Vipassana meditation center just outside Melbourne. Serving was a frugal way for me to have a break from the daily grind of playing poker and to refresh and refocus my meditation practice.

Serving on a Vipassana meditation course is a voluntary activity undertaken by old students as a way of donating to others. This stint involved working in the kitchen, interspersed with the compulsory meditation sittings that the servers are required to attend. So, while the meditation center provides a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, food, and the opportunity to meditate regularly each day, I provide some of the labour that enables the course to be provided frugally.

The routine was bracing for this guy in his mid-fifties who hasn't worked in paid employment for several years. Up each morning at 05:10 for a quick shower before helping prepare breakfast for around 40 students/servers with a serving time of 06:30. Followed by breakfast cleanup and attending a one hour group sitting at 08:00. from 09:00 - 11:00 is spent working towards serving lunch at 11:00 followed by cleanup through to 13:00 where the servers take a break until the 14:30 - 15:30 group sitting. 15:30 through to 17:00 is spent preparing for tomorrow's main meal and preparing lemon & ginger water for the old students to take at 17:00. Work through to just before 18:00 when another group sit happens through to 19:00. 19:00 through to 21:00 depends on where we are with respect to preparing food for the next day, and if all prepared then the kitchen servers can sit in the hall and either listen to the discourse from 19:00 and/or the final meditation which commences after a short break following the discourse.

Three days break from poker was a good move. My last two sessions prior to serving on the course were not good. In particular the final session was a session I should have quit on very early in the session. Mentally I was not there and was not following the action at the table.  While I have yet to have a session where I have been mentally tuned in and focussed for the entire session, I am improving in my ability to catch myself and bring my attention back to the table to refocus my attention on the action. But in my last session I was finding it very difficult to stay focused for even one hand at a time