These training precepts are guidelines for good conduct in body and speech and provide a necessary foundation for the development of mindfulness, clear comprehension and meditation in the endeavor to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. They also promote harmony within the community and a sense of restraint and require much self-discipline. They are taken up as an act of deliberate personal choice and initiative.
Practicalities for Visiting Wat Pah Nanachat :
If you wish to come and stay at Wat Pah Nanachat, you must be willing to make a commitment of at least seven days. Regardless of how long you plan to stay, we see how things are going after an initial three days, and then let you know if you can continue your stay. Normally, the maximum length of stay for guests is 30 days (not including candidates for ordination).
First you need to write a letter well in advance to the guest monk, informing us of your proposed length of stay and arrival date. Writing well in advance makes it easier for us to schedule a place for you, and send a timely reply. As places are limited, during busy periods we may have to deny a place to those who have not sent their application early. Wat Pah Nanachat receives a lot of visitors around January 12th to 17th and around June 16th. Accommodations are likely to be full around these days and it may be necessary to turn down guests on arrival.
Please arrive during the morning hours, if possible. Most convenient is before 8:00 am, so you can take part in the daily meal, and afterwards speak with the guest monk. Heis usually available between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. We normally cannot accept arrivals later than 4:30 pm.
On arrival at Wat Pah Nanachat you need to register with the guestmonk with a valid passport and visa (or visa on arrival). Without these papers you can not stay at Wat Pah Nanachat. All guests need to prove that they are in good physical and mental health and to have health coverage or a travel insurance and sufficient funds for emergencies, possible visa extensions and further travel. If you have previously had any mental illnesses, including depressive phases and signs of psychotic episodes, we can not allow you to stay, as in the case of reoccurring symptoms there is practically no professional help available for foreigners in Ubon.
Resident lay guests in Wat Pah Nanachat wear traditional Thai lay monastic attire: loose white and long trousers with a white shirt for men, and a white blouse and long black skirt for women. Men staying longer than one week are asked to shave their heads, beards and eyebrows.
While the monastery provides bedding and a mosquito net, guests are expected to supply other requisites (e.g. a good flashlight/torch, a classic alarm clock (not a mobile phone!), flip-flop sandals, candles, mosquito repellent and toiletries). A padlock for locking away personal valuables is very useful. There is no malaria at Wat Pah Nanachat. The monks are happy to share the food and drinks that are offered to them with the layguests each morning, but as it is part of the renunciant tradition to accept whatever is offered, they are unable to arrange any special diets for the guests or residents.
Please do not bring electronic gadgets like mobile phones, portable computers, tablets, cameras, etc. with you, or lock them away in the monastery safe. These things create a worldly atmosphere which impinges on the simple, meditative lifestyle in the monastery. Also, this is a strictly non-smoking monastery.
The very existence of Wat Pah Nanachat is due to the faith and goodwill of the Thai people. The society of rural Northeast Thailand is culturally conservative and still upholds many of their unique traditional values. Guests are required to respect and be sensitive to these local traditions through being mindful of appropriate dress and deportment. Please note that the financial expenses of the monastery are completely covered by the donations out of faith and free will by our lay-community, whether local or international.
When staying as a lay practitioner at Wat Pah Nanachat it is not possible to use the internet unless you especially make a trip to town. For the sake of supporting the quietness of the monastery and in order to provide a certain amount of continuity in the monastic routine, our standard is to not leave the monastery more than once a fortnight, and it is necessary to ask for permission each time.
Food and lodging are given free of charge to Wat Pah Nanachat's lay guests as an extension to the ordained sangha. Please honour the faith and hospitality that Wat Pah Nanachat receives from the villagers and it's Thai lay supporters. You are welcome to benefit from these gifts for the sake of your commitment to the spiritual path. Guests who do not show an attitude of training themselves within this path, display inappropriate worldly behavior, or appear to be merely stopping over on a tourist trip, may be asked to leave, in order to not undermine the respect for our community.