I went to Bodhinyana Monastery, which is located about an hour from Perth Airport. It's in a peaceful location, covered by a forest area. This was my third time there, and this time I prepared myself psychologically not to expect anything at all. I wanted to go with low or better yet, no expectations. It's interesting, right? I'm flying thousands of miles away—around a 15-20 hour journey from India—and I have no goal. This might sound paradoxical, but if you want good results, both in meditation and life, you have to let go of expectations and practice complete contentment. Even if you're feeling overwhelmed, restless, or bored, you have to be with that feeling with kindness, and acceptance, and just let things be. Then the magic happens ✨

 
Anyway, coming back to the story, as I arrived, I stayed in the Bodhinyana for around 10 days. It was hectic initially. We used to wake up around 5:30 to 6 a.m., and there was breakfast at 6:30 a.m. As a guest, I helped prepare and clean up after breakfast. There were, I think, around 26 monks and 2-3 guests initially, so we had to prepare breakfast and help with the cleanup every day. From Tuesday to Friday, there were workdays from 7:30 a.m. to around 9 a.m. The work could be as easy as gardening, removing weeds, or sweeping leaves around the monastery boundaries (my favourite job, haha) or as hard as cutting and lifting heavy pieces of wood in the forest area, painting, or doing physical labour in the workshop. 
 
After work, I cleaned myself and then returned to help in the kitchen, usually around 9:30 a.m. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., anagarikas and guests helped prepare the meal in the kitchen. Visitors were coming, so I took food from the visitors and arranged it. There were multiple tasks in the kitchen, but I won't go into detail right now. Around 10:30, we had a big buffet—really a big, delicious buffet. It might sound a little hypocritical for a monastery, but it wasn't like that when Ajahn Brahm started this around 30 years ago. He has received enormous support because he has done so much service, and people admire and respect him so much.  

 
So, first, the monks and nuns eat, and then the guests and all the visitors have their meal. It's interesting, sometimes during mealtime, I could observe my cravings, like when the monks or people ahead of me leave just one piece of chocolate pastry. I would think, "Oh, I hope nobody takes that. I want it." It's really funny how we can see our desires during mealtime.

After mealtime, we again had to do the cleanup. Lunch cleanup took at least one hour or more at times, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We cleaned up, swept, and mopped the kitchen area and the outside area where people dined 😮‍💨
 
After that, I would like to have a cup of coffee and maybe chat with some other guests, but not always because I didn't come here to chat. I came here to spend as much time as possible in meditation and reading Buddhist texts. Sometimes an occasional chat is fine, and most of the time the chat was around Buddhist practice, so it was helpful. After the chat, we went back to our kutis. I was lucky; I got a very nice kuti, and there were two more guests there. 

 
I am more of a night person, so I would rest during the daytime, maybe take a 20-30 minute nap, or sometimes read or walk around the forest area. It was so nice. I love walking in nature; it's so calming and soothing. After that, I would check with my body and mind. If I felt like meditating, I would go to the Dhamma hall for meditation. The meditation hall is amazing; it has so much energy. It's incredible. It's a very rare kind of place. 
 
It's an amazing place because many amazing monks, nuns, and lay Buddhist practitioners have been meditating there. In the evening, since it's a Buddhist monastery and I'm staying as a guest, I was keeping the 8 precepts. We only take the meal before 12 pm. After that, we can have tea, coffee (without milk) dark chocolates, honey, or other allowed items. I would go to the kitchen and have tea or dark chocolates.
 
In the evening, being a night person, I am more active and would meditate a lot. While I was there, an Ajahn Brahm meditation retreat was also taking place. Occasionally, I would visit the nearby retreat centre, listen to talks, participate in question-and-answer sessions, and practice meditation with the group. However, I prioritized meditation for myself in the evening. My goal, as long as I was in Bodhinyana, was to milk the Dhamma hall for meditation as much as possible. 
 
I would then return to my kuti, read some suttas, or sometimes just sit around, watch the trees, and resist doing much. Later in the evening, around 8/9 pm, or sometimes even 11 pm, I would go to the Dhamma hall for meditation. This was my routine for the 10 days.

Now, I'll tell you a more interesting part. During the initial 10 days, I encountered some guests with whom there were conflicts. It's common in a monastery setting to meet people whose values might not align with you. I developed some ill will towards a few people and had to actively work through it. The Buddha says to remove ill will by recognizing good qualities in others and practising metta, which means loving-kindness or simply love. I practised this a lot and was mindful of it. 
 
In the initial 4-5 days, it was fine, but as the first week progressed, I struggled with desires, especially about sexuality and sensuality. The 8th and 9th days were particularly challenging as my mind was overwhelmed with desires. I did nothing but make peace with it, knowing such challenges could arise, as it was my third time at the monastery. I didn't try to rid myself of the desires or indulge them but simply existed, making peace, being kind, and seeing the danger in them and joy in renunciation, in short, I applied wisdom.

I reminded myself that being in a monastery is a rare opportunity, not a place for indulging in sensual or sexual thoughts. If I wished to enjoy sensuality, I could always return to a city like Delhi, why waste such a rare opportunity?
 
I used various methods to overcome such thoughts and, after the 10th day in Bodhinyana, I went to the Jhana Grove meditation centre for a self-retreat, staying there for five days. The Jhana Grove was almost empty, with only two or three people, and it was very quiet. Initially, the silence was too much, and some people mentioned that the quiet could drive others mad. However, my practice of metta meditation made it work well for me. 
 
I do want to acknowledge that there was a general feeling of anxiety and restlessness during the first two weeks. It took time for me to settle down and identify the five hindrances, which include the ill-will experience I mentioned above. I also took Ajahn Brahm's book "Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond" from the library, which offered guidance on overcoming the five hindrances. I skimmed through the chapters as and when required.
 
Even though I didn't initially talk about the five hindrances, I noticed a lot of ill will towards subtle things. For instance, when breath meditation didn't work, I felt ill will towards the breath itself. It's interesting to develop ill will toward a meditation object, but I overcame it through Metta (loving-kindness or love). During my stay at Jhana Grove, I practised a lot of metta meditation, which helped me.
 
When I came back from Jhana Grove to Bodhiyana on the 14th of November, another meditation retreat was happening. This time, I got a room in the Anagarika block, reserved for upcoming or current Anagarikas. It was so peaceful, and I am deeply grateful for it. The block has its walking meditation path. I focused a lot on giving service and doing my best. Whether working in the kitchen, meditating, or doing nothing, I gave it my all. As my return to Delhi approached, with only five or six days left, I prioritized my practice and engaged in some interviews with the monks, asking questions. It was an interesting experience. Perhaps I'll write about my conversations with monks some other time.

 
I remember, during my arrival at Bodhinyana, it was like I hit a brick wall. It was completely different. I noticed a lot of internal chatter happening in my head, which was hard to notice in Delhi because I was so busy and occupied every moment. 
 
I had to work a lot to initially decompress and let things be. If I try to get rid of my thoughts, it will get worse. I cannot get rid of something that is out of my control. I have to make peace with whatever is happening. I have to use wisdom and skilful effort. 
 
Anyway, if any of you are thinking of spending some time in a monastic environment, I would highly recommend doing so. You can also book a meditation retreat here with Ajahn Brahm. There are more things I want to share. I also had some chats with a few monks regarding meditation, Buddhist practice, and some practical questions, but this might get too long now. I will do another blog post this time, going into detail about my conversations with the monks and more deeper aspects of practice.

- with Metta,
Shivam