It’s been an interesting week here in Chennai with the beginning of the monsoon season. Torrential rain has made it difficult on almost ever level. Since my mode of transportation is a bicycle, flood rains make it hard to get about for shopping (food and clothing, I am still working on an Indian wardrobe) or Internet (communication with you all) or you name it. I showed up for a class at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram
( more on that in another post) soaked through to the skin, literally!!
Thusly, life has been a bit like living in a terrarium, with everything damp and soggy. Chennai is tropical, and the plant life is amazing; palms, ferns, and flowering trees to boggle the mind. With the onset of rain, the mosquito population has increased exponentially. Now my life involves a combination of skin repellant and citronella candles and benzocaine. A first for me is waking up with bites on my lips!! a bit like collagen injections!!
All this then is the backdrop for a Vipassana meditation retreat with a visiting teacher, Ajahn Sumedho Bhikkhu, of the Thai Theravaden Buddhist tradition. Imagine torrential rain, mosquitoes, and 6 hours of meditation a day! Sumedho is an amazing teacher and I am so very blessed to have this opportunity to practice with him. However it is a bit comical. When the Buddhist’s say heaven and hell are the same thing, they mean it!
It’s a bit hard to take photos in the rain. These were taken during the daily lull in rain and will give you some perspective. Well, if I was looking to be comfortable ……. ! I hope that the love and prayers from the fire in my heart will arrive dry to you all there Stateside.
Namaste
Anne Nowell 