SUAN MOKKH STYLE :

The purpose of Dhamma practice here is to get free of the tyranny of ego in order to live peacefully (inrealization of Nibbana) and usefully (in service to Dhamma and humanity). Thus residents try to practice unselfishness in everything they do — meditation, study, work, talk, sleep, and whatever life asks. Suan Mokkh is not a “meditation center” per se where people come only to “meditate.” This is a Garden of Liberation,a place to study and practice Dhamma in a wholistic way.Study and investigation of Buddha-Dhamma given in the Pali suttas is an essential foundation for practice. Joyful service for others is the context of practiceThus cultivating RightUnderstanding and Right Aspiration with the path of samatha and vipassana becomes liberation now. Each person integrates the three as pects of study, service, and meditation in the way that works for them. With growing mindfulness and wisdom, temporary liberation blossoms into the perfect voidness empty of “I” and “mine,” full of wisdom and peace.

Sort By

Jennifer Hoult

Overall Experience

I went January 2016. A wonderful place for people who seek rigorous discipline living under Thai Buddhist monastic rules. Dedicated to the profound search for nibbana by practicing simple (but challenging) Theravada meditation techniques. Beautiful grounds. Waking to the sonority of the enormous Buddhist bell ringing at 4AM. Meditation beginning at 4:30AM. Yoga at dawn. Excellent simple vegetarian good. Magical coconut grove and hot springs. Not a spa vacation. Lights out at 9:30PM. A cement bed with a wooden pillow & mosquito net & blanket. Cold water communal bathing (in sarongs). No nudity outside your room. Daily chores. Many many hours a day of (attempting) meditation. Sitting, walking, standing meditations. No speaking. Two meals a day, plus afternoon tea (which is only tea). No other food allowed. No sex, no visiting dorms of the opposite sex. Not a pick-up joint. No alcohol or caffeine. No sugar. No electronic devices. No books. No cell phone. No TV or internet. A serious monastic plunge. Challenging, intense, you will be confronted with surprising realms (and storms and sorrows and peace and joy) in yourself. Heaven if it suits you. Probably hell if it doesn’t. As for me, the evening frog-songs still serenade me when I am on my zafu, and I feel the great Banyan tree sheltering me even so far away, while the millions of tiny ants race in their tiny alleys to and from her sheltering branches.
5 years ago
cecile dubreuil

Overall Experience

Hello Dhamma friends,
I wanted to share with you my last meditation in January 2019 .
I came 6 times in this beautiful place , the first time was in 2011 january but I did come back since 2014.
When I did my first interview this year with the Thaï lady , she told me that there was a new restructuration .
And what a disappointment I lived during all this retreat ..
It’s not a silent meditatation retreat anymore, so many talks and individual comments broke this beautiful atmosphere…
It starts very early in the morning with a very long talk and a guiding meditation…. instead of letting the silent settle down slowly…especially at this time.
We finally meditate in silence for 15 minutes only …..
then…it continues before each meals with a very loud speech over a microphone to teach us the way Bouddha used to take his meal (it’s interesting but really not at this moment ..and not in this context) .
About the Dhamma talks, it used to be very active with Tan Dhammavidu but this time it’s was difficult to be concentrated all the time with the tapes of Bouddadassa Bikkhu talks .
The chanting used to be optional, it was this time obligatory. It will have been ok if we only have to chant but it was more about comments than chanting…
The best day was the 9th day….. peaceful , silence , presence , no talks, no comments, just the present moment …..

During all the year, it is difficult to find silence in our life, the media are more and more important, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to know that such a place like Suan Mokh existed and that we could escape from our noisy world to pay more attention about our mind and the way it works.
I have had a wonderful experiences over this place and thanks to the precious silence and it helps me a lot in my behavior.

I will have a proposition to make, why don’t you organize two halls of meditation, one is always free near the pond for the people who like to meditate without talks and noise and the big one for the one who need more explanation …?????

I feel sad because I am not sure I would like to come again in your new conditions.Please let me know how you feel,
I know that I am not the only person who feel the same way, I did not dare to tell you this when I finish my meditation that is why I wrote to you today but I read the comment in Trip Advisor and I know that people would like to find Suan Mock as it used to be.
Silence is sacred, please don’t waste it …..
Sincerely,
Cécile Dubreuil
4 years ago
gautier jean pierre

Overall Experience

Review from my last retreat in january 2019.

Dear friends,
It is not really what I expected when I decided to go to your place.
It was my first retreat .
I have been very surprised with all the talks and the comments during the day,
and I felt very inconfortable because it was not so easy for me to meditate in those
conditions.
I would have really appreciate more silence especially early in the morning and before all the meals.
That is really too bad because the place is wonderful , but some people took too much place in this retreat.
Please, let the silence be the most important …
Best regards,
Jean Pierre
4 years ago

Review My Retreat

Yoga, Meditation and Health Retreats – Worldwide

Wat Suan Mokkh Meditation Center

Wat Suan Mokkh Meditation Center

Welcome back

Sign up for Review My Retreat