International Buddhist Centre — Local services in Chiang Mai Province

I visited the International Buddhist Center at Doi Suthep in June 2022 for the 7-day meditation retreat. Hopefully this review is helpful for people looking to do the same!

ACOMMODATION The room is quite basic: there is a bed (with a pillow and blankets), a ceiling light, and an electrical port (phone charging works!). The bed mattress is quite firm, but I like firm mattresses so I found it comfortable.

Showers are heated, and for the toilets you'll need to bring your own paper. One thing to take note of is to turn off the toilet lights before you go to sleep. If not, insects will congregate in the stalls in the night. Initially, I found the presence of so many insects to be a little off-putting, but the loving kindness meditation helps you get over it :).

FOOD The food was honestly pretty good. I was initially a bit concerned about hunger because you only receive two meals a day during the retreat: breakfast at 7am, and lunch at 11am. However, the portions are generous. Meals are typically one vegetarian side dish (e.g. stir fried vegetables, an omelette) and a mountain of rice. They also have condiments like fish/soy sauce, pickled chilies in vinegar, and dried chili flakes if you want to spice up your food. Tea is also provided, and you can drink this at any time of the day.

TEACHING / MEDITATION Every day at 5:30am, the monk gives a lecture to all retreatants. The topics include things like personal stories, meditation tips, and Buddhist history/cosmology. I found these to be a little hit-or-miss, but in general I found the personal stories to be engaging.

Later in the day, you'll have a daily report with the monk where you can seek advice on anything you've been struggling with. The monk will also give you further instructions on what to do when meditating. When I was there, meditation started at 15min/15min walking/sitting and then a small break, and slowly ramped up to 25/25 by day 6.

I found the full day meditation schedule to be quite challenging, as I hadn't really meditated more than 15 minutes in a single session before the retreat. Additionally, you're not supposed to read/write/use your phone, but nobody is policing you on this--it's just what you want to get out of the experience.

ENVIRONMENT Doi Suthep is located in the mountains, so the air was quite cool when I went. The place is also very scenic with lots of greenery. However, it is in the middle of a forest, so expect a lot of bugs. Make sure you bring mosquito repellant, and re-apply often. If you intend to stand outside without it, the mosquitoes will destroy you.

Additionally, between 1-7pm, the cicadas will start piloting their helicopters. The entire place gets super noisy during this time, but this will help you practice calling your mind back during meditation. Remember--loving kindness. Plus, it really makes you appreciate the silence in the morning and evenings.

FINAL THOUGHTS Overall, the retreat was exactly what I asked for, but not exactly what I expected. I wanted to try it out because I enjoy meditation, but I underestimated the challenge of meditating 8+ hours a day. However, I did feel my concentration improve--on the first and second days, my mind was very busy, but it quieted down significantly by the 4th day. Unfortunately, there was no noticeable improvement for me between days 5-7.

Additionally, I was interested in Buddhist philosophy, particularly about the concept of anatta and how that reconciles with Samsaric existence, but the monk doesn't really go into depth about these things. The talks are more doctrinal and less philosophical--like animals are in a lower realm, dogs and cats see in 2D, insects see in 1D, the world is made of positive and negative energy. However I do appreciate that such concepts are difficult to discuss in general, let alone in English.

For anyone looking to attend the retreat, I'd recommend going for the 4 day course unless you know what you're getting into. I actually intended to stay for 10 days but eventually cut it down to 7 because I found the afternoons to be...

I took part of the short stay of 7 days Vipassana and really enjoyed the experience. It is important to say, that you need to be clear about what Vipassana is and that it is a path as the particularily the first couple of days can be challenging. (I have seen some people leaving after only one night). The surroundings are great. I went to the temple after breakfast for my morning meditation. We were able to join a ceremony on Buddha Day. There are a few nice walks in/around the temple you can do in between your meditations. The daily teaching is done by a buddism monk, which I enjoyed as much as the chanting in the evening. You will get your own room, where you have a bed and a chair. The food is vegan and basic but nothing to complain. The whole offering is donation based, which means you are free to decide what you wish to donate. It is not a hotel, so there is no cleaner coming by but you can help to keep the place, medidation hall and buddhat chapel tidy. I am glad I had...

If you are looking for a spa don’t come here. If you are looking for an easy way or fun, or if you want to do something that sounds cool look for other things to do. If you want to go within, cultivate mindfulness, put aside your phone and wilfulness, you may be fortunate to find this place. It is hard. It is not comfortable, you will feel pain. If you can go beyond this, see all your conditioning, judgement and expectations you may find some real peace and healing here. You won’t find a clean room (I cleaned my own to my standard), the bathrooms are not clean (I cleaned them to stop my own mental chatter) and you won’t understand everything the monk says (he speaks fast and with an accent). If you can overcome these petty irritations and surface issues you may learn a lot from your time at Doi Suthep. I learned to listen to the sounds of the jungle, saw the beauty of Nature and spent hours focused on it rather than my noisy monkey mind, and left feeling nourished and at...