My wanderings - past and present in various parts of the world. The primary focus will be on 'tudong' - a Thai word derived from the Pali dhutanga (austerities) which refers to a list of special practices some monks take on. The inference is that when wandering homeless there are, by default, various difficulties that arise - there is a special need for patience, restraint and endurance; the opportunities to explore one's weaknesses - and strengths - are extended.
And wandering also brings a special array of joys, spontaneous arisings that have a certain magic to them.
February is by far the best month to head south in New Zealand. This trip is not the first I have made since I passed on the roll of abbot in 2024 but it is the first that I have written up. Ajahn Anuttalo and I spent a couple of weeks ambling around the South Island (17th Feb - 4th Mar). Venerable Javano joined me on the 4th and we returned on the 22nd. Here are some notes and photos dividing our travel time into roughly blocks of five days.
17-21 Picton to Ashburton. Photos
22-26 Ashburton to FoxGlacier. Photos
27-3rd March Fox to Westport. Photos
4-8th Westport to Motueka. Photos
9-13th Motueka to Takaka. Photos
14-18 Takaka to Richmond. Photos
19-22 Richmond to Picton. Photos
At the end of the year I spent a month in the west of Thailand. This journal is mostly about the walk to a remote hermitage in the jungle on the Myanmar border. It is a longer read but hopefully it gives you a good feel for this aspect of the monastic lifestyle. Read on
In June of 2024, after nearly 3 months of wandering, I met with my son and daughter-in-law in Tokyo.
Here are links to 4 photo galleries with our shared images hopefully giving you a taste of the few places we had time to visit in ten days.
man hole covers - works of art in iron
Kamakura - the giant Buddha statue
Kyoto - a wonderous ancient city
Nikko - shogun's palace
Tokyo - capital city
In early December 2024 I arrived in Thailand and was there for about 6 weeks. The time was divided into four blocks.
Here are some photos for each of those.