1. Makha Puja day
-the date for Makha Puja is not fixed. It follows the Thai calendar
2. Anniversary of the passing away of Luangta's mother- 31 May
3. Luangta's Birthday- 12 August
4. Kathina (normally end of Oct or first/second week of Nov). For year 2008, it will be on 18 October 08.
Therefore, if you are there, do expect there will be a bit of problems with the sleeping arrangements. You may want to consider booking a hotel/inn in advance- because accomodations may be fully booked since many many people come to participate in Kathina. For instance, a friend of mine had booked 6 buses from Bangkok to Udon Thani- they arrive on Saturday morning and go back on Sunday afternoon. And many others are doing that.
Normally, others will be sleeping at the halls. Female quarters will be expected to be full because places are very limited.
Still, kathina is a very auspicious time- to perform offering and dedicate merits, especially for your parents, a sick family member, etc.
3 comments:
Hi, I am planning to visit Wat Baan Taad in May 2009. I wonder if you could give me information about any hotel / accommodation near wat baan taad and how to get there from airport Udon Thani. Kindly email to sinchan888@yahoo.com. Thx in advance.
Hi,
My apologies- I am not familar with any hotels near there as I normally stay in Wat Baan Taad directly. You can request if you can stay at Wat Baan Taad. If you have come all the way, it will be good to stay there.
Please note the gate closes at about 5pm at the Wat but if you arrive later than that, you can always camp out in the large hall outside. Bring along a small sleeping tent (that protects you from mosquitos) as there will be mosquitos at night. Likely there will be others camping with you. Morning pindapat starts at about 7am so you can wake up by 6am. After pindapat (almsround), Luangta will give a short morning talk. About 8.30am, Luangta will retire to his kuti. You can then ask around to find out the monk in charge- just ask if anyone can speak English. If I am not mistaken, the foreign monk whom you can refer to is Ajahn Martin.
If you can arrive at the wat before that, then you need not bring a sleeping tent.
To get to the wat, would suggest you print out the map http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1zyIXjjBJWo/SPNkSzv8PvI/AAAAAAAAABA/Ot4GuMltyxc/s1600-h/IMG_3704.JPG
And then, get the taxi or tuk tuk driver to take you there. Since you are at the airport, you should be able to reach an English speaking staff to help you.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I am planning to visit Luangta in Early January 2011. I'm not familiar with the pindapatta of forest tradition, so would like to ask re What kind of food that we can offer to Luangta and other monks in pindapatta. is it okay to offer fruits ( unpeeled fruits) and put them in monk's patta. OR, we must offer ready to eat fruits / food.
Thanks a lot. With metta,
Lily
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