I'll be meditating at Pa Auk monastery
in Myanmar (Burma). It's in the Mon state, the nearest town
relative to the monastery is Mawlamyine. The abbot is the
Venerable Ashin cia but he is more commonly known as Pa Auk
Sayadaw. Sayadaw means "venerable teacher" in Burmese, it's
an honorific given to highly esteemed monks of great
accomplishment. He has become increasingly popular over the
last decade with adherents in Western Buddhist circles. His
approach to Buddhism is a bit different from the ones taught at most
Buddhist centers in the United States. At the Pa Auk
monastery the progression of training requires mastery of progressively
more advanced and refined levels of concentration (jhanas) before
moving on to vipassana meditation. The Sayadaw's approach, in
my humble opinion, is very comprehensive and thorough which
is one reason why I have been attracted to it.
What exactly will I be doing while living at the monastery? In Buddhist parlance it's called called samatha (pali) or shamatha (sanskrit) usually translated as tranquility or calm-abiding. That clues you in to the fact that it has a calming and peaceful effect on the emotions but it also increases one's ability to focus attention with great stability and clarity. The culmination of the training is that the meditator's faculty of attention is able to function at a level well beyond what Psychology considers to be the upper reaches of human potential. In essence it's a training of one's attention with the byproduct of calming one's emotions to the point of experiencing deep states of peace. There's really nothing mystical about it although it is said to be profoundly soothing and refreshing among other things. For more info about this type of meditation see the LINKS section.
What exactly will I be doing while living at the monastery? In Buddhist parlance it's called called samatha (pali) or shamatha (sanskrit) usually translated as tranquility or calm-abiding. That clues you in to the fact that it has a calming and peaceful effect on the emotions but it also increases one's ability to focus attention with great stability and clarity. The culmination of the training is that the meditator's faculty of attention is able to function at a level well beyond what Psychology considers to be the upper reaches of human potential. In essence it's a training of one's attention with the byproduct of calming one's emotions to the point of experiencing deep states of peace. There's really nothing mystical about it although it is said to be profoundly soothing and refreshing among other things. For more info about this type of meditation see the LINKS section.