A 2-day Insight Meditation Retreat in Hong Kong 兩天一夜的內觀靜坐禪修營 營後感想

I’ve meditated mostly daily for more than a year before coming to this retreat, yet I was slightly nervous as I’ve never fully dedicated even just two days to mindfulness and meditation.

過去的一年多中，我幾乎每天都會抽出十到二十分鐘冥想，但在來法航精舍進行兩天的禪修活動之前，也是不免有一點點緊張。畢竟，我也還沒試過一次超過一小時的冥想⋯⋯

An hour-long metro and bus ride later, I arrived at the serene and green Ngong Ping with my backpack for the upcoming 2-day insight meditation retreat. Not after a few steps, we came below the famous Tian Tan Big Buddha, showing her face amid the clouds. And so we begin.

Hong Kong is well known for its heat in July. Alongside humidity, it’s difficult to walk any distance without feeling completely drenched and uncomfortable. Yet, while we started trekking from the Tian Tan Buddha towards the Fa Hong Monastery, the skies had just cleared up from the rain, and the temperature in the mountains was at a perfectly slightly chill temperature. Downhill we go through the winding treks towards Fa Hong Monastery — the glistening sunlight is reflecting on every single leaf that just had gotten a big shower from the rain before, and if you listen closely, you can hear the insects and other living creatures singing the songs of joy to celebrate the big downfall. And we continue to walk.

As walking downhill requires the utmost attention post-rain — our meditation had already begun before we even arrived at the monastery.

The winding mountain trek!

Throughout the two days, we had multiple 30-minute sessions of sitting meditation, walking meditation, standing meditation, and even relational mindfulness. Mostly in silence, we were invited to just be at peace with our bodies, our thoughts, and our surroundings. Men in nature. Being fully surrounded by the forest, with birds chirping and occasional thunderstorms — nature wraps us up in a beautiful little cocoon that is the monastery and us attendees of the retreat. At times we were invited to talk to fellow attendees to share insights we gained from meditation, and in the form of peer-guided meditation, we walked through each other the sensations we feel in our bodies.

Oh, what a safe place we were in, where the labels in the ‘real world’ didn’t matter and we could be fully ourselves with no responsibility or worry; where the noise was removed, and we could listen to what our inner voice has to say. And looking next to you, you can see another beautiful being doing the same you’re doing — letting go of labels, removing noise, and going inwards.

Sometimes you’re reminded you were very recently in a bustling city where ‘busy’ is the correct answer to ‘how are you.’ From the roof of the monastery, we were able to see the skyline of beautiful Hong Kong in the far distance, which at night turns into shimmering lights. What a city full of awe. It too, is possible to feel peace in a place as fast as Hong Kong. Being in a monastery makes it much easier, but it is not the only way. You can create time and space by yourself by practicing the same 10 / 20 / 30 minutes meditation and feel at peace.

Within a blink of an eye, it was time to return to the busy city again. Time stopped as we felt all the texture within every moment, yet the whole weekend zoomed past despite being without mobile phones, books, and talking.

I really wanted to hold on to that feeling forever — or maybe specifically, it’s the energy in the room. In silence, we had solace with each other. It’s quiet but not scary. I felt simply at ease. But I also had to remind myself — living is not just about the highs but also the lows. Yes, I loved the weekend, but I cannot seek experiences exactly like last weekend and reject opportunities of experiencing something else. No matter how great it is, every moment is just a fleeting moment in our lives. And life is made up of all these beautiful and sometimes difficult moments.

前個週末，我報名參加法航精舍兩天一夜的禪修，顧名思義就是住在寺廟一晚，吃齋、靜坐。一般的內觀、靜坐活動以初學者來說都是至少要參加一個禮拜的，但這麼恰巧有一個兩天一夜的，我就馬上報名了。

香港沒有很大，在搭僅一個多小時的地鐵與巴士之後，我們一行人便抵達了莊嚴的天壇大佛裙擺邊。參拜了大佛之後，我們起步前往法航精舍。香港的七月一般又濕又熱，但這麼恰好早晨剛下完了一陣雨，一路上不但不熱，甚至因為微風徐徐吹來而感到一點涼。蜿蜒的山路在雨後也顯得特別活潑，炎炎夏日帶來的慵懶與不耐煩都不見了——個個樹葉閃閃發光，像我們一樣慶幸上天即時滋潤大地。蟬鳴、鳥叫聲也不少，大家都出來慶祝了。不約而同地，我們一行人都很謹慎的走著山路。一來是被活潑的山路吸引著，二來是雨後的山路蠻滑的，需要特別小心行走。悄悄地，我們已經開始我們禪修的行程了。

天壇大佛在雲裡的樣貌～

抵達寺廟後，我們在靜語之中體驗了不同的內觀靜坐活動：有時我們坐著冥想（這是最普遍的），有時我們則站著冥想，也有時我們在寺廟來回步行的動態冥想。在安靜的冥想之中，真的有種和大地合而為一的感覺。整個週末不時的下著雷陣雨，而我們身處深山裡的寺廟中，完完全全地被大自然擁抱著。在老師的帶領之下，偶爾我們會有短暫的說話時間，和同修行的友人小聲地分享我們冥想的洞察以及我們聽覺、觸覺細微的感受，彷彿變成我們在指導彼此冥想一般。

在寺廟裡，要暫時忘記自己在寺廟外的職責與擔憂很容易，也因為這樣在寺廟裡大家都顯得更加輕鬆。我們不需去想任何事情，只要安靜的練習內觀冥想就好了。在這裡沒有家裡的、公司的事情要處理，沒人知道你的背景，也沒人在乎：我們都只是來練習內觀冥想的。而當你感受到每個人在你旁邊都是在做一樣的事情，在放下塵世間的職責與擔憂、在靜下腦袋裡的噪音，並在向內觀察平時太吵時聽不到的聲音。

在寺廟的屋頂，可以看到遠處高樓大廈，晚上則變成閃爍的城市光影——也不禁令人讚嘆：香港真美。雖然大部分時間都不覺自處都市之中，但那麼偶爾地，提醒了自己，置身於離市區一小時的距離而已，而此刻的自己感受到無比的平靜，似乎是一般繁忙的都市之中很少能體會的。在繁忙的都市之中，真的也能感受到深山裡的平靜嗎？教內觀冥想的老師們一致認為，雖然在寺廟裡特別容易靜下心來，不受外物干擾，但回到市區裡，更應該將在寺廟裡學會的帶去應用。生活的每個細節都是內觀冥想的好時機：你可以透過定時的靜坐冥想去感受到內心的平靜，也可以在每個轉瞬間，從觀察事物的變化去體會動中之靜。

不知不覺就到了禪修營的尾聲，在沒有手機、沒有書也幾乎沒有講話之中，兩天竟然過的這麼快！我好想要抓住整個週末個感覺不放手，真的好喜歡和大家一起靜靜地禪修的感覺，既溫暖又平和。但也該提醒自己，人生的起伏有高有低，不應堅持一再的體會很喜歡的感覺，而是要將平和與察覺力帶到各個時刻。活著的每一刻都是值得細細品味的！