Point 3
Advanced Meditation Workshop
A place to study Advanced Dhammakaya Knowledge
The facility dedicated to the study of Advanced Dhammakaya Knowledge
was located in a large monk’s living quarters with two extended decks on the sides and a partition in the middle that divided the space into two rooms: one for monks and novices and the other for female meditators, including nuns . This building was called the “Advanced Meditation Workshop.” Luang Pu would sit in front of the monks and novices and communicate with the female meditators on the other side of the workshop through a small hole in the partition.
During normal times, the study and practice of Advanced Dhammakaya Knowledge was carried out in successive 4-hour shifts. However, during World War II, they meditated more intensively by rotating two separate groups back-to-back in, 6-hour shifts for 24 hours a day. Due to her high level of focus, responsibility, passion, strong health, and unmatched meditative aptitude and insight amongst all of his students, Luang Pu selected Khun Yai to be the night shift leader.
Khun Yai’s seriousness and dedication to meditation made her the right choice for this leadership position. While meditating, she would leave everything behind so completely that all awareness of the physical world disappeared so that she could achieve 100% absorption and perception of inner knowledge. At the end of each 6-hour shift, everyone else would be tired and eager to leave the room, but Khun Yai would stay for an extra half an hour or so to listen and follow the instructions that Luang Pu gave to the new group of meditators as they started the next shift.
After leaving the room, Khun Yai would continuously fixate her mind on the Dhamma while doing her personal chores. Her mind would remain still inside despite the world moving outside. Although most other meditators would arrive for their shift right around the starting time, Khun Yai would ensure that she arrived 15 minutes early to every shift to listen to the comments, instructions, and suggestions given by Luang Pu to meditators on the previous shift. This diligence allowed Khun Yai to learn a tremendous amount of knowledge from Luang Pu. Even though she was illiterate, her answers to all of Luang Pu’s questions, obtained from her meditative insight, were always the most prompt and accurate.
