In front of you, is a Temple shop that is here to provide you the ability to easily access the items you need while here at the Temple.
This is a Thai forest Temple, where oftentimes, people come for extended periods of time to learn and grow on The Path to Enlightenment. An individual might come to this Temple for an entire day, or stay here to learn alongside the Monks for several days. The Temple allows visitors to stay up to fifteen (15) days.
The Thai people like to try to make things easily accessible to you. Therefore, this shop has a number of items that make it easy for you to get drinks and snacks, to refresh the body during the day. You might also see various vendors inside the Temple complex as you make your way around the Temple. This is designed to allow you easy access to refreshments, and allow you to focus on your learning and development while here at Wat Umong.
You also see “care packages” arranged as a gift. These are for the Ordained Practitioners.
Oftentimes, when people visit a Temple, they are interested in practicing generosity. Generosity was taught by The Buddha to help the mind “let go” and eliminate its discontent feelings.
When individuals come to a Temple, they sometimes choose to offer support through sharing their time, effort, energy, or resources. The Buddha taught the practice of generosity, giving and sharing without any expectation of anything in return, in order to train the mind to “let go”. It is the mind holding on, craving and clinging, wanting and expecting, that is causing the mind to experience discontent feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. It is through training the mind to “let go”, that one can completely eliminate 100% of all discontent feelings.
The Buddha taught meditation, and several other techniques, to train the mind to “let go”. Giving and sharing one’s time, effort, energy, and resources to help others, without any expectation of anything in return, helps train the mind to “let go”, thus, working to eliminate one’s discontent feelings. In addition, by supporting a Temple, you are supporting the ability for people to gain access to The Teachings of The Buddha, receiving assistance and guidance in developing a better life.
Ordained Practitioners do not work, or sustain their life in any other way. They are on a journey to Enlightenment, and through the cultivation of their wisdom, they can progress towards the Enlightened mental state.
As they progress, they are able to share the wisdom they have gained with The Community of how to also progress towards Enlightenment. By choosing this lifestyle, to not work in a worldly career or sustain their life in any other way, it provides them the ability to dedicate their time towards the development of their life practice to train the mind.
So, when people come to a Temple, they will oftentimes practice generosity, through making donations of time, effort, energy, and resources, to help their mind to “let go”, eliminating discontent feelings, and to help the Ordained Practitioners to sustain their life. In this way, there is mutual support, as taught by The Buddha.
Through supporting the Ordained Practitioners and Teachers, an individual is coming into close contact with someone who can support you in your learning and growth on The Path to Enlightenment, by having the ability to ask questions and seek guidance in The Teachings of The Buddha.
If you would like to purchase a “care package”, you can, and then offer it to any of the Ordained Practitioners that you see inside the Temple complex. They will be the individuals with a shaved head and dressed in robes.
There is no requirement nor an expectation that you will practice generosity with the Ordained Practitioners, but, if you would like to, this gift shop is making that available for you. Sometimes, people purchase gifts outside of the Temple and bring them to the Temple with them. All of these are options for how to be able to practice generosity while visiting a Temple.
