Looking for a reputable 3 year meditation retreat/monastery in Taiwan

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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Hello all,

I am looking for a reputable 3 year meditation retreat/monastery in Taiwan.

I know I should start this thread in the spirituality/religion forum but due to the urgency of the matter, I am being forced to start this thread in the “Living in Taiwan” section.

For the past year or so, I had been meditating on a rented farm where there’s acres of space, farmland and forests, around me but even that is not enough to prevent my inner “demons” or obstacles from creating distractions in my life… distractions which threaten my emotional stability and disturb my meditative concentration…

So I have no choice but to look for isolated long-term meditation retreat huts or caves or something of that ilk in taiwan… There are certainly more of such choices available in Taiwan than in the West…

Anyone willing to respond to me can reply through this thread or PMing me. Cheers.

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我可以說中文… 有谁可以介紹禪坐老師給我… 我會非常感激… 謝謝

3

Is there an ARC category for that??? :question:

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These are two different things.

First, you asked for a space.

Now, you ask for a teacher.

Just join a monastic program at Fo Guang Shan or Dharma Drum…those would be the easiest routes.

5

Hmmm I am really not sure if your are for real, Budda Boy, but in case you are:

So being in acres of space and nature is not isolated or peaceful enough to stop you going over the edge. Why do you think you can find anywhere on this planet, especially Taiwan, which is going to offer more than what you have at the moment ? Taiwan is a pretty populated country, you know. I am sure there are Buddhist/Taoist retreats but you are going to be amongst other people.

If your situation is as urgent as you say and that you are in serious risk of going over the edge emotionally, and wherever you are in the West has not been able to offer you what you need to attain inner peace, I doubt that Taiwan will. Probably a course of therapy would be a better option.

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[quote=“pgdaddy1”][quote=“Budda Boy”]

For the past year or so, I had been meditating on a rented farm where there’s acres of space, farmland and forests, around me but even that is not enough to prevent my inner “demons” or obstacles from creating distractions in my life… distractions which threaten my emotional stability and disturb my meditative concentration…
[/quote]

Hmmm I am really not sure if your are for real, Budda Boy, but in case you are:

So being in acres of space and nature is not isolated or peaceful enough to stop you going over the edge. Why do you think you can find anywhere on this planet, especially Taiwan, which is going to offer more than what you have at the moment ? Taiwan is a pretty populated country, you know. I am sure there are Buddhist/Taoist retreats but you are going to be amongst other people.

If your situation is as urgent as you say and that you are in serious risk of going over the edge emotionally, and wherever you are in the West has not been able to offer you what you need to attain inner peace, I doubt that Taiwan will. Probably a course of therapy would be a better option.[/quote]

Even acres of space and nature can be corrupted by humans with deviant social behaviour… I am talking about drugs, alcohol and sexual deviance here which seem to be the norm in the West…

There are plenty of space and nature in Taiwan or the rest of asia as well… more importantly, there are hundreds of holy temples in Taiwan and the rest of asia… and even if such temples are filled with thousands of people… the “energies” or “energetic” guardians in these temples will prevent a serious meditator from being harassed by material desires of laymen…

Bottom line is… it is these holy temples in Taiwan and the rest of asia… temples which stress abstinence from drugs, alcohol and sexual deviance which create a energetic field of purification for those living in asia…

you wouldn’t understand it if you are not born and raised in a spiritual culture… and you wouldn’t particularly understand it if you do not spend time exploring the more rural or out of the way temples in Taiwan…

PS… western medicine is way over-rated… ever heard of the placebo effect?.. there are hundreds of thousands of physically ill patients in asia who have been cured by eastern shamanic methodologies where western medicine failed them… therapy? that is an antiquated word…

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These are two different things.

First, you asked for a space.

Now, you ask for a teacher.

Just join a monastic program at Fo Guang Shan or Dharma Drum…those would be the easiest routes.[/quote]

The teacher would know about such spaces… and if I know where there are such spaces… I would find the appropriate teacher… not that I need a teacher… I just need a space now…

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Well there are certainly lots of mountains one could get lost in .

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PM me if you know of anyone living in the mountains with an isolated space to spare…

Ta!

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How are you going to balance a 3 year retreat with the need to make a visa run every couple of months?

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Perhaps the OP needs the space to hide and not do the visa runs :P.

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These are two different things.

First, you asked for a space.

Now, you ask for a teacher.

Just join a monastic program at Fo Guang Shan or Dharma Drum…those would be the easiest routes.[/quote]

The teacher would know about such spaces… and if I know where there are such spaces… I would find the appropriate teacher… not that I need a teacher… I just need a space now…[/quote]

I do not at all mean to sound callous.

But you do seem to be looking for some mythical hermit to show you some wonderful space to go sit and meditate in seclusion. These people do not really exist (in northern China there are some Buddhist hermits who do kinda live the life you are looking for, but not so much in Taiwan). Your best bet is to find a monastery that will take you in. These places will be devoid of the vices of which you were speaking about.

Remember, you have to eat, have drinkable water, etc. So you must have a support system of sorts. Only organizations will be able to provide that. You are not going to find some huge space out in the wilderness where you can do all of this totally by yourself here in Taiwan. If you are both serious and sincere…go talk to some of the Buddhist organizations here (Daoists could help too…but you kinda need to know Taiwanese for that, maybe you do). They will be able to help you much more than people on this forum.

Seriously, get in touch with Fo Guang Shan and Dharma Drum. The former has a small monastery atop a mountain WAYYYY out in the middle of nowhere which suits your needs 清德 to be exact. Used to be Daoist, now is Buddhist. But…you will have to show a level of commitment and willingness to also contribute to the community.

If you are currently in the West, both these organizations have world wide centers and are easy to contact.

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Actually those kinds of hermits do exist. I have been in caves in Tibet where the monk spends the entire winter alone meditating. Relatives bring food and water and take away his waste.

In Taiwan there are people like this too. Zheng Yen from Ciji spent years wandering from cave to cave meditating.

But I agree the OP’s best bet is to try one of the large Buddhist centres including Chung Tai Chan in Puli. Years ago they actually had a foreigner living there. He was teaching English to the nuns but also practising meditating.

A friend lived in a monastery in the south for months when he first arrived in Taiwan. I am trying to find out which one.

Bill Porter, who’s written a couple interesting (if sadly dull to read) books, used to live a sort of hermit life in a hut on Yangmingshan.

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Right. Alcohol and sexual deviance is almost unheard of here :unamused: And the air if filled with the softness of kind words :laughing:

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Well I am just about ready to buy a cheap car and just hop around from mountain cave to mountain cave meditating on my own.

What I have learnt about life is this. If you are prone to doing A and the universe makes the habit of doing A difficult for you, then go in the opposite direction and do B instead.

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Why a car? I’d think just walking would be more calming. To quote the great philosophers Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear in their landmark song:

[Kermit]
Movin’ right along

[Fozzie]
Footloose and fancy-free

[Kermit]
Getting there is half the fun; come share it with me

Granted, they were in a Studebaker if my memory serves, but it’s the thought that counts. :thumbsup:

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Visa runs? I’d be more inclined to posit that the OP already has a Taiwan ID.

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And inner demons to boot.

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And inner demons to boot.[/quote]

That hurts. :raspberry:

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[quote=“Budda Boy”]Well I am just about ready to buy a cheap car and just hop around from mountain cave to mountain cave meditating on my own.

What I have learnt about life is this. If you are prone to doing A and the universe makes the habit of doing A difficult for you, then go in the opposite direction and do B instead.[/quote]

The Universe is making it difficult for to abstain from drugs, alcohol and sex, isn’t it? Time to go plan B, then. I suggest you move to Taipei. The best place, according to my calculations, would be the spot that is equidistant from Marquee, Lava and Myst.