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Kanjini Devi

Ānāpānasati

The forest is silent apart from peacock calls. Men and women, in white attire, sit cross-legged to my left and to my right. A monk poised on an elevated platform in front, guides us in Thai. I don’t quite follow so I allow myself to trust the process. Like the other nuns, I’ve embraced the eight precepts.

We get up at five am and sit til after sunrise. Then we wash and clean by the river; wait for our first and only meal of the day—curry and rice. We also help ourselves to fruit before midday, ruminating in our tents during the afternoon.

Sitting is resumed before dusk. It has been almost two weeks and my body is still at last, my mind calm. . . So, this is what serenity feels like.

smiling buddha
the sound of falling
leaves

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About the Author

Kanjini Devi is a poet, writer, and lover of haiku.  She lives in the Far North of Aotearoa with her husband and two dogs.