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         In June 2011, I spent two weeks at a life-changing meditation retreat in Michigan under the instruction of Ajarn Traipitra Visityuthasart (Paa Dtuk). While learning about Buddhism, I practiced meditation for ten hours every day. By the end of my stay, I was able to apply what I learned about Buddhism, meditation, and myself to gain mindfulness techniques and wisdom. I believe that I left the retreat a better person, equipped with the knowledge of how to live my life with less suffering and to cause others less suffering, as well. Since I left the retreat, I have been practicing meditation every day, and I still feel the positive effects of the practice.

         As a person of Thai ethnicity born in America, I have been going to Thai temples my entire life. Prompted by a desire to learn more about the heart of my religion, I started going on meditation retreats in high school. At that time, I practiced meditation at a temple in Chicago, staying about three days each time. In 2010, I spent nine days at a meditation center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Though I gained some insight on meditation and Buddhism during these retreats, it was difficult for me to understand the theory behind what I practiced or to understand lengthy explanations due to the language barrier. I experienced peacefulness during those stays, but much was taught was lost to me since the instructors were monks who predominantly spoke Thai.

Two years ago, I spent one week with Paa Dtuk on a meditation retreat. However, it was not until this past meditation experience that I had enough time to immerse myself and experience more profound results of meditation. This is because meditating is like swimming: it cannot be learned from reading a book and you must practice for some time in order to gain skill. Also, just as another person cannot swim for you, you must meditate yourself. At the retreat, I did four forms of formal meditation: standing, walking, sitting, and lying. I also attempted to be mindful when doing all other daily activities, such as eating meals, brushing my teeth, and walking up and down stairs. Paa Dtuk made herself available to answer any questions that I had about meditation and Buddhist theory. She even answered my questions on how to be a better person and gave me advice on how to use wisdom to solve personal problems.

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The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® - National semifinalists  2006   

BA:  Pizter College Human Biology 3 yrs

Rush Medical College 2015