Another wat in Chiang Mai where Vietnamese zen master Thich Nhat Hahn came to give a dharma talk... and lead a 5-day retreat. I heard about the talk through a chance encounter with someone who was also in Wat Suan Mokkh and it took me not even 5 seconds to decide to stay longer in Chiang Mai to attend the talk. The retreat i heard about from a guy i met in Laos, too late alas to join the hundreds of people sharing that experience.
Interestingly, he directed a lot of his talk to the monks who'd also come in numbers to listen to him. He (half)joked that what he found most difficult with being a monk was not giving up on the pretty ladies but the trap of fame and the lure of prestige and title, including in the monastic circle, which was very telling about the state of buddhism in Thailand. As for the rest, it was a confirmation that the great masters share the same wisdom and message. Same same, definitely!
.JPG)