Hi All

I'm having some trouble decifering emails from Panditarama in Lumbini, Nepal.

They accepted my request to do a 30 day retreat there and asked me to confirm dates which I did along with a request to stay in a kuti on site.

They said that it wasn't possible to book one and I should stay in a hotel off site. This sounds pretty strange considering I was applying for November and they can't be booked out already.

Also, their suggestion to stay in a hotel was surprising... I mean, doing a 30 day retreat in a hotel sounds almost cavalier when people are in a vulnerable retreat space.

They haven't replied to my request for clarification. I wonder if it's a language issue. 

Has anyone been there and can advise?

Many thanks

Hi Nathan

As a veteran of several retreats there I hope to help. Firstly the nun, Sayalay, takes a while to reply to emails as she is snowed under dealing with requests and bookings. Second, the suggestion to go stay in a hotel sounds very odd if they’d already booked you in, because accepting your booking means they had a space for you. If I take a guess, I’d say what she meant was, if you want to have your room since you asked for a kuti, the next best solution is getting a hotel room nearby. You should note that return retreatants usually get preference for such things as kutis, so this may be why she can’t guarantee one. But most of the time I’ve been there, there’s always a kuti or two free. So I’d recommend turning up and just see what you get. On that note, if you do get put in a 3-bed room, it’s not all bad - they’re usually not full, and are quite large with the option to hang something to partition off your corner of the room. 

If you want to discuss more, you can contact me through the contact page on my website: https://placestomeditate.wordpress.com

All the best! Hope to see you there this winter! 

Thanks Peter. I thought there might be a language issue. Maybe she thought I needed a private room and therefore suggested the hotel. I just emailed again clarifying that kuti or dormitary would be fine. Fingers crossed! (Great website by the way!)

Hey Nathan, thanks! I get a lot of queries from people eager to train at various places so it seems to work. 

Sorry to go into this further matter but I noticed your earlier thread re SE and maps, and I just want to point out that if you want to have good training relationships with the 2 teachers in Lumbini, it’s imperative not to bring up those terms in your interviews with them. They adhere to the traditional Mahasi approach of not discussing stages by names or acknowledging specific attainments. They have previously been known to express disapproval of yogis who turn up from DhO asking questions about SE. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this unsolicited suggestion. All the best again!