Day 11
25th December 2025
Yahooooo! Out from the center; our freedom day! 😂 - and yes! Merry Christmas 🎄😊
The gong came alive at 4 am, assembly at 4:30 am, meditation, video discourse and breakfast (I skipped breakfast).
Time to surrender items like bed sheets, pillow cases (I never used them as i brought mine from home), the rubber heat pack etc.
I collected my phone from the office and quickly captured a few photos of this meaningful place. So many pleasant and unexpected moments, yet each one had taught me so much.
A bus was arranged to take us down to Jamil, a distance from the hotel. With my heavy bags, I decided to take a taxi.
A group of college students outside the Vipassana center helped me with my bags and guided me to a taxi, advising not to give extra money. The fare was merely 690 NR (about 20 Malaysian Ringgit) and the driver didn’t ask for more, though I gave a little extra anyway.
God bless these students, all the Dhamma servers and the teachers who taught me about discomfort…life lessons that now feel tangible.
I reflected on the long hours of sitting during meditation and how it contrasts with my yin yoga practice….how fascia and body awareness shift differently.
I remembered that a few years ago, just before COVID, I became a qualified pranic healer. During the pandemic, we practiced distant healing for patients in ICU or at home. I shared this with a teacher and she told me pranic healing could not be mixed with Vipassana, which explained why I initially struggled to connect with Vipassana meditation. I accepted this and let it be.
Maybe one day I’ll return as a Dhamma server, in a warmer place, to experience Vipassana again.
Now, settled in my hotel, I reflect on my solo travel adventure and the meaningful days of my trip. Two more days before I fly back home and on 28/12, my mom’s one-year prayer.
Hmmm, I may take a quiet walk and enjoy a meal while i’m still here..and maybe end my 10 days being a vegetarian…
Sign-Off Reflection
As I close this chapter of ten days in silence, I carry more than memories.
I carry lessons in patience, resilience and self-compassion.
I carry the quiet strength of having faced discomfort, the gratitude for every small act of kindness and the gentle reminder that growth often comes in stillness.
Vipassana has taught me that silence speaks, the body teaches and the heart remembers.
And as I return to the world of sound, light and motion, I do so with a deeper presence, a calmer mind and a spirit quietly brimming with wonder.
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