Living like a Buddhist Monk

10 days of silent meditation.

My ass hurt, my concentration was gone and time seemed to stand still. I squinted open my eyes just enough to see motionless silhouettes sitting like statues of Buddha in a dim-lit room. Finally, low, soothing Hindi chants, reminding me of Muslim prayers howled from minarets, broke the silence to bring sweet relief: two more hours of meditation were over. And in a sleep-walking like manner, the silhouettes erected silently from their pillows and walked, head down and with short, slow steps, out of the meditation hall.