DIET AND PIṆḌAPĀTA

1. Meals are offered in the dining hall (alms hall). Please arrive for piṇḍapāta at the following times:
   • Breakfast – 6:30 am (depending on the time of dawn)
   • Lunch – 10:30 am.
   
   
2. The kitchen prepares a vegetarian diet and non-vegetarian. Boiled and filtered drinking water are available at various locations throughout the monastery.
   
   
3. Smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco or betel nut, and the use of recreational drugs are strictly forbidden. If it is discovered that you have been using any of these items, you will be asked to leave.
   
   
4. All residents are to have their meal only at the respective dining halls unless they are sick.
   
   
5. Please arrive at the dining hall on-time for getting in line orderly, Bhikkhu are based on their vassas and Sayalay, nun or yogis are based on the precepts and the their ages. In case you would come after the line had already moved inside the dining hall, please do not step in between the moving line but stand at the end of the line of bhikkhu, novice, nun or layperson respectively.
   
   
6. Do not talk while waiting in the dining halls or while offering the alms.
   
   
7. Do not accept more food than you expect to eat.
   
   
8. In the dining hall: try not to talk but stay radiating mettā to the donors of almsfood and helpers, or stay with one’s own meditation object.
   
   
9. If there is a need to talk, please make it short and concise in low voice. Do not chat.
   
   
10. While washing bowls and tableware, please be mindful and gentle in order to minimize the noise of tableware striking one another.
    
    
11. Please avoid talking/chatting while washing bowl and tableware.
    
    
12. Please be respectful of the environment: do not litter; do not waste water or electricity.
    
    
13. The following items are allowable after midday: hot and cold water; fresh strained fruit juice diluted with cold water; sugar or jaggery diluted with hot or cold water; herbal teas. To counteract sickness / weakness / tiredness, you may take butter, ghee, oil, honey, sugar, and allowable medicine.
    
    
14. The following item are not allowable after midday; solid food; boiled or otherwise processed juices made from fruits or vegetables; etc.

INTERNATIONAL MAIL

1. Excessive correspondence can disturb meditation. Please keep your correspondence to a minimum.
   
   
2. Outgoing mail should be left at the office; incoming mail can be picked up on the table in front of the office. It is best for important incoming and outgoing letters to be registered. Angthong International Meditation Center 65/6 Moo 7, Champa Lo, Mueang Ang Thong District, Ang Thong 14000, Thailand paaukthailand@gmail.com
   
   
3. To protect incoming parcels against loss or damage, all international parcels should be insured. Ask the sender to mail you a copy of the insurance form. Please ask the sender to make note about the receiver at the Center clearly in the parcel.
   
   
4. Be aware that parcels are subject to customs formalities, censorship and duties.

MOBILE AND INTERNET

If necessary, the uses of SIM card, internet access, emailing etc, are allowed only once a week on every Sunday between 7:00 am. – 6:00pm, for Bhikkhus and Samneras use at the
Bhikkhu Dining Hall, Sayalays, nun or yogis use at PIṆḌAPĀTA Halls, out of the group
sittings or dhamma talk time. Except for who have been permitted by the abbot or
committee of the center When SIM card/ internet services are used, please make sure not to
disturb the surrounding. For the rest of the time, please power off the device or set it in
Flight Mode always.

MONASTICS AND MONEY

1. Theravāda monks, novices and 10-precept nuns are not permitted to use, handle, or possess money in any form: cash, credit cards, cheques, electronic transactions, gold, silver, jewellery, etc. Monastics who carry their own funds must relinquish them PERMANENTLY before taking up residence in the monastery. There are no exceptions to this rule. (For those monastics with allowable requisite funds, see below.)
   
   
2. Monastics with allowable requisite funds must arrange for the proper transfer of requisites from their previous location to your own kappiyakāraka (steward; hereafter referred to as “kappiya” for short). Transfer of funds MUST follow the prescribed procedure in the Vinaya (please refer to the Pātimokkha, Nissaggiya Pācittiya rules 10, 18, 19 & 20).
   
   
3. If you come to the monastery as a layperson and decide to ordain, you must make proper arrangements for your funds before ordination with your own kappiya.

VISA APPLICATION/EXTENSION
If you plan to stay at our center, you have send the application form which you can request from paaukthailand@gmial.com. After the application is approved by the meditation teacher and an abbot you need a Sponsorship Letter in order to apply for the appropriate type of visa (either an entry or meditation visa). You can obtain a Sponsorship Letter through our center.

1. Once you get our center, you can apply for a three-month, six month or one-year visa extension (stay permit). Payment for your extension can be arranged through the monastery kappiya (steward).
   
   
2. Need 9 passport photos plus sufficient requisite funds in US dollars. Dollar bills must be in good condition: worn, torn, nicked marked or questionable bills are unacceptable.
   
   
3. Please be aware that visa extension regulations and costs are subject to change. After that, applications for further extension should be made at least two months before the expiry date of the visa extension.

SPONSORSHIP

1. A sponsorship letter grants permission for Therārada Monks, Novices and 10-precepts Nuns to reside at this monastery, except all financial requirements including medical, dental, transportation, and visas) Laymen and laywomen have to pay for the accommodation, food and all financial requirements (including medical, dental, transportation, visas, departure forms and other requisite items) are your personal responsibility. Please arrive with SUFFICIENT FUNDS (IN US DOLLARS) for the duration of your stay.
   
   
2. If your visa was obtained with an Angthong International Meditations Center Sponsorship Letter, this means you have agreed to stay at our center for the visa’s duration. To use an entry/meditation visa for sightseeing and tourism would constitute an abuse of the privilege granted to you by the Sponsorship Letter and could create problems for the Center, our committee can ask you to leave.

SUGGESTED ITEMS TO BRING

The following list of suggested items was compiled by foreign meditators here: 10-12 passport photos; vitamin and herbal supplements; herbal teas; light, comfortable, easy-to- wash clothing; dental floss; toiletries; towel; talcum/medicated powder; large umbrella; earplugs; water resistant sandals; torch (flashlight); battery-powered alarm clock; mosquito repellent; yoga mat (if you practice yoga); spare glasses and copy of your prescription; get dental work done before coming. Most everyday-items can be obtained locally, name brands excluded; voltage here is 220V.

CLIMATE

There are three seasons in Thailand: a hot season (January – May); a rainy season (June – Oct.); and a cold season (November-December). Temperatures range from 15° to 40° Centigrade (59° to 104° Fahrenheit).

MEDICAL
There is a hospital close to site. In case of emergency, our officer will be taken to the closest private hospital, Angthong Vetchakarn Hospital, whenever possible.