The Idiot just enjoyed a tranquil and secluded retreat at an expansive Buddhist monastery near Penang, Malaysia, that had only one monk on the premises.
The Vivekevana Solitude Grove is perched on two acres of land and has more than three dozen rooms, ranging from an ordination hall, libraries, a kitchen and dormitories to solitary cells and spacious meditation areas on five separate levels.
But the only access — a precarious, slippery path up-and-down a steep mountain slope through a rain forest (which caused The Idiot to slip, slide and fall more than he’d like to admit) — has gradually reduced the number of monks. In fact, the two-hour round trip finally became too difficult for the last monk to continually make the daily slog to fill his alms bowl with food and, after The Idiot’s visit, he moved into the city.
The local abbot, who holds a darma talk at the bottom of the hill every Saturday and says a group of devotees will continue to clean the monastery every Sunday, didn’t know when another solitary monk might inhabit the idyllic locale. But he’s betting it will take a new access road to put the monastery back on the map.
The entrance to the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
A directional sign on the path to the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
A directional sign on the path to the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
A rare straight section of the slippery path through the rainforest to the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia, is built on five separate levels.
The Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
One level of the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
A peaceful Buddha at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
One of two libraries at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The last remaining monk, who jokingly refers to himself as a “five-star beggar,” occasionally took a motorcycle to reach the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The pagoda at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The dormitory that The Idiot had all to himself at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The last remaining monk did daily chores before he left the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
The ordination room at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
One meditation room with soft orange pillows at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia.
A devotee brought the monk breakfast by motorcycle at the Vivekavana Buddhist monastery overlooking Penang, Malaysia, during The Idiot’s stay.
The view towards Penang from the now-monkless Vivekavana Buddhist monastery.
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