How To: Self-Directed Meditation Retreat at Suan Mokkh Forest Temple

[Page updated 17 February 2025]

I’ve been asked about how someone might go about setting up a self-directed meditation retreat at the forest monastery in Southern Thailand called Wat Suan Mokkh (Mokkhabalaram) in the past. In Thai, the temple name means “Garden of Liberation” and it was founded by Buddhadasa Bhikku in 1932. It is sometimes called Wat Tharn Nam Lai.

Today I want to walk you through the steps you can take to visit Thailand and stay at this incredibly beautiful and peaceful Buddhist forest monastery for free or for a donation you feel is appropriate.

Ten day Vipassana-like retreats you can find all over Thailand are not always ideal for a number of reasons. Here, I’ll list some of the negatives about 7-10 day retreats in Thailand.

Don’t miss all the photos at the bottom!

10 Day Retreats in Thailand – Negatives

Number of Days – You don’t set the time limit – it is set for you. If you want to go 6 days, you’ll be shamed into committing to 7 or 10 days because, well, that’s how long the retreats are and they want you to stay for the full duration. Retreats of other duration are hard or impossible to find (don’t exist). Your options are to create your own retreat or to join a temple like Wat Pah Nanachat in Ubon Ratchathani for as long as you wish – as a layperson wearing white. Joining Wat Pah, you’ll need to practice according to their schedule and take part in the other activities they do there. It can be fine if that’s what you want, but creating your own self-guide retreat gives you control over most of the variables and can be a highly rewarding experience.
Daily Schedule – You may not care about eating after noon, or for only 1 or 2 meals per day. I certainly wouldn’t. It would be a major inconvenience to eat just one meal per day and that alone is one reason many people don’t attend a 7-10 day retreat in Thailand at one of the meditation centers. Not eating after noon is a Buddhist monk idea that persists at most temples. It’s a major change for most people’s daily schedule, and not one that really makes any sense. When you wake up, shower, eat, when you meditate, when you sleep… all of these are dictated in the schedule of the meditation center. It’s so much nicer to choose your own schedule.
Diet – When you join a center, you’ll eat what they have. At temples like Wat Pah, you’ll go out with the monks and get food from locals on a long walk where you carry heavy bags of food back to the temple for everyone to eat. On a self-guided retreat of your own, you choose the food and can eat anything and any time you choose. There’s a real advantage to this!
Silence – On most of the Thailand retreats, they enforce 7-10 days of silence from participants. This is something that some people can deal with, but others cannot. The point is probably to really put you in a different mindset and prevent idle chit chat. Not everyone needs or wants this limitation. A self-guided retreat eliminates this requirement, but you could still follow it at Wat Suan Mokkh if you chose to. Or, as much as you chose to.
Clothes – On regular retreats, they tell you what to wear so everyone is basically the same. On a self-retreat, you can choose what to wear. The last time I stayed at Wat Suan Mokkh in the dorms, there was no requirement to wear white pants and shirt. That may have changed, it has been a couple of years, but I think it’s up to you what you wear.
Paid vs. Free – Regular retreats in Thailand charge a fee or have a suggested donation that you should give to cover expenses while there. If you don’t have any money at all, and just enough for a meal or two daily, a self-guided retreat at Wat Suan Mokkh can be ideal because nobody will ask you for money. I know a Russian guy who had stayed there for almost six months when I met him. He was poor and was even eating the food brought by the monks and laypersons on pindabot (alms rounds).
Dozens or 100+ Participants – There can be large crowds at some of the most well known meditation retreats in Thailand. The one across the street from Suan Mokkh Temple – the International Dhamma Hermitage – often has 100+ meditators each month. At the Thai side of Suan Mokkh there are that many people, but everyone is doing their own thing. There may be only one or two meditators like yourself on a private retreat or doing private practice at the temple temporarily. You can choose to interact with them or not – up to you. When I was there last time, there was the Russian guy and a French guy in the dorms. The French guy had a tent and fan set up inside the dorm and was quite comfortable.
Come and Go – At meditation center retreats you don’ t have the freedom to come and go at will. You basically stay there for the duration of the retreat. On your own retreat, you can come and go as you wish. I had my motorbike just inside the gate and was able to go out for lunch and dinner as necessary. A bicycle would work at Suan Mokkh also.

There are so many differences between the two meditation retreat formats, I think you get the idea how dramatically different they are. I won’t list 30 negatives or differences, because I’m sure you see what I’m saying!

Step By Step – How To Do a Self-Guided Retreat at Wat Suan Mokkh in Chaiya, Suratthani, Southern Thailand

Arrival – Fly in to one of Bangkok’s airports. BKK or SVB.
Train – Take a train south to Chaiya Train Station.
Taxi – Take a motorbike taxi, songthaew, GRAB ride, or walk west on highway 4011, then south on Highway 41. Total about 7 km.
Shopping – You will pass Lotus’s, which is a large shopping center where you could buy a pillow, drinks, beach mat to put down, air mattress, sleeping bag, fan, rechargeable battery fan, mosquito spray, a hat, white clothes if you wanted, soap, shampoo, etc.
Suan Mokkh – Arrive at the gate of Wat Suan Mokkhabalaram Buddhist temple. This is the MAIN temple, the “Thai side”. This is NOT the International Dhamma Hermitage site across the highway and down the country road. This is the temple RIGHT ON the West side of Highway 41.
Check In – Walk in and go straight. Walk about 100m. On the left are some concrete benches. There’s a welcome desk there. See if there’s a monk there. Tell them you want to stay a while. You will sign in. They will give you mosquito net and some other things. They will either take you or point you to the dorms. They’ll give you a brochure with map, and some general information and guidelines.
8 Precepts – A condition of staying at the temple is that you must follow 8 precepts that are common among people staying at Buddhist temples. 1. Intend not to take away any breath(abstain from killing). 2. Intend not to take away what is not given (abstain from stealing). 3. Intend to keep one’s mind and one’s body free from any sexual activity. 4. Intend not to harm others by speech. 5. Intend not to harm one’s consciousness with substances that intoxicate and lead to carelessness (no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking etc). 6. Intend not to eat between after noon and before dawn. 7. Intend not to dance, sing, play or listen to music, watch shows, wear garlands, ornaments and beautify oneself with perfumes and cosmetics. 8. Intend not to sleep or sit on luxurious beds and seats.
Dogs – There are dogs at this temple like almost every other. Until they know you, they bark at you. Your best plan of action is to bring food for them. Maybe soft dog food in a foil bag. Get them on your side quickly so you don’t have to deal with them barking every time you move around in the areas of the temple where there are not many people.
Dog Food – Stop and offer any dog that barks some food and talk quietly. Say ‘mah nee’ over and over. It means come here. The dogs will probably not take your food immediately and will just bark, so just walk to the dorm slowly, not turning your back on them – face them and walk backwards. They will go eat the food later and then know you’re not a danger. They may bark once or twice after this too – but keep feeding them and always have food on hand! The temple area is vast and there are dogs in different areas of the temple, so bring a bag with food wherever you go
Dorm – Find the male or female dorm and choose a place to put your mosquito net and pillow and things. Don’t leave anything in the dorm like computer, phone, or anything like this. It isn’t that the monks or magee (nuns) will take anything, but the other foreigners staying there could be a little questionable or odd. I did meet some odd people there over the years. I don’t remember there being any video cctv around, so theft could occur. Just be careful with cash and valuables. I’d bring them in a backpack or bag with me wherever I went if I brought them to the temple with me. Ideally, you’d leave them at home.
Personal Items – Another option is to leave your phone or computer with the monks at the welcome desk. They will store it for you. I don’t think they put your items in a safe, because they don’t need to, nobody would steal from the monks. They will keep it secure for you. You could probably ask them for your phone once per day to use it at night or something. People in the dorm will not want to hear any music coming from your devices, but you could do email and simple things if you needed to every day. You could also just go outside the temple and do whatever you needed to.
Food – You should probably just buy food at the restaurant just outside the temple gate when you need it. There are some curries that are good. It’s reasonably priced. Maybe 60 THB per 2 items over rice. Across the highway and south 100-200 meters are a couple of stores you can buy essentials in. There was a pharmacy there as well last time I visited, so you might check for that.
Stores/Restaurants – Within a 700 meters walk south of the temple are a few restaurants – Thai food, of course. Be careful, one place on Google maps is labeled as a grocery store and it’s actually a haircutting place. You should take some time and explore outside the gate and see what’s there. The temple gates are always open and you can come and go as you wish. I think the monks would like you to be in the dorm by a certain time, probably 8 pm. daily. It will be on the info sheet they hand you as you check in.
Explore – There are trails all over the temple grounds. There are meditation halls where you can sit inside. There are open-air areas to sit outside near the check-in desk, and all over. There is a library in a basement where you can usually sit on the concrete chair bench and meditate with few disturbances. You can do walking meditation in the forest after you are friends with the dogs there. There is a store where you can buy some books on meditation, the history of Suan Mokkh and Buddhadasa, and more topics. Just outside the main gate and south 100 meters is a 3-4 story high building. On the 3rd floor they sell t-shirts, posters, books, and other items. Always worth a look. There are no amulets sold anywhere here, as it goes against what Buddhadasa believed in.
Toilets/Showering – There are restrooms near the main gate, inside the temple, just on the south side of the gate. There are also showers there. Bring your own soap and shampoo.
Schedule – Your schedule is your own. Dharma talks given to monks, magee, and visitors will be in Thai language and you won’t get anything out of that if you don’t speak Thai well. You can meditate in many different places. You can do walking meditation. You can leave the temple to walk on the street outside and get something to eat if you need it. Not saying you should break the rules, but you’re a human being fully capable of deciding what is right for yourself and what you need and when you need it. lol.
Bugs – In the forest temple, you can expect there to be some bugs. Mosquitos, ants, beetles, and the usual stuff will be around. You’ll probably want to bring mozzy spray, long loose and very lightweight pants and shirts.
Gear – Though you don’t need much, you’ll want a bag to carry any valuables, snacks, water bottles, flip flop sandals or sports sandals, a light sheet, a light towel that dries quickly, soap, shampoo, clothes washing soap – use the baby kind that is anti-allergenic, many people are allergic to the very harsh clothes detergents here. I am! Bring a flashlight or headlamp with you that has rechargeable batteries. Bring a powerbank with you. Bring your phone and passport – the monks check it to see if you’re valid to stay in the country. Bring a journal and pens. Bring incense if you want to light it where you meditate, it’s possible in most places. Bring dog food! Bring a swimsuit.
Hot Spring – There is a hot spring just down the country road across the street. The water is very warm, but feels fantastic if you’re sore for any reason. You might take a motorbike taxi down that road – it’s about 1km and there could be dogs that are a problem.
Your Health – Make sure you know where the local Chaiya public hospital is. If you feel very week, or have a fever, go get checked for dengue fever. It’s very common. I had it 3-4 times in 20 years and other illnesses from ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos. There are some different strains of dengue too. All make you feel horrible. Costs are very reasonable in hospitals and clinics. Don’t be afraid to go!
Thai Language – If you don’t know Thai, you might familiarize yourself with a hundred words or so before you go. It will help immensely. We have a simple guide to some of the most common Thai words/phrases at our Krabi Nature site. Colors, food, numbers, and many other simple words will help you get through the day easier. You might even get lucky and meet up with someone who speaks English and Thai or just English. There are MANY visitors to this temple every day and you could stay around the gate and main areas and meet people there if you wanted to. That’s how I met the young Russian man. He was eager to talk to someone, having been there for months already and meeting few English speakers.
Duration of Stay – As long as your visa is good, you can stay. I can’t see them kicking you out, even after a year or so. You can sign out anytime and return as soon as you want. It’s not a problem to go take care of your visa and then return.
Foreign English Speaking Monks or Magee – You may be lucky enough to meet a foreign monk who speaks English at Wat Suan Mokkh. For years there was a Polish monk there and I’ve met a German and a Scot there in the past. If you do, please don’t ask them too much or make them talk too often. They are there to continue their path in a very serious way. Distractions can put them off and stress them out a bit. I’ve been guilty of talking too much to some monks in the past!
Departure – When you’re ready to go, say goodbye to anyone you may know who you’ve talked to there or shared a moment with. Take your things and return your mosquito net and other things to the monks at the welcome desk. They’ll give you whatever belongings you stored with them. Ask the monks about how to get a taxi or songthaew to take you into Chaiya to get the train to somewhere – (rote fy).
Email Us – If you remember, can you send us an email and let us know how it went for you? Or, feel free to contact us on our WhatsApp for a text chat or call. The account says Krabi Nature, but you can be sure it’s us. The account is: +66 635495050 I know I would love to hear about your experience!