Mostly monkey business

A recent highlight was today's trip to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary which is home to tons of Long tailed macaque monkeys They are absolutely spell binding with their adorable antics. We spent a few hours just watching them eat, play, bathe, argue, and tease the tourists. They are not really afraid of people and I'm quite sure they'd quickly gain the upper hand in any human/monkey altercation. One reached right into my purse pocket, which was empty as I alway remember the cardinal rule; never, ever trust a monkey. One little monkey, who was being chased by a large one, flung himself onto my lap while shooting the chasing monkey a smug "nah nah a boo boo" look. Then he scampered off. Out of no where a bunch of monkeys just starting jumping into the little cement pond all at once, as if they had planned it. They tumbled down on each other, leapt from the overhanging branches, swam under the water and generally created monkey business. Here are a few photos of one the monkeys sweet on J










After the monkey forest we ate at the tranquil and delicious Bali Buddha. I had a great raw vegan lunch of salad rolls, pate and crackers, mint lemonade and a chocolate tart. At the attached heath food store, we picked up some all natural shampoo made from coconut and scented with frangipani flowers.

Last night we went back to the large grocery store near by. We found some mystery white juice at the fresh juice bar. When we inquired about what it was, they pointed out a fruit I'd never seen before and called it "Indonesian fruit". We bought it. All I can say is the taste is best described as highly objectionable. Speaking of objectionable fruit, I also detest Snake fruit, which gets its name from the scaly skin, which also should have served as warning to me not to eat it. It tastes like a creamy onion apple, and it smells. On the other hand I adore the succulent Mangosteens.

The other exciting news is that J and I were accepted to attend the three week Sciences of the Buddha meditation retreat. "In the beautiful setting of Plum Village, from the 1st until the 21st of June 2012, with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Sangha, scientists and Buddhists will practice sitting together, walking together, and sharing their experience and insight with each other. The practices of mindfulness and concentration can help scientists to be better scientists and in this way, Buddhism can act as a source of inspiration, suggesting directions for future investigation and discovery. Conversely, we will explore how insights from science can be useful, not only to develop technology and improve our material comfort, but to reduce the suffering of individuals, families, and society. This retreat will bring a lot of joy and confidence in both traditions as we find out that good science and good Buddhism can be much and do much for the wellbeing of the world." Thich Nhat Hanh is one of my favorite Buddhist authors and he wrote the amazing book Being Peace It's an accessible for read for Buddhists and NonBuddhists. I love it so much I've purchased many copies for family, friends and for the prisoner book program.
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