Meditation instructor: Phramaha Thanat Atthacharee, Ph.D.
Meditation Master and Buddhist Missionary monk at Wat Thai Washington, D.C. USA.
Yoga and Meditation Master for many years.

Phra Ajan Suriya Techavaro, and Phra Maha Sriuphorn Attathepo
Vipassana Meditation Master from Wat Thai Washington, D.C.

 Advantages of Meditation:

Meditation is good for all human being for their mental and mind development.

Meditation is the way to train our minds to develop insight and wisdom.

Meditation is the way to clear and to purify our mind form impurities.

Meditation is the way to help meditation practitioners to have calm and a peaceful mind.

Meditation is the source of serenity and a real happiness.

Meditation is the way to train our minds to be free from all kinds of mental defilement, such as hatred, selfish desire, greed, and ignorance

RULES AND DISCIPLINES FOR PARTICIPANTS

1. Follow the Five Precepts.

2. There will be no communications between participants except during conversations with the monks. If truly necessary, written messages are allowed.

 Questions and inquiries for the monks are also done in this manner.

3. Be particularly mindful and observe all your actions: walking, sitting, standing, or lying down.

4. Be considerate about restrooms, and keep them clean.

How to Behave in a Thai temple
 
     Wat Thai DC is a traditional, working Buddhist temple with full-time monks where many Thai people come for religious observance. As visitors we need to be aware of some of the cultural and religious sensibilities associated with Buddhist temples, although of course we'll always be welcomed even if we make mistakes up and no-one expects non-Thais or non-Buddhists to know all the many rules.  
    We take our shoes off at the entrance and keep them off during our time in the main hall, known as the Buddha Hall. It's best to dress in clothes that are loose-fitting but not overly revealing. Please turn off your cell phones. Avoid making physical contact with a monk or nun of your opposite sex or giving something directly in their hands. Thai people do not like to be touched on the head, regarded as the highest part of the body, and no touching the Buddha statues please. Following the Buddha's example set down 2,500 years ago, the monks at Wat Thai DC don't eat solid food after 12 noon so if it's after 11 and a monk you're talking to seems anxious to get away it's most likely because he needs to eat lunch ahead of the deadline. If you follow these simple guidelines, your experience at Wat Thai will be all the richer. 

You mentioned that Thai people will be at the temple this Saturday at the workshop and will be taking the 5 precepts. I think we should advise the people coming for the English-language workshop that this is going to happen to that they can take part if they want, or at least understand what is happening. What if I put something on the meetup,com page like the following?

   This Saturday we will be joined by a Thai group who are also doing a meditation workshop. Our session will be the same as in previous weeks, and the teaching will be in English, but with a slight difference: The Thais will do a 2-minute Buddhist ceremony known as “taking the Five Precepts” during which they will vow to follow some basic rules of morality. Ethics are of course not exclusive to Buddhism, but “taking the precepts” is standard , regular practice for Thai people in temples. Known as the Five Precepts, the basic rules for lay people are not commandments as in Judeo-Christian traditions but more like guidelines for better living voluntarily undertaken by the practitioner who applies restraint so as to live a happier, more fulfilled life. Notice that the wording of the precepts are not in the form of an order but rather a set of ethical standards that individuals willingly commit themselves to, as in: "I undertake the training rule...." Please feel free to take part in  the ceremony by repeating the Pali-language phrases below, but don’t worry or feel left out if you do not want to participate. Your meditation will still be meaningful.