# Thai Temple Offers Addiction Cure



## Paul Garrigan

I just thought I’d share a little bit about my story with the good folk here on the forum. I know that there are quite a few expats in Thailand who are suffering from substance abuse problems; some of these individuals brought an addiction with them while others developed a problem while living here. I was a drunk long before I arrived. 

It might seem strange that a drunk would decide to go live in Thailand. Alcoholism is often associated with being ‘down and out’ but this is just a stereotype. It is possible for addicts to hold their lives together even in the midst of an addiction; for a while I was able to manage as a high functioning addict. I did end up briefly homeless on the streets of London in my early twenties, but I managed to escape this; I even managed to get a degree and train in a profession. My drinking problem didn’t go away though, and the reason I moved to Thailand was an attempt to escape this addiction. I had already tried Saudi Arabia and that hadn’t worked so Thailand seemed like the obvious choice. I believe that the reason why so many people with substance abuse problems end up in Thailand is that they believe moving here will make life better; just like I believed. 

For my first six years living in Thailand my mental and physical health deteriorated. I moved to a beautiful Thai village in the hope that I’d find some peace there; I might as well have moved to a bus shelter in Birmingham for all the peace my mind was getting. I lost all hope and felt sure that I was about to die. It was then that I found out about Thamkrabok temple in Saraburi. 

Wat Thamkrabok is a famous Thai monastery that treats addicts from around the world. I had been through many treatment facilities in the west but this one was different. It offered a simple solution – if I gave up alcohol my life would get better; sounds simple but I had failed to look at things this way previously. Wat Thamkrabok has a reputation for being the harshest treatment facility in the world, but I’m not sure about that. All I know is that it worked and four years later my life is really back on track. I have a wonderful family now, and I even managed to get a book about my experiences published; it is called Dead Drunk and it has already been released in Ireland and the UK and will be out in Thailand next month. 

I really do believe that Thamkrabok is something to consider for anyone in Thailand who is suffering from a substance abuse problem. I know that this might seem like just a cheeky way for me to promote my book, but I’m also keen to promote this temple. If anyone would like to find out more about Wat Thamkrabok please feel free to contact me or contact the temple directly.


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## Mr. Soap

*A monk?*

_Wat Thamkrabok is a famous Thai monastery that treats addicts from around the world. I had been through many treatment facilities in the west but this one was different. It offered a simple solution – if I gave up alcohol my life would get better; sounds simple but I had failed to look at things this way previously. Wat Thamkrabok has a reputation for being the harshest treatment facility in the world, but I’m not sure about that. All I know is that it worked and four years later my life is really back on track. _


Khun Paul,

Great story! I'm glad to hear that you are one of the success stories of the Wat' program.

Is the African American monk named either Jordan or Morgan still at Wat Thamkrabok? I've heard a lot about that Wat but never had a chance to visit it yet. My American friend stops there occationally to chat with this monk. Is he one of the helpers in the rehab program?

Mrs. Soap


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## Paul Garrigan

Mr. Soap said:


> _Wat Thamkrabok is a famous Thai monastery that treats addicts from around the world. I had been through many treatment facilities in the west but this one was different. It offered a simple solution – if I gave up alcohol my life would get better; sounds simple but I had failed to look at things this way previously. Wat Thamkrabok has a reputation for being the harshest treatment facility in the world, but I’m not sure about that. All I know is that it worked and four years later my life is really back on track. _
> 
> 
> Khun Paul,
> 
> Great story! I'm glad to hear that you are one of the success stories of the Wat' program.
> 
> Is the African American monk named either Jordan or Morgan still at Wat Thamkrabok? I've heard a lot about that Wat but never had a chance to visit it yet. My American friend stops there occationally to chat with this monk. Is he one of the helpers in the rehab program?
> 
> Mrs. Soap


I think you mean Monk Gordon; he is quite a character. He was originally some sort of soldier of fortune (so they say) but gave it up to stay as a monk at the temple. There are plenty of interesting folk to meet at Wat Thamkrabok; at lot of the monks are reformed addicts.


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## Mr. Soap

*Monk Gordon*



Paul Garrigan said:


> I think you mean Monk Gordon; he is quite a character. He was originally some sort of soldier of fortune (so they say) but gave it up to stay as a monk at the temple. There are plenty of interesting folk to meet at Wat Thamkrabok; at lot of the monks are reformed addicts.


Yes, that is who I mean. I remember my friend corrected me about his name last year too. Sorry about that. Somehow the correct name did not stick. I first heard about him on an interview by CNN many years back. I was amazed that he could do chanting in Bali language.

Later this year my husband and I would try to drive up there to see this Wat and pay a visit to Monk Gordon too. My friend said he sometimes craved pizza, I guess just like many Americans away from home. We'd make sure we take one with us. Hope he has a microwave to heat it up for the next day's meal in case we don't get there before 11:15 AM.

I will certainly have one of your books in our collection. Thanks for sharing the story.

Mrs. Soap


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## Paul Garrigan

Mr. Soap said:


> Yes, that is who I mean. I remember my friend corrected me about his name last year too. Sorry about that. Somehow the correct name did not stick. I first heard about him on an interview by CNN many years back. I was amazed that he could do chanting in Bali language.
> 
> Later this year my husband and I would try to drive up there to see this Wat and pay a visit to Monk Gordon too. My friend said he sometimes craved pizza, I guess just like many Americans away from home. We'd make sure we take one with us. Hope he has a microwave to heat it up for the next day's meal in case we don't get there before 11:15 AM.
> 
> I will certainly have one of your books in our collection. Thanks for sharing the story.
> 
> Mrs. Soap


Monk Gordon seems to like it when people visit him. If you bring Pizza I'm sure he'll find a way to heat it.


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## wildfk

So can we see the stats that prove this place works?
Wasn't it shown a few years back to be completely ineffective ?


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## Paul Garrigan

wildfk said:


> So can we see the stats that prove this place works?
> Wasn't it shown a few years back to be completely ineffective ?


Hi wildfk, I am not sure which stats you are referring to. It is a Thai temple offering a free service to people from Thailand and around the world. All I can tell you for certain is that it proved effective for me. The release of my book has also put me in touch with many other ex-patients and they too are happy to have escaped addiction; some for as long as twenty years. 


I did conduct a quite a bit of research during my three years writing the book but I did not come across the statistics you are referring to. I would be interested in any evidence you might have to support the claim. Mind you, I don't really put too much weight in statistics as they are almost always connected with an agenda. The experience of people always impresses me more. 

Paul


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## Guest

I'm not a Buddhist, but I've been on enough Buddhist retreats from a long weekend to a few weeks to understand how the simple basics of the monastery lifestyle combined with regular meditation bring a certain strength of mind and purpose over time, with consistent practice. 

I don't know about this specific wat, but my experience tells me that a retreat/meditation helps with all aspects of life and living, from self-esteem to acceptance of everything life throws at us, to living in the here and now, to improving concentration, to achieving a level of equanimity and peace of mind that is often inaccessible in our sometimes frantic everyday lives outside in the 'real' world. Above all it brings discipline of mind. Just escaping to a beautiful peaceful setting doesn't help to solve deep-seated problems such as addictions, as the OP noted.


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## wildfk

Yes- I'll dig about - I'm pretty sure this is "quackery" and has no records that prove their methods are in any way effective - what evidence do you present in your book? or are you just selling a book here???


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## wildfk

Just done about 5 minutes research and came up with this quote from the "independant" UK broadsheet.
"Well, if nothing else, Thamkrabok is quintessentially alien. Rather than meditate in quiet repose, the recovering addict monks are kept busy realising the abbot's eccentric visions. They have built a 100-ton water wheel that may eventually be put to use on Bangkok's canals, as well as a mammoth speedboat, which perches unfinished in the monastery grounds. Towering statues of Buddha, elephant-headed sculptures, and outsize busts of the abbot's spectacle-wearing aunt are scattered about the grounds. The bodies of the abbot's deceased siblings are now at rest inside hefty coffins here, and are embalmed in homemade fluid, which the monks are required to change regularly.

If Austin and his four British roommates can endure the hardships of this brutal purge, and journey with their Thai colleagues through all the paranoia and the pain, their task is indeed heroic."

I see no proof or figures concerning those who return to their addiction or any scientific evidence behind the principles.

And in Newbury.....
OCTOBER 2004

Newbury Weekly News

"A NEWBURY man who died from a suspected heroin overdose on Sunday had just returned from a Thai monastery in a last-ditch bid to cure his addiction."


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## Paul Garrigan

Hi wildfk, I'm reporting from my experience with this temple. If this is not something that suits you that is fine; you don't have to use the temple. If you believe that I'm just trying to sell books well that too is fine; you don't have to buy anything I'm selling. 

I would have no hesitation recommending the temple; although I don't claim for it to be a magic cure. If you have evidence that shows that there is something wrong with this method of recovery then I'm sure that people can make thier own minds up. 

Good luck to you anyway. I hope this is not something you ever need for yourself. 

Paul


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## jojo

Paul Garrigan said:


> Hi wildfk, I'm reporting from my experience with this temple. If this is not something that suits you that is fine; you don't have to use the temple. If you believe that I'm just trying to sell books well that too is fine; you don't have to buy anything I'm selling.


Good cos we dont allow advertising on the forum 

Jo xxx


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## Paul Garrigan

jojo said:


> Good cos we dont allow advertising on the forum
> 
> Jo xxx


I'll need to keep that in mind


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## wildfk

Paul Garrigan said:


> Hi wildfk, I'm reporting from my experience with this temple. If this is not something that suits you that is fine; you don't have to use the temple. If you believe that I'm just trying to sell books well that too is fine; you don't have to buy anything I'm selling.
> 
> I would have no hesitation recommending the temple; although I don't claim for it to be a magic cure. If you have evidence that shows that there is something wrong with this method of recovery then I'm sure that people can make thier own minds up.
> 
> Good luck to you anyway. I hope this is not something you ever need for yourself.
> 
> Paul


I have given up ALL drugs - but I'm concerned that this place offers false hope to a lot of people who'd be better off elsewhere - 

When was your book published?

ah I see - April 2010
this appears to be part of an orchestrated internet campaign to publicise your book?


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## Paul Garrigan

I appreciate what you are saying and again I'm not claiming that this is a magic cure. What I'm saying is that this is something that I know works from experience; I also know it has worked for lots of other people. 

I was recently back in Ireland and there are only thirty detox beds for the whole country; it also costs about 30,000 Euro to detox a patient. The government is happier to just keep people on methaodone or allow alcoholics to detox at home alone. Sending all addicts to Wat Thamkrabok is not the solution, but it can and does work for many of us. I spent twenty years going in and out of detox and this was the first thing to really work for me.


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## wildfk

Sorry don't buy that - what's to say that you'd just got to the time when you were going to give up and any detox might have worked.

Most addicts are pretty good at deceiving themselves and the temple may have some success but as it tends to go for people "at the end of their tether" it actually has an advantage over other detox places they tried.


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## Paul Garrigan

Hi Wildfk, I understand why you are questioning my motivations for posting on here' that's up to you. I will just say that my experience with this temple has been very positive. I'm not claiming that it's a magic cure, and I don't believe it offers false hope. 

I was recently back in Ireland and there is only 30 detox beds for the whole country. It also costs about 30,000 Euro to bring an addict all the way through detox. There seems to be more will to keep addicts on methadone or have them detox themselves. This temple is a possible solution for those who are willing to quit.


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## Paul Garrigan

wildfk said:


> Sorry don't buy that - what's to say that you'd just got to the time when you were going to give up and any detox might have worked.


Most addicts are pretty good at deceiving themselves and the temple may have some success but as it tends to go for people "at the end of their tether" it actually has an advantage over other detox places they tried

I am not saying here that the temple is better than other treatment centers, but I do know that it was the one that worked for me. I also agree with you that my desperation was the key; the temple is a great place for desperate people to go - people who have tried everything else. I had given up all hope and I'm so glad this place was there; I hope it will be there for other people too. 

Whatever you might think about my motives here; surely you must see that any place that can give addicts thier life back deserves to be praised


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## Guest

wildfk said:


> Just done about 5 minutes research and came up with this quote from the "independant" UK broadsheet.
> "Well, if nothing else, Thamkrabok is quintessentially alien. Rather than meditate in quiet repose, the recovering addict monks are kept busy realising the abbot's eccentric visions. They have built a 100-ton water wheel that may eventually be put to use on Bangkok's canals, as well as a mammoth speedboat, which perches unfinished in the monastery grounds. Towering statues of Buddha, elephant-headed sculptures, and outsize busts of the abbot's spectacle-wearing aunt are scattered about the grounds. The bodies of the abbot's deceased siblings are now at rest inside hefty coffins here, and are embalmed in homemade fluid, which the monks are required to change regularly.
> 
> If Austin and his four British roommates can endure the hardships of this brutal purge, and journey with their Thai colleagues through all the paranoia and the pain, their task is indeed heroic."
> 
> I see no proof or figures concerning those who return to their addiction or any scientific evidence behind the principles.


Actually, work - whether on mundane or more constructive tasks - is a fundamental part of the daily routine of the Buddhist monk, and is inextricably linked to the principles underlying meditation; especially when doing repetitive tasks without any obvious benefit to the practitioner.

So if the Buddhist psychology underpins the methods used at this wat, then I can well imagine it being successful in some cases, for the reasons I gave in an earlier post in this thread.


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## Paul Garrigan

frogblogger said:


> Actually, work - whether on mundane or more constructive tasks - is a fundamental part of the daily routine of the Buddhist monk, and is inextricably linked to the principles underlying meditation; especially when doing repetitive tasks without any obvious benefit to the practitioner.
> 
> So if the Buddhist psychology underpins the methods used at this wat, then I can well imagine it being successful in some cases, for the reasons I gave in an earlier post in this thread.


This was very much part of it. We would sweep the temple twice a day and this really was a nice form of moving meditation.


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## jojo

sounds a load of nonsense to me LOL !!! sorry, just my twopennyworth!

Jo xx


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## Paul Garrigan

jojo said:


> sounds a load of nonsense to me LOL !!! sorry, just my twopennyworth!
> 
> Jo xx


I was grateful for it anyway. I was a drunk from my teens untl my mid-thirties. I losa lot. My life is wonderful now and so I'm happy with the deal. Something like this is not for everyone and that's understanable. 

Paul


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## Guest

jojo said:


> sounds a load of nonsense to me LOL !!! sorry, just my twopennyworth!
> 
> Jo xx


Yep, that's pretty much the usual reaction from Westerners who don't understand the benefits of various forms of meditation practice, pigeon-holing it all in the 'weird mystical stuff' box! There have been some peer-reviewed studies of the physiological and psychological effects of meditation - there's nothing wishy-washy and Hari Krishna about it .

Don't knock it until you've tried it. It works, believe me. And 's that's coming from a rock-solid life-long atheist, who's extremely sceptical about just about everything .

That said, there is meditation practice that isn't dissociated from the superstitious, and I'm not in favour of it in those circumstances.


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## Guest

Paul Garrigan said:


> We would sweep the temple twice a day and this really was a nice form of moving meditation.


Many years ago the abbot of a Theravada Buddhism monastery in the UK - based on the forest tradition of NE Thailand where he had trained - told me a story about his novice days. He was an American Vietnam vet, a medic, and found himself at the famous Ajahn Chah's Pah Pong monastery looking for an alternative way of life, shortly after the war was over.

A little brash and self-absorbed, surrounded by young Thais who were hardly worldly-wise, he expected to be rapidly taken along a fast route to enlightenment, via insight meditation, talks etc, led by the senior monks. Ajahn Chah however took one look at him, gave him a broom, and sent him out to sweep the leaves from the two mile-long path to the river. Every morning he was given the same task. He felt increasingly frustrated - no sooner had he completed the work in one direction, than another load of leaves had fallen on the path for the return trip. After a couple of weeks he went to see the Ajahn, asking him to explain the point of the exercise, which seemed entirely fruitless to him. 

Ajahn Chah smiled, and simply told him that when he had learned how to happily surrender to, and accept the way things were that he could not change, he would understand the point...


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## lometogo

Paul, good on ya, mate. I'm a recovering alcoholic/drug addict of many years myself and always applaud anything that works. So happens that I found respite from the beast through Alcoholics Anonymous but, hey, whatever works.

It's interesting how some people love to put in the boot whenever someone applauds something, someplace, or someone.....but, hey, god love 'em, if that's what gets 'em off.

I detect your sincerity and feel no book-pushing agenda from you. I'm a plastic paddy, my rellies left Cork during the big hunger. I'm moving to Bangkok next month, and I hope our paths cross one day.

As a final note, one truth I've discovered over the years and slowly incorporate into my life is this "It's not about what others think of me, it's about what I think of me".

Terence


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## wildfk

Anything that works? - there is very little if any evidence that it "works" at all - people come out after going through what frankly is a pretty unconvincing regime and claim they are "cured" - well I would like to see some figures that compare this place to any other when it comes to people returning to their addiction - for a start, most people will tell you there is no "cure" - just "remission"


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## lometogo

wildfk said:


> Anything that works?


Yes, anything that works. And, we have the Irish bloke, Garrigan, telling us it worked for him, eh? 

Who gives a ******* how it works as long as it does. And I saw no one mentioning the word "cure", or did I miss something? I agree with you, addictions are never killed, but only in remission, as you say. 

For those of us who lived many years with the pain, embarrassment, and shame and shameful conduct, we gladly and loudly applaud any and everyone's success, regardless of its source. 

If drinking aged elephant ***** while bowing to the British Queen worked, I"d applaud it.....well, maybe not for myself but for any of you Poms that were so inclined.....

Live and let live, eh?


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