Hello, and welcome to Tansamai!
My name is Harry, and I created Tansamai some time ago, not really knowing what to do with it. However, when I looked at what the name meant, I had an idea, so let me first explain a few things.
So what does Tansamai mean?
Tansamai (Lao: ທັນສະໄຫມ) is a Lao word meaning Modern. I chose this name for a few reasons:
- It sounds nice
- I wanted to represent a modern take on Laos and bring it into the 21 century
- It was originally intended to be a website to sell some beautiful Lao silk and textiles, but I have decided to go a different route with that with another website, but instead decided to focus on things like mediation, spirituality, Laos, and quotes
- It is a nice word to represent Laos in the modern world
So what is this all about Laos, then!?
Good question, and one I should have perhaps answered sooner!
I have been living & working in Laos for nearly a year now, and I intend to make it my home.
Why Laos?
I originally volunteered to teach English here whilst looking for jobs in my native UK. I stumbled upon an advert on a jobs website that was all about volunteering in different countries, and I just thought, why not! I took the plunge, and it was the best thing I ever did.
Where in Laos?
I live in a small city called Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city on the confluence of the Namkhan River and the mighty Mekong.
It is quite a touristy city, and many people who have already traveled to Southeast Asia have more than likely spent a few days here.
So back to Tansamai
OK, so as I have said already, I taught English here a while ago. The idea of the project was to teach to both normal children and also novice monks, which was quite exciting!
You can start off by checking out our posts on meditating with purpose and how to begin meditation from a real novice monk.
If you are still skeptical about all of this new age kind of stuff, have a look at our article about the benefits of meditation to see what kind of results you may achieve.
However, this site is not only about meditation but also all kinds of things related to Buddhism, spirituality, and all interesting things about Laos. In fact, I even made an infographic about Laos because I know the internet loves those things!
From speaking with many of them, they were all very eager to learn new languages, partly because once they had completed their monkly duties, they are not really much else to do and partly because they want to get good jobs and further themselves, which is admirable.
They also loved to talk about Buddhism and meditation and their lives and everything in between. Part of Buddhism is to do with what is called the Dharma (which we will get to in a more in-depth article), which essentially is all about sharing the message of Buddhism.
There are also many former monks who work ordinary jobs now but still practice some or all of their previous lives. I work with several former monks who now work as tour guides, and they are all full of interesting stories. So I thought, why not bring this old and wonderful religion into the modern (see Tansamai, modern!) world and get them to write about different things about Spirituality, Meditation, and their lives in Laos.
Wrap up
So there you have it. A brief summary of me, my life, and Laos. Also, of Tansamai and the reason behind its conception.