The Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery welcomed the arrival of the new Buddha image that will eventually grace the new reception hall. The Buddha image arrived auspiciously on a wan phra (observance day). The shipping truck did experience some difficulty in trying to navigate the narrow and steep Tomki Road, which leads to our upper parking lot. Due mostly to generous help from some neighbors, we were able to get the delivery truck safely to the monastery and unloaded.

Along with the Abhayagiri Buddha image, we also received the new Buddha image for the Portland Friends of the Dhamma, a life size fiberglass image of Ajahn Chah, a medium sized wooden Buddha image, over a hundred boxes of smaller Buddha images, plus close to a hundred boxes of books.

We at Abhayagiri are incredibly grateful. Many people in Thailand helped, in so many ways, to make these offerings possible. We would also like to express our anumodana to Ajahn Achalo for overseeing the creation of the Buddha image, and for his skill and meticulous care in creating the perfect Buddha image for our new reception hall.

We have created a web gallery showing the arrival of the Buddha image and the setting of it up in the temporary shrine. You can view this galley by using this link:

"Sometimes the lights all shining on me...other times I can barely see..."  a great Grateful Dead lyric, thank you Robert Hunter...and one I think about all the time.  A few weeks ago I made pictures that felt good at the moment of their making and this week as I selected and finished them the feeling was still there.  Seemed like the light was all shining on me.

One of the ways I know I'm in my zone is when I keep finding different ways to see the same thing and that was happening at the Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, CA.  I only spent a few hours there but every minute felt good - I kept seeing more....

That's what I love about shooting icons.  They don't change - or at least not very fast.  The light changes of course but what mainly changes is me.  What I bring to it, what is revealed when I'm patient, what is really there but I don't always see.  The eyes are always looking but perception is a sometime thing...and that's another song.

I find myself exploring at the place that art and religion come together, and that often means photographing icons.

All icons are focusing devices. They help us turn away from the everyday and towards our deeper self. When I gaze at an icon it is not necessarily to see its specific religious qualities, but rather to glimpse the intentions of its maker and its universal quality, its desire to take you out of yourself, to create wonder.

I think it means something more to see all these faces together in the same space, virtual or on the wall. While each image seen alone represents the attributes of a single icon, seen together they are recontextualized and perhaps the universal sacred impulse they embody becomes more visible. I believe it means something more to see all these faces together than separately.

People ask why I’ve put so much work into this project. Here’s a story I think explains. I was in Berlin, making pictures in a beautiful old church which is now a museum. It was an autumn afternoon and the light was slanting in through the high windows. Because it's a museum the statues of the angels had been moved from their usual places high up in the air, down closer to eye level. I was wandering among the angels, looking at their faces when suddenly the great organ in the loft started making music. The organist had come to rehearse for a concert the next day. The music and the beauty of the surroundings and the light all combined to create rich and powerful feelings that opened my heart. For the next half hour I was "in…….church", making pictures while transfixed with feeling. The short answer to “why” I make these pictures is because I find it rewarding to do so.

Forest Practice – update

Ajahn Jotipalo recently visited Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in England.  He met with the grounds keeper who oversees a practice called Forest Practice, where several people volunteer to take on a project for ten days or up to four weeks.  These volunteers work alongside several of the monastic community members, while doing some vital work for the health of the forest.  This practice can be set up so the entire crew would live (sleep, eat, work and practice meditation) in the forest, but this depends on the individuals and the weather conditions.  This practice would not require any great skills in forestry practice, but a willingness to work 5 – 7 hours a day.  Also adherence to the eight precepts, having some familiarity with the monastic lifestyle and an on-going meditation practice are essential.

We are planning to do a version of Forest Practice period from April 30 - May 7,  2016 (Saturday - Saturday).  The current idea is to work along side the monks of Mt Tabor monastery (our Christian neighbors to the north).  We share a dirt road along the ridge and the section of the road that is on Abhayagiri's property is in much need of maintenance.  The main job will be clearing dead brush and slightly widening the path, to help create a firebreak and improved access to this beautiful part of the monastery .  Father Damien the abbot at Mt Tabor, has several volunteers lined up to help (they are retired fire fighters from Sonoma County) and several of the monks from their community will join in the work.  Already four lay Buddhist are planning to come for the project.  There is space for 4 - 5 more people to be part of this practice.

Part of this practice will focus on daily reflections, teachings, group sittings and time for solitude.  One idea is to take a theme like the 10 perfections and use one of the perfections each day. At Chithurst they also take one or two afternoons and do some kind of educational program.  We are considering doing this, and maybe also a trip to visit a redwood forest or the coast.

If this type pf practice sounds interesting to you, please write to Ajahn Jotipalo using this contact form. or email: retreat2016@abhayagiri.org   Please mention the term "Forest Practice - Ajahn Jotipalo" in your message.

Below is a link to Mt Tabor's Web site:

http://www.monksofmttabor.com/

10:00 AM -- Monks on almsround (Please, only dry goods, but not canned products as these can damage the monk's bowl)

10:30 AM  --  Meal offering and ceremonial washing of a Buddha image

1:00 PM  --  Ceremonial washing of Ajahns' hands, Paritta chanting, Dhamma talk, and holy water blessing

Please plan on carpooling if possible as parking is limited.  Please also be here well in advance of the 10:00 AM meal.

On Sunday, April 10, the Thai New Year celebration (Songkran) ceremony was held here at Abhayagiri. Many people came out that day to share in the meal offering, take the 3 refuges and 5 precepts and participate in the water pouring ceremony. 

Some of the lay supporters provided the following videos and pictures of the event to share with everybody. Please enjoy.              

Videos

Photos

View in Gallery...

We are pleased to announce that Ajahn Sucitto, the former abbot of the Cittaviveka (Chithurst) Buddhist Monastery in England, will be visiting Abhayagiri from April 19th through April 22nd. He will then continue to make visits and teachings throughout the United States through June. Please consult his website for more information.

He will be invited to offer reflections on the Lunar Observance evening of April 21st here at Abhayagiri. Please consult our calendar for more details.

From his website...

[Ajahn Sucitto] entered monastic life in 1975 in Thailand, but since 1978 has been based in Britain. He spent fourteen years training under Ajahn Sumedho, the senior Western disciple of Ajahn Chah, and so is part of that lineage of direct practice...Ajahn Sucitto himself is based at Cittaviveka Monastery in Chithurst, West Sussex, near Petersfield in southern England.

Other Links of Interest

• Ajahn Succito's website, teaching engagements and additional links
• Talks at Dharmseed.org
• Ajahn Sucitto's Blog
• Cittaviveka (Chithurst) Monastery

During the month of May 2016, Abhayagiri will receive one of Thailand's most prominent meditation masters and disciples of Luang Por Chah, Venerable Tan Ajahn Dtun (Thiracitto). He is expected to arrive at Abhayagiri on Sunday, May 22nd and will depart Sunday, May 29th. He will also be invited to offer Dhamma reflections on the Lunar Observance Day of Saturday, May 28th.

Although we have no capacity for overnight guests at this time, all are welcome to come to Abhayagiri as day visitors.

The following short biography of Tan Ajahn Dtun excerpted from This is the Path: A Collection of Teachings by Ajahn Dtun.

Venerable Ajahn Dtun (Thiracitto) was born in the province of Ayutthaya, Thailand, in 1955. At the age of six his family moved to Bangkok and he remained living there until June 1978. From a young age he was a boy whose heart naturally inclined towards having a foundation in moral discipline. By the time he was a teenager and on into his university years there would be many small incidents that would fashion his life and gradually steer him away from the ways of the world towards wishing to live the Holy Life.

After graduating in March 1978 with a Bachelors degree in Economics, he was accepted into a Masters Degree course in Town Planning at the University of Colorado, USA. However, in the period that he was preparing himself to travel abroad many small insights would amalgamate in force and change his way of thinking from wishing to take his studies as far as he could and then lead a family life, to thinking that after graduating he would remain single and work with the aim of financially assisting his father until the time was right for him to ordain as a monk. One evening he happened to pick up a Dhamma book belonging to his father which opened, by chance, at the last words of the Buddha: ‘Now take heed, monks, I caution you thus: Decline and disappearance is the nature of all conditions. Therefore strive on ceaselessly, discerning and alert!’ Reading over this a second and then a third time, the words resonated deeply within his heart causing him to feel that the time had now come to ordain, knowing this was the only thing that would bring any true benefit to him. He resolutely decided that within two months he would ordain as a monk and that his ordaining would be for life.

In June 1978, he travelled to the north eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani to ordain with the Venerable Ajahn Chah at Wat Nong Pah Pong. Resolute by nature and determined in his practice he was to meet with steady progress regardless of whether he was living with Ajahn Chah or away at any of Wat Nong Pah Pong’s branch monasteries. In 1981, he returned to central Thailand to spend the Rains Retreat at Wat Fah Krahm (near Bangkok) together with Venerable Ajahn Piak and Venerable Ajahn Anan. The three remained living and practicing together at Wat Fah Krahm until late 1984. At this time Venerable Ajahn Anan and Venerable Ajahn Dtun were invited to take up residence on a small piece of forest in the province of Rayong in Eastern Thailand. Seeing the land was unsuitable for long term residence, Ajahn Dtun chose another piece of land that was made available to them - a forested mountain that would later become the present day Wat Marp Jan.

After spending five years assisting Venerable Ajahn Anan in the establishing of Wat Marp Jan, he decided it was time to seek out a period of solitude so as to intensify his practice, knowing this to be necessary if he were to finally bring the practice of Dhamma to its completion. He was invited to practice on an eighty-acre piece of dense forest in the province of Chonburi and remained in comparative isolation for two years until 1992 when he eventually decided to accept the offering of land for the establishing of a monastery - Wat Boonyawad. Presently, the monastery spreads over 160 acres of land, all kindly given by the faith and generosity of Mr and Mrs. Boon and Seeam Jenjirawatana and family.

Since allowing monks to come and live with him in 1993, the Venerable Ajahn has developed a growing reputation as a prominent teacher within the Thai Forest Tradition, attracting between forty to fifty monks to come and live, and practice, under his guidance.

Other Links of Interest

• Talks given here at Abhayagiri: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Talks at Wat Buddha Dhamma in Australia
• English Wat Boonyawad Page
• Pictures of Tan Ajahn Dtun and Wat Boonyawad

The Ukiah Daily Journal has recently published a story about Abhayagiri and its upcoming 20th anniversary. Here is a small excerpt:

Riding on dirt roads through forested woodlands, standing in the back of a pickup truck with Ajahn Pasanno, the gentle and unassuming abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, he points out the small cabins constructed over the past 20 years that serve as dwellings for resident monks who dedicate their lives to a spiritual practice in the Thai Forest Tradition, a branch of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Ajahn Pasanno’s interest in spirituality was piqued during his undergraduate work at the University of Winnipeg, Canada, seeking something peaceful, something not confusing, not chaotic.

“In those days, the late ’60s, where I grew up in northern Manitoba, there was little available,” he says. “I was looking for something solid, something real in human existence.”

You can read the full article here:

For more information about our 20th anniversary celebration, please see our news article:

Forest Practice

Earlier in the year we reported that we were hoping to do an event based on a practice they do at Chithurst Monastery called Forest Month. We decided to only do a week, and call it Forest Practice. It was billed as a period of time to focus on a work project while having a lot of emphasis on Dhamma practice. We also were planning to work with our Christian neighbors at Mt Tabor.

For the week between April 29^th – May 7th eleven people from Abhayagiri (4 residents and 7 guests) plus several volunteers from Mt Tabor Monastery participated in this event. The week involved camping and living simply (solar showers, pit toilets, eating and meditating out doors). Most people camped, though we did have access to several cabins thanks to the monks at KPY (our other monastic neighbors on the ridge). One of these cabins became our camp kitchen. Special thanks to Ryan for being our kitchen manager and guarding the kitchen at night from hungry bears!

The main job we accomplished was clearing dead brush and widening a dirt road that we share with Mt Tabor. This work was vital to help create a firebreak and improved access to this beautiful part of the monastery. The road had become so over-grown it was difficult to drive it without doing damage to our truck.

We had several group meditations each day and another period was devoted to listening to Dhamma talks and having discussions about the 5 hindrances. We also did several educational events, Susan Seitz, her husband Gary and her friend Matt lead an herbal tour of our forest and Father Damian offered a lighthearted lecture about the use of icons in eastern Orthodox tradition. We also took a day trip to visit the redwoods and the ocean.

This was the first “retreat” we've even had at Abhayagiri, and though the logistics of camping on the ridge and having some challenging weather conditions, it ended up being a great experience. Thanks to everybody who helped.

Here is a link to some photos taken during the week:

http://www.abhayagiri.org/gallery/6282364386287399985

We are pleased to announce that Ajahn Amaro has returned to the United States through June of 2016. He starts at the Pacific Hermitage arriving May 26. Please check the Pacific Hermitage website for more information. He then will arrive at Abhayagiri by June 1.

Although we have no capacity for overnight guests at this time, all are welcome to come to Abhayagiri as day visitors.

Scheduled Events

• June 4: Abhayagiri's 20th Anniversary Celebration
• June 5: Bhikkhu/Sāmaṇera ordinations at Abhayagiri
• June 6: Monday Evening Talk at Spirit Rock
• June 7: First Tuesday Gathering at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
• June 8: Wednesday Meditation Gathering at Yoga Mendicino

Please revisit our website and calendar for more up-to-date information.

• 8:00-10:30am: Informal tours, slideshows of monastery, & meeting old friends and board members, past and present
• 10:30am: Gather for meal offering
• 1:00-5:00pm: Reflections from monastic guests

Sunday, June 5th: Ordination Ceremony for Sāmaṇera Kondañño, Sāmaṇera Jāgaro and Anagārika Armand.

All are welcome to attend the formal ceremony in which the Sāmaṇera Kondañño and Sāmaṇera Jāgaro will enter the monastic Saṅgha as bhikkhus and Anagārika Armand will take the brown robes of a novice. The ceremony will take place at the ordination platform. We plan to hold the ceremony around 1 pm.

Please see our calendar for more details.

(Historical) Saturday, May 7th: Triple Anagārika Ceremony for Jeff, Dorian and Hector

In place of the usual Saturday night talk, long-term residents Jeff, Dorian, and Hector will take on the . You are welcome to join them for the beginning of their monastic training and hear Ajahn Pasanno's advice for those embarking on the monastic adventure.

Puja will begin as usual at 7:30 pm, followed by the ceremony around 8:30-8:45 pm.

The Abhayagiri community took the opportunity of our 20^th anniversary celebration to create a memorial for the late Ruth Denison. The plaque on a beautifully created wooden urn simply reads:

“A beloved pioneer

of Buddhism in the West

who guided many

with her compassion, wisdom

and clarity.”

There were many exchanges between Ruth and Abhayagiri over the years, with the monks visiting her meditation center, Dhamma Dena, in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree, California or Ruth spending time at Abhayagiri. Once when Ruth was well into her 80's she arrived on one of our all night sits. While most people after traveling all day would have been looking forward to a rest, Ruth was overjoyed at the opportunity to practice with the community. She was a fearless practitioner.

On June 10^th a procession of monks and lay people lead by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro walked out to a tree we call the Goddess Tree. Henry Denison's urn had been installed at the Goddess Tree by Ruth in a memorial service back in 2007. We created a simple memorial and placed Ruth's urn in the hollow of this majestic tree, followed by a chanting and a period of silence.

Here is a link to a photo gallery of the memorial:

Ruth Denison Memorial

On June 4th, 2016, many people gathered at Abhayagiri to meet old friends, celebrate and share reflections on the past 20 years. The audio and photos from the day are now available.

20th Anniversary Audio and Photos

Note: We were honored to have Somkid, a professional photographer from Thailand, come and take a number of photographs that weekend.  We will be showcasing more of her photos, including those from the ordination, in a future article.

On May 20, 2016, Luang Por Pasanno gave a talk at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. You can watch the talk here, starting at time 42:50:

You can also watch the same talk recorded by an audience member posted on Youtube here: