An article recently appeared in the Ferry County View (Ferry County is is North Central Washington state).![]()
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Abhayagiri in another local paper
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New Buddha Rupa for Reception Hall - Work in Progress
The carving of the future Buddha image for the new Reception Hall is underway in Thailand. The construction of the large image which will be the frontispiece of the shrine in the new hall was begun late last year. The whole process is being supervised by Ajahn Acalo - former Abhayagiri resident and current abbot of Anandagiri Mountain Hermitage in Petchaboon, Central Thailand.
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Alms Round Starts in Willits
With their bright saffron robes, shaved heads and mild demeanors Jotipalo and Kassapo, monks at the Abhayagiri Monastery of Redwood Valley, stand out a bit, even in Willits. On Thursday, June 12, 2014, they were found them peacefully strolling down Main Street from the MacDonald's to Commercial Street, alms baskets slung over their shoulders, silently waiting to receive alms in the form of food, engaging with anyone who might have questions, offering traditional Buddhist blessings, and generally making their presence known to the community.
Jotipalo, originally of Indiana, speaking with his soft Midwestern accent, explained that the monks have only recently begun making their alms walk through Willits, though they have been active in Ukiah for more than 10 years, "The first couple times no one knew what we were doing, but last time maybe 12 people gave us food."
The monks, who belong to the Thai Forest tradition of Theravada Buddhist, have been doing a bi-monthly alms walk through Willits for about two months. The alms round is an ancient tradition brought over from Thailand, where monks make daily walks through local villages begging for alms to support themselves. Here in Mendocino County, with longer distances and different traditions, the monks only make their alms walk on the new and full moons in Willits, and on the new, full and quarter moons in Ukiah and Redwood Valley. They are not allowed to touch money and depend on the donations of laity to support themselves. All food that is collected on these alms rounds is brought back to the monastery and shared among the members.
The Abhayagiri Monastery, which means "fearless mountain" in the ancient Pali language, a dead language used in Buddhist scripture, was founded in 1995, at the invitation of the local Buddhist community. Steve Keyes, a local lay resident, has been active with the monastery since its creation and was integral in bring the alms rounds to Willits, giving the monks rides, and organizing.
At Mariposa Market a few people stopped to look curiously at the monks, and a few more stopped to give them food. Maluma of Willits placed food into their baskets then bowed to receive a traditional blessing. Asked about the new presence of the monks in Willits she said, "I love it. It's just a reminder of the spiritual path, of my own spiritual path."
Not being able to handle money obviously creates certain difficulties for the monks, Jotipalo, by far the more talkative of the pair, explains, "It's very restricting in some ways, but freeing in others." One obvious hang up is paying for gas. As a result the monks generally accept rides from lay members of their faith.
Judy Truong of Houston, Texas, and originally of Vietnam, was acting as the brother's chauffer. She had flown in to San Francisco the previous day, renting a car and driving up to monastery specifically to take part in the monthly full moon ritual, which involves a tea, chanting, informal discussions on the nature of meditation and their faith, and sitting and walking meditation in the forest until 3 a.m., when the monks do their morning chant. Truong, who wore a simple and practical outfit reminiscent of hospital scrubs which she had sewn herself as part of her devotion, has tried various different forms of Buddhism and before dedicating to the Thai Forest Tradition.
She explained that the simplicity and directness of their message appealed to her, saying, "The way he teach, he doesn't use fancy words." She continued, "For people who don't know anything about Buddhism this monastery is a good place to get to know."
The monks see their rounds not primarily as a way to support the monastery, which receives much support from the larger lay community, with many people coming up from the Bay Area. Instead the walks serve as part of a lesson in humility for the monks, and a sign to the community of their presence, "It's been very successful, even if we don't receive any food, just friendly smiles."
The monks will be continuing to walk for alms in Willits every morning of the new and full moons.
Adapted from an article posted on Willits News on June 18, 2014.
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Luang Por Sumedho to Visit Abhayagiri (UPDATED July 7th, 2014)
Please note: the most reliable and up-to-date information is on our web calendar.
Luang Por Sumedho, the most senior Western disciple of Ajahn Chah, will be visiting the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery from July 8th to July 18th.
Here are a list of events involving Luang Por Sumedho:
The community will assemble to welcome Luang Por Sumedho at Abhayagiri on the evening of July 8th.
Luang Por Sumedho has agreed to offer a Dhamma reflection during Abhayagiri's Asalha Puja, July 11th. Please be at the cloister area by 7 pm if you wish to attend the ceremony. Vehicles will be be shuttling people up to the ordination platform. Asalha Puja starts at 7:30 pm on the ordination platform. Consider bringing clothing for colder weather and repellent for mosquitoes
Please note: Anagarika J.R.'s novice ordination, happening on the same day, will begin at 4:30 pm in the Dhamma Hall in the Cloister Area. If you wish to attend his ordination, please show up at the cloister area and be seated in the Dhamma Hall before 4:30 pm.
Luang Por Sumedho has also agreed to offer a Dhamma reflection at the nearby City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) at 5 pm on Sunday, July 13th in the Buddha Hall. This talk will also be webcasted live on the Dharma Realm YouTube Channel.
Luang Por Sumedho had a strong connection with the founder of CTTB, Rev. Master Hsun Hua. Master Hua, also offered the original land for Abhayagiri and is thus responsible for Abhayagiri's location in Redwood Valley.
All are welcome to visit during the day and attend the various events at Abhayagiri including Asalha Puja. All events at Abhayagiri and the talk at CTTB are freely offered, with no reservation required.
A brief biography of Luang Por Sumedho is included below:
Luang Por Sumedho was born in Seattle, Washington in 1934. After serving four years in the US Navy as a medic, he completed a BA in Far Eastern Studies and a MA in South Asian Studies. In 1966, he went to Thailand to practice meditation at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok. Not long afterwards, he went forth as a novice monk in a remote part of the country, Nong Khai, before receiving full ordination in 1967.
A year of solitary practice followed. Although fruitful, it showed him the need for a teacher who could more actively guide him. A fortuitous encounter with a visiting monk led him to Ubon province to practice with Luang Por Chah. He took dependence from Luang Por Chah and remained under his close guidance for ten years.
In 1975, Luang Por Sumedho, established Wat Pah Nanachat, International Forest Monastery where Westerners could be trained in English. In 1977, he accompanied Luang Por Chah to England and took up residence at the Hampstead Vihara, with three other monks.
Luang Por Sumedho was made an Upachaya (ordination preceptor) in 1981. Since then he has given upasampada (Bhikkhu precepts) to more than a hundred aspirants of many nationalities. Luang Por Sumedho was integral in establishing the Forest Sangha tradition in the United Kingdom. He was central in establishing Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and Chithurst Buddhist Monastery. He remained as senior incumbent at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire until November 2010, at which time he handed over the duties of abbot to Ajahn Amaro. Luang Por Sumedho is now based in Thailand where his monastic life began in 1966.
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Upāsika Day : Sun., Aug. 17th - Using the Suttas Wisely in Practice
We hope you can join us at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery for the Upasika Day on Sunday August 17, a day of community, Dhamma study, meditation, and renewal.
Our theme for the day will be "The Suttas: Using the Suttas wisely in practice ." Luang Por Pasanno and other members of the Abhayagiri community have graciously agreed to lead us in an exploration of incorporating the suttas into practice through reading, reflection, memorization, chanting, and meditation. The day will include time for discussion as well as formal practice.
Our theme for the day will be "The Suttas: Using the Suttas wisely in practice ." Luang Por Pasanno and other members of the Abhayagiri community have graciously agreed to lead us in an exploration of incorporating the suttas into practice through reading, reflection, memorization, chanting, and meditation. The day will include time for discussion as well as formal practice.
The reading for the day is Phra Payutto's The Pali Canon: What a Buddhist Must Know, available as a pdf here: http://www.watnyanaves.net/uploads/File/books/pdf/the_pali_canon_what_a_buddhist_must_know.pdf This short document gives a good overview of the suttas and would be helpful to read before the 17th if you have time.
We hope you will also join us for the daily meal, beginning at 11:00 a.m. It's customary to bring a dish to offer to the monastics and to share with others. Our material support of the monastery community is an important aspect of our role as upasikas (literally, "those who sit close by"), and our generous offerings of food are a tangible means of extending this support.
Attendance at Upasika Days is open both to those who wish to make a formal commitment to the program and to those who may simply wish to attend for the day. All are welcome. Please spread the word among those who may be interested.
The schedule for the day is as follows:
10:45 a.m. Refuges and Precepts.
11:00 a.m. (sharp) Meal Offering (please bring a dish to share)
1-4:30 p.m. Study/Practice Session
4:30 p.m. Tea with the monastics (optional)
1-4:30 p.m. Study/Practice Session
4:30 p.m. Tea with the monastics (optional)
Remaining 2014 Upasika Days topics and themes are:
Sunday October 26: Meditation: Anapanasati
Sunday December 7: Daily Life Practice: Sakayaditthi ("personality view")
For directions on getting to the monastery, please visit www.abhayagiri.org.
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Upasika Program Purpose
*To enhance individual practice and increase self-discipline through making a formal commitment to spiritual training.
Upasika Program Purpose
*To enhance individual practice and increase self-discipline through making a formal commitment to spiritual training.
*To deepen both the intellectual and experiential understanding of the Dhamma.
*To have more supportive contact with like-minded people and the ordained Sangha.
*To be better equipped to communicate the Teachings to others.
Upasika Program Guidelines
*Undertake to live by the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, with the Theravada Forest Tradition as the focus of one's practice.
Upasika Program Guidelines
*Undertake to live by the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, with the Theravada Forest Tradition as the focus of one's practice.
*Attend regular gatherings with other Upasikas, either at the Monastery or in your own homes.
*Visit the Monastery and formally take the Refuges and Precepts at least quarterly.
*Observe the Uposatha Days of the full and new moon in some fashion appropriate to your living situation.
*Practice meditation daily.
*Find some time each year to go on retreat.
*Attend at least one festival day or communal gathering at the Monastery each year.
*Cultivate a basic working knowledge of the Teachings.
*Support the Sangha according to your means and abilities.
*Keep to the training for at least one year after having made the formal commitment.
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Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat Registration Closed
Update August 2: The retreat application period has ended, and there were more applicants than available seats on the retreat. Space on the retreat will be allocated by lottery, and the retreat manager will inform those who applied of their lottery status by August 15th.
Original retreat announcement
Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California and the Sanghapala Foundation invite you to join Luang Por Pasanno and the Abhayagiri Community for a 10-day retreat over the Thanksgiving holiday. We will create a monastery environment during our time together, and we offer you this opportunity to explore the Dhamma in a setting that differs somewhat from a typical meditation retreat. We will all live the monastery life, following the Eight Precepts, taking only what is offered, and attempting to reflect on our every activity as part of our practice. This will include noble silence, morning and evening chanting, sitting and walking meditation, a work period, and daily Dhamma talks and teachings.
The retreat will be held from Friday afternoon, November 21st, through midday Sunday, November 30, 2014, in the Ursula Hall at the Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California. The closest airports are Santa Rosa, Oakland and San Francisco, with shuttles available to Santa Rosa. Because of the length of this retreat and the adherence to the Eight Precepts, you must previously have sat at least one five-day meditation retreat. Retreatants are requested to attend the entire retreat, from the opening taking of the Precepts on Friday evening to the closing ceremony on Sunday morning.
The facility is wheelchair accessible. We are unable to accommodate any special dietary or environmental needs. We will eat a light breakfast and, in keeping with this monastic tradition, the daily meal (vegetarian) is eaten before noon; there is no evening meal. Incense and candles are used at the morning and evening chanting periods.
The retreat will be offered solely on dana (freewill donations); there is no set fee. Due to the popularity of this retreat, we will be doing a lottery this year. Please email the information below by the deadline of August 1st. You will hear back from the retreat manager by August 15th, at which time we will ask you to send in a refundable deposit of $100 if you are in. For those who attend the retreat or who cancel by October 25th, the deposit can be refunded upon request or it can be offered as a freewill donation to Abhayagiri Monastery. The deposit cannot be refunded to those who cancel after October 25th. Out of respect for others, please register only when you can make a clear and wholehearted commitment to attend.
To register, please email the following information to Paul Friedlander, Registrar, at Retreat14@juno.com by August 1, 2014.
Your name, address, telephone number and gender.
Have you previously attended a five-day or longer silent meditation retreat? ____ yes ____ no
Have you previously attended a ten-day or longer monastic meditation retreat? _____ yes _____no
If you don’t get into the retreat, are you interested in being placed on a waiting list? (There are always cancellations, and sometimes very close to the retreat start. ) _____ yes _____ no
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New Web Albums
7 new web albums have just been added to our Abhayagiri photo gallery (http://www.abhayagiri.org/gallery). These feature photos of Luang Por Sumedho's arrival, duration, and leaving Abhayagiri as well as photos from JR's Samanera Ordination and the Opening Ceremony of The Portland Friend's of the Dhamma's New Center. Please enjoy and be inspired to practice.
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Photo Albums added
3 New photo galleries with pictures of Luang Por Pasanno's 65 birthday, Paying Respects to Ajahn Maha Prasert, and Continuing Reception Hall Construction have been added to our web gallery ( http://www.abhayagiri.org/gallery ). Please have mudita (sympathetic joy).
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Upasaka Yatiko
On Sunday, Aug. 10th, Ajahn Yatiko formally took leave of the Abhayagiri Sangha. After the fortnightly recitation of the monastic rules by the bhikkhus, all of the resident community assembled as Ajahn Yatiko formally asked forgiveness from the Abhayagiri Sangha for any wrongdoings during his past 24 years as a monastic. On behalf of the Sangha, Ajahn Pasanno responded in the traditional Pāli language, granting forgiveness and asking forgiveness in return.
Thereafter, Ajahn Yatiko relinquished the bhikkhu training and changed in to lay clothing. In his first act as a lay person, with the community assembled, Yatiko took the Five Precepts, following Ajahn Pasanno's lead. Ajahn Pasanno then offered a Dhamma reflection to mark the occasion including appreciation for Yatiko's 24 years of monastic life. Ajahn Pasanno also noted that Yatiko has made the transition from monastic life to lay life in a proper and respectful way, thereby laying a solid foundation for beginning his new life well. Yatiko plans to live in Santa Rosa, California so that he can stay connected to the monastery while beginning a new life.
Yatiko is currently residing at Abhayagiri and will be departing on Sun., Aug. 17th for his new life in Santa Rosa. People are welcome to stop by Abhayagiri during this week to connect with him or wish him well.
Prior to the formal act of giving up his monastic vows, Ajahn Yatiko passed on the following message to many of the laity connected with Abhayagiri:
Yatiko Bhikkhu
To all the lay people who have supported me over the years, both materially and spiritually, I send out this email as a way of informing you of my upcoming plans. Most of you will know that I have had a hard time lately, especially in the past year or two. I needn’t go into details here, but I have made the decision to take leave of the robes on August 10. I plan on leaving the monastery itself on the 17th.
I can imagine this is a shock to most of you, and I regret any disappointment it may cause. I have thought long and hard about this decision, and it was not easy to come to a conclusion. I have been a monastic for 24 years now, my entire adult life, and I have no small reticence about leaving something I love and know so well. Yet I feel that it is something I must do if I am going to overcome some basic difficulties in my life at the moment.
This has not come about through a crisis of faith or lack of confidence in the tradition. I have unbounded respect for LP Pasanno and the community of monks, and I aspire deeply in my heart to make it back to the robes, be it in this life or in some future life. I simply feel that now is not the time to be a monk, and I must make a move.
My plans, though somewhat tentative, are to rent a room in Santa Rosa, work and/or go to school. I very much still want to be near enough to the monastery so that I can plug in from time to time. I am sure our paths will cross in the future, so until then,
With much gratitude and appreciation,
Yatiko Bhikkhu
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Ajahn Viradhammo: Dhamma Talk at Abhayagiri
Ajahn Viradhammo, abbot of Tisarana Buddhist Monastery in Ottawa, Canada (http://tisarana.ca/) will be offering a Dhamma talk at Abhayagiri Saturday, August 30. Evening chanting and meditation begin at 7:30 pm and will be followed by the talk. All are welcome to come for the talk with no reservation required.![]()
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Luang Por Pasanno to give talk at Tipitika Chanting Event
Luang Por Pasanno will be giving an talk on the evening of October 10th, 2014 at the Mangalam Buddhist Center in Berkeley as part of the First International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony. For more information and to RSVP please visit the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-tipitaka-chanting-ceremony-berkeley-usa-october-9th-10th-11th-2014-tickets-12682037315
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Community Work Days
Starting Saturday, September 20, 2014 Abhayagiri will re-institute our practice of having a monthly Community Workday.
On these days we invite anyone interested to come and explore work and practice with our resident community.
There will be a variety of tasks to do so all are welcome and no one need feel that work will be too difficult.
The timetable for these days will be as follows:
- 7:30 am to 8:00 am ----- Work Meeting and Dhamma Reflection
- 8:00 am to 10:30 am ----- Morning Work Period
- 10:30 am to 11:00 am ----- Clean-up
- 11:00 am to 1:00 pm ----- Meal offering, meal and meal clean-up
- 1:00 pm to about 4:00 pm ----- Afternoon Work Period
- 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm ----- Informal Tea-time
- 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm ----- Evening Chanting and Meditation
- 8:30 to about 9:30 pm ----- Dhamma Talk
No need to let us know if you are coming, and feel free to come for either the morning work period, afternoon work period, or for the whole day.
The first project (on Sat. 9/20) will be erosion-control work on the new water line to the future Reception Hall. The water lines have been installed and buried, but more work still needs to be done to prevent erosion from Winter rain.
The Community Workdays for the remainder of 2014 will be on the following dates:
- Saturday, September 20th
- Saturday, October 18th
- Saturday, November 8th
- Saturday, December 13
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Ajahn Amaro Returns to Abhayagiri
Ajahn Amaro, co-abbot of Abhayagiri for 14 years is returning in October. Ajahn Amaro will be offering three public talks in northern California.
The early afternoon Dhamma reflection for the Abhayagiri Kathina, Oct. 12th.
At Stanford University on Tues., Oct. 14th
At Abhayagiri on the lunar observance day on the evening of Wed., Oct. 22nd.
Please see the Abhayagiri web calendar for the most up-to-date information on these and other events at Abhayagiri.
Ajahn Amaro will also be visiting the Pacific Hermitage the weekend of Oct. 18th and 19th. A brief bio of Ajahn Amaro is provided below.
Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro Bhikkhu received his BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. He returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, making trips to California every year during the 1990s.
In June of 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California, where he was co-abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until July, 2010. Ajahn Amaro has written a number of books, including an account of his 830-mile trek from Chithurst to Harnham Vihara called Tudong - the Long Road North, republished in the expanded book Silent Rain. Other works published by him include Small Boat, Great Mountain (2003), Rain on the Nile (2009) and The Island - An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbana (2009) co-written with Ajahn Pasanno. Ajahn Amaro returned to Amaravati in July, 2010. At that time, he then moved back to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England to take up the position of abbot of large Amaravati monastic community
To listen to recent talks by Ajahn Amaro go to www.amaravati.org.
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Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage 2002-2014
Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage
2002–2014 Commemorative Webpage
We gave a commemorative CD of a slideshow and Dhamma talks to each participant in the 2014 Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage at the closing ceremony. We thought we would share (most of) the contents of the CD online. What began a Dennis Crean's idea of a pleasant bike ride has become an annual event involving ~100 people.
"If people hear and see,How hands and hearts can find in giving, unity,May their minds awake,To Great Compassion, wisdom and to joy."- Rev. Heng Sure, "Dedication of Merit"
Arrival at Abhayagiri slideshow
Photographs by Gregorio Aristizábal and the Abhayagiri Community
Music from Paramita by Rev. Heng Sure, Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
Movie
mp4 format (Plays with VLC)
Photographs
Abhayagiri web gallery (photos on Picasa Web Albums)
Online photo galleries
Dharmawheels Flickr group – Photographs by Gregorio Aristizábal, Franklyn Wu, and Alice Stribling
Kevin K Cheung's Flickr album – Photographs from 2007
Dharmawheels Foundation online gallery
Dhamma talks by accompanying monastics
Ayya Anandabodhi
Recommended talks (available at dhammaseed.org)
It's Never Too Late – July 26, 2014 – Sacramento Insight Meditation
The Alchemy of Turning Toward What's Difficult – August 31, 2014 – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
The Four Brahma Viharas (Guided Meditation) – May 12, 2014 – Spirit Rock Mediation Center
The Power of Thought – January 2, 2014 – Angela Center
Renunciation – July 23, 2012 – Spirit Rock Mediation Center
The Four Noble Truths – May 23, 2011 – Spirit Rock Mediation Center
Ayya Santacitta
Recommended talks (available at dhammaseed.org)
Turn Towards It – August 23, 2013 – Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
Planet Earth as Divine Messenger – July 7, 2013 – Marin Sangha
On Meditation – July 20, 2014 – Marin Sangha
Ajahn Pasanno
Recommended talks
Developing in Virtue – May 19, 2012 – Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Mindfulness of Breathing – February 12, 2011 – Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Recollections of Ajahn Chah – September 19, 2010 – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
More talks by Ajahn Pasanno and the Abhayagiri Community
Ajahn Amaro
Recommended talks
On Feeling Righteous – September 15, 2013 – Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Communal Harmony – October 11, 2011 – Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
More talks by Ajahn Amaro and the Amaravati Community
Dhamma talks about pilgrimage
Ajahn Sona – Winter Camping – October 28, 2008 – Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Ajahn Yatiko – Reflections from Sri Lanka – April 6, 2013 – Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Ajahn Jotipālo - Faith on Mississippi Tudong - April 25, 2013 - Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Ajahn Ñaniko – Sacred Uncertainty: Our West Coast Pilgrimage – July 15, 2013 – Abhaygiri Buddhist Monastery
Ajahn Ñaniko – Standing at Markets: More Pilgrimage Tales – July 21, 2013 – Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Internet links
Other items
Practicing in Tandem by Alden Mudge
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Community Work Day - Saturday November 8
The Abhayagiri kitchen is used 365 days a year to prepare food for residents and guests. We strive to keep such essential facilities very clean as an expression of our monastic training. Thus on the afternoon of November 8 we plan to conduct the annual kitchen deep clean (weather permitting). It takes many hands to move everything out of the kitchen, clean all the equipment, wipe down all surfaces, and put everything back, but it's also fun to work together to clean the space we all use. Morning work that day will likely include tree trimming along the gravel road and other outdoor work.
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We invite you to work alongside us, join us for the day's meal, share tea with us at 5:30 pm, and listen to the Saturday night Dhamma talk. There is no need to contact us in advance, but it's helpful to arrive in time for the 7:00 am breakfast and 7:30 am work meeting.
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Ajahn Amaro Talk at Stanford
On October 14, 2014, Ajahn Amaro will give a talk at Stanford University titled "Seeds from an Ancient Tree: Cultivating Buddhist Monastic Life in the West." There is an optional guided meditation at 6:45 pm followed by the 7:30 pm talk. The talk will be given at the Black Community Services Center, 418 Santa Teresa St. (map) For more information see the website for the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford University:
https://hcbss.stanford.edu/
https://hcbss.stanford.edu/
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Kathina Ceremony 2014
This year's Kathina Ceremony will take place on Sunday, October 12th.
Each year since the time of the Buddha, at the end of the three-month Rains Retreat, the lay communities near Theravada Buddhist monasteries have gathered to celebrate the completion of the retreat and offer to the monastic community gifts of cloth and supplies that will be useful for the coming year. The cloth is cut, sewn and dyed by the monks that same day to make a robe to offer to a member of the monastic Sangha.
This 2,500-year-old tradition is still carried on here in the West, initiated by a lay supporter or group of supporters who request to organize the preparation and formal offerings. It’s a significant and joyful occasion that’s emblematic of the richness of the relationship between lay people and monastics, a relationship characterized by deep bonds of friendship and commitment to mutual support. All year round, the monastery functions solely on offerings from the lay community.
Please plan on carpooling if possible. Parking is limited.
We and other people traveling to the monastery from the Bay Area are experiencing delays due to traffic and construction. Please plan accordingly. See the bottom of this news article for a real-time Google Traffic estimate from San Francisco to the monastery.
Sunday, October 12th:
11 a.m. Meal Offering People are welcome to bring a dish to share. Please plan to arrive and have any food offerings here by at least 10:45 am (to avoid last minute rush)
1 p.m. Kathina Ceremony Refuges, Precepts and Dhamma Talk.
Ajahn Amaro, the former co-abbot of Abhayagiri and current abbot of Amaravati in England will be offering the afternoon Dhamma reflection.
Anyone who wishes to help can consult the Kathina Dana List.
For more information, please contact Catherine at AbhayagiriKathina@gmail.com or (415) 595-7050.
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Merit and the Awakening Mind: a talk given at the First International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony
Luang Por Pasanno offered this Dhamma talk on the subject of "Merit and the Awakening Mind" on Friday October 10, 2014 at the first international Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony held in the United States sponsored by the Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International (LBDFI).
A youtube video of his talk is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7Y0IpKz2g&feature=youtu.be
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Buddhist Bicycle Bridge
This September the Abhyagiri community completed its newest and longest bridge. The bridge, which spans a gully on the Blackrock trail, was designed and built by the resident Abhayagiri Community. The funding for the bridge was provided through a donation by the 2013 Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrims.
Click on the below link for photos of the bridge:
For more information on the Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage see the website https://ssl.dharmawheels.org/
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Kathina 2014 Photo Gallery
On October 12th, approximately 200 members of the extended Abhayagiri Community assembled for the annual Kathina celebration. The Abhayagiri Sangha wishes to express appreciation for the harmony, cooperation and generosity of those in attendance, as well as the ongoing support of the lay community, who contribute in many different ways, allowing the Abhayagiri community to continue to practice and grow.
Below is a link to a photo gallery from the 2014 Kathina :
Anumodana.
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