Abhayagiri News

Bhikkhu Ordination and Farewell to Ajahn Amaro

2010-07-09T16:05:36+00:00

Abhayagiri Monastery residents, Sāmaneras Kovilo and Pamutto, will be requesting the Upasampada, or higher ordination, taking on the training as a bhikkhu.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place here at the monastery, up in the forest on the ordination platform, on Sunday, July 18. It will take place in the afternoon, beginning sometime between 3 pm and 6 pm depending of the weather.

Everyone is welcome to participate in the meal offering, which takes place at 11:00 am. Those wishing to attend the ordination should arrive in the early afternoon to allow us time to shuttle people up the mountain in the monastery four-wheel-drive vehicle. Late-comers will have to walk up!

This will also be the last opportunity to wish Ajahn Amaro farewell before he departs to England to assume the role of abbot at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. If you would like to pay respects to Ajahn Amaro, we recommend that you come for the 11:00 am meal and then attend the farewell ceremony that will immediately follow at 12:30 pm.

July Community Work Day

2010-07-05T18:14:52+00:00

Come help us maintain Abhayagiri's trail network on Saturday, July 10. See this article for more details. Following the usual Community Work Day format, we will have two work periods, and you are very welcome to come and help out with either one or both of them. The first period is from 7:30 am - 11:00 am, then we break for the meal, and resume the activities from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Folks are then welcome to stay for our teatime if they wish.

Community work days are an opportunity to help us build and maintain the monastery, and are a much appreciated offering of service as well as an opportunity to spend more informal time with the monastic community.

Monks’ Utility Building Opening Ceremony

2010-06-30T15:51:21+00:00

After over a year of construction, the Monks' Utility Building is finished. Abhayagiri Monastery will hold the opening ceremony for our new building on Sunday, July 4.

The celebrations will begin with an early meal offering at 10:45 am, which will allow everyone time to get up to the Monks' Utility Building for the 1:30 pm opening ceremony. The event will include blessing chants, the dedication of a Buddharupa, the unveiling of a donated needlepoint tapestry of Ajahn Chah, and the ceremonial handing over of the key to the building.

Abhayagiri Monks Visiting the Northwest:

2010-06-29T20:19:13+00:00

Good beginnings and strong foundations--these are often encouraged as we embark on a spiritual journey or a new period of practice. It's in this spirit that a large group of monks from Abhayagiri will be traveling up to the Pacific Northwest for four days. They are coming to visit and bless the newly established Pacific Hermitage in the Columbia River Gorge.

Leading the group from Abhayagiri will be co-abbots Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. This is likely to be Ajahn Amaro's last visit to the Pacific Northwest for the foreseeable future, as he is soon to assume the role of senior monk at Amaravati Monastery in the U.K. Also in town for one day is Luang Por Sumedho, the current abbot of Amaravati and the senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah.

Everyone is warmly invited to attend the following events:

Friday, July 9th
At the Pacific Hermitage, 174 Tunnel Road in White Salmon, Washington:
10:30am-12:30pm Meal Offering. Please arrive early and bring a dish to share.

At Portland Friends of the Dhamma, 1422 SE Tacoma St:
5:30-6:30pm Tea with the monastics
7:00-9:00pm Meditation and teachings

Saturday, July 10th
At St. David of Wales Church, 2800 SE Harrison St:
10:30-12:30pm Meal offering. Please arrive early and bring a dish to share.
1:00-3:00pm Opening Ceremony for Pacific Hermitage, including short talks by
Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Sudanto

At Portland Friends of the Dhamma, 1422 SE Tacoma St:
5:30-6:30pm Tea with the monastics

In the church next to Portland Friends of the Dhamma, 1422 SE Tacoma St:
7:00pm-9:30pm Public talk by Luang Por Sumedho

Sunday, July11th
At Portland Friends of the Dhamma, 1422 SE Tacoma St:
10:30am-12:00pm Meal offering. Please arrive early and bring a dish to share.

After the meal offering the monastic caravan will leave to spend the day at the hermitage, delivering the three monks who will reside at the hermitage, before returning to California on Monday morning.

For more information and directions, please visit the Pacific Hermitage (pacifichermitage.org) or Portland Friends of the Dhamma (pdxdhamma.org) or call Greg at 503-233-6498.

Farewell to Ajahn Amaro

2010-06-27T16:20:14+00:00

Farewell to Ajahn Amaro

As described in a previous article, Ajahn Amaro plans to move to Amaravati Monastery in England before the beginning of this year’s rains retreat. Ajahn Amaro will replace Ajahn Sumedho as abbot after the rains. Many people have formed heartfelt connections with Ajahn Amaro during the twenty years since he began visiting California, and they have inquired: “When can I say goodbye to my beloved teacher?”

Ajahn Amaro is teaching on the East Coast during most of May and has a brief trip to England in early June, but he plans to return to Abhayagiri June 5. Ajahns Pasanno and Amaro plan to leave the Bay Area on July 7 to meet Ajahn Sumedho in Portland and be present for the opening of the Pacific Hermitage. Ajahn Amaro will return to Abhayagiri on July 13 and remain here until the July 18 bhikkhu ordination. We anticipate Ajahn Amaro’s presence at the following events in June and July:

Monthly gathering at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (June 8 – the second Tuesday of June)
“For the Love of the World” series at Yoga Mendocino (June 9, 16, 23, and 30)
Vesak Celebration at Vipassana Santa Cruz (June 13)
Spirit Rock daylong (June 20) *
Monks’ Utility Building opening (July 4)
Three Jewels Dhamma Hall in Fort Bragg (July 5) *
Monthly gathering at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (July 6) *
Meditation class at Yoga Mendocino (July 14) *
Bhikkhu Ordination of Sāmaneras Kovilo and Pamutto (July 18) *

(*) These events will provide the best opportunities to say farewell to Ajahn Amaro.

June Community Work Day

2010-06-06T17:08:25+00:00

Come help us maintain Abhayagiri's trail network on the June 13th Community work day. See this article for more details. Following the usual format, we will have two work periods, and you are very welcome to come and help out with either one or both of them. The first period is from 7:30 am - 11:00 am, then we break for the meal, and resume the activities from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Folks are then welcome to stay for our teatime if they wish.

Following the usual format, we will have two work periods, and you are very welcome to come and help out with either one or both of them. The first period is from 7:30 am - 11:00 am, then we break for the meal, and resume the activities from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Folks are then welcome to stay for our teatime if they wish.

Community work days are an opportunity to help us build and maintain the monastery, and are a much appreciated offering of service as well as an opportunity to spend more informal time with the monastic community.

June 6 Upasika Day - Schedule change and readings

2010-06-02T17:40:47+00:00

Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery will continue with the Upasika Days with a day of community, Dhamma study, and meditation. The Upasika Program exists to provide an opportunity for lay women and men (upasikas/upasakas) to deepen their practice and their relationship to the monastery.

The theme of the June 6, 2010 Upasika day is sutta study, and we will be focusing on the Therigatha and Theragatha (Verses of the Elder Monks and Nuns). The readings for the day appear below.

The schedule for Upasika days has changed as of June 6, with the refuges and precepts ceremony occurring before the meal:

10:30 am - Refuges and Precepts
11:00 am - Meal offering (bring a dish to share)
1:00 pm - Meditation, teachings & discussion
4:00 pm - Tea with the monastics

More information about the upasika program. If you have questions, please contact Mettika at . For directions to the monastery visit the Directions page within this website.

Our readings, listed below, are drawn from several sources and translations of the Therigatha (Thig.)and Theragatha (Thag.), including Great Disciples of the Buddha, by Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker (GDB); Sons and Daughters of the Buddha, by Andrew Schelling and Ann Waldman (S & D), and translations by Andy Olendzki. GDB is available for viewing online. Andy Olendzki's translations are below.

Here is a list of sources for each Elder's verses, and some translations. Other translations of some of these suttas are available at Access to Insight: Theragatha and Therigatha.

1) Ananda: GDB, page 140 = Thag 1039-40 + GDB p148 = Thag 1041-43 + GDB p179 = Thag 1035-36

2) Khema: GDB p266 = Thig 139-42 + GDB story pp263-4

3) Maha-pajapati: Thig 157-62 (Andy Olendzki's translation, below)
[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thig/thig.06.06.olen.html]

Buddha! Hero! Praise be to you!
You foremost among all beings!
You who have released me from pain,
And so many other beings too.

All suffering has been understood.
The source of craving has withered.
Cessation has been touched by me
On the noble eight-fold path.

I've been mother and son before;
And father, brother — grandmother too.
Not understanding what was real,
I flowed-on without finding [peace].

But now I've seen the Blessed One!
This is my last compounded form.
The on-flowing of birth has expired.
There's no more re-becoming now.

See the gathering of followers:
Putting forth effort, self controlled,
Always with strong resolution
—This is how to honor the Buddhas!

Surely for the good of so many
Did Maya give birth to Gotama,
Who bursts asunder the mass of pain
Of those stricken by sickness and death.
************ ********* ********* ****

4) Bhadda: GDB pp271-3 = Thig 107-9 + Apadana story + Thig 110-11 [also at S&D p94]

5) Patacara (and her disciples): GDB p296 =Thig 112-16 [also at S&D p58-9]
GDB 298-9 = Thig 125-6 + Thig 119-21 + Thig 176-7 (disciples)

6) Isidasi: GDB pp310-16 = Thig 403-47 [also at S&D pp79-88]

7) Angulimala: GDB pp330-33 = Thag 871-91

8) Ratthapala: S&D pp20-23 = Thag 776-93

9) Sirimando: Thag 448-52 (Andy Olendzki's translation, below)
[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.06.13.olen.html]

The world is assailed by death
And smothered by old age;
Pierced with the arrow of craving
And always obscured by desires.

The world is assailed by death
And besieged by old age;
Eternally beaten, with no relief--
Like a thief beneath the rod.

Old age, illness and death approach
Like three great masses of fire.
No strength can resist them.
No speed can out-run them.

Spend your days without confusion,
Whether few or many [remain].
For every night that slips away,
There is that much less of life left.

Whether walking or standing,
Sitting or lying down
— Your final night is drawing near.
You have no time to be lazy.

10) Kisagotami: GDB pp276-8 = Thig 213-23 [also at S&D pp68-70]

11) Sona Kolivisa: Thag 637-9 (only in PTS: story of feet & tuning the vina at 'Life of the Buddha,' p170-1)

12) Anuruddha: GDB p241 = Thag 869-900, 904

Our Trails are in Trouble

2010-05-30T15:50:11+00:00

There are over 5 miles of trails on the Abhayagiri property. Many of these trails are accessible to the general public, and friends and neighbors frequently hike the the 2.5 mile Cool Oaks Loop Trail for pleasure and exercise. This trail system was built almost exclusively through volunteer and community effort over the course of Abhayagiri's 14-year history. Some of these trails have deteriorated over the years, and the Loop Trail between the Goat Creek bridge near the Bumblebee and the waterfall is in particularly poor shape. Liability concerns have caused the Community to consider closing this section of the Loop Trail, but so far we have opted to keep it open.

We face several challenges in preserving our trail system. High-quality trail maintenance requires both strength and skill; well-meaning but inexperienced attempts to shore up trails can actually make them erode faster. Furthermore, the monks' discipline prohibits fully-ordained bhikkhus from digging in soil that might support life, so much trail work must be accomplished by novices, anagarikas and lay guests. In the past, trail maintenance has often taken back seat to the many other tasks that require the attention of the non-bhikkhu Abhayagiri residents.

Because of these challenges, we are actively searching for volunteer support and ideas in order to preserve our trails as a resource for both Abhayagiri residents and visitors. If you have trail maintenance experience, and would like to volunteer your time, please contact us and we will try to arrange overnight accommodations. If you know of any organizations dedicated to maintaining public walking trails in Mendocino County that might want to help us, please also let us know. Finally, please consider participating in our monthly community work days (usually the second Sunday of each month). We plan to devote several community work days to trail maintenance this year. We appreciate any support you are able to offer.

Ajahn Amaro to Move to Amaravati

2010-05-14T16:59:58+00:00

One day during the time that I was in Thailand with Ajahn Pasanno, Luang Por Sumedho asked me to come to his kutī for a chat. I was expecting, if anything, little more than an informal chin-wag over a cup of tea, just to catch up on news and plans, but to my surprise Luang Por made it the occasion to formally invite me to take on the role of abbot at Amaravati Monastery, in England.

He had been keen to retire from that position for a long time, having been in the leadership role there for 25 years as well as, for the previous ten years, at Wat Pah Nanachat, the Hampstead Vihāra, and at Chithurst Monastery. It was only now, however, that he felt the conditions were ripe for him to be able to pass things on to another pair of hands. Needless to say I was both startled and honoured by the invitation, and in need of some time to digest it.

I let Ajahn Pasanno know the next day. We decided to wait until we had had a chance to get back to Abhayagiri, to discuss the matter with the Sangha there, before I would give any definitive “yea” or “nay” to the invitation. When it was brought up with the community, shortly after we returned at the end of January, the response (once eveyone had got over the shock) was unanimous “sadhu!” and thus the decision was made.

The current plan is that I will make the move to Amaravati in mid-July, to be there in time for the beginning of the Rains Retreat on July 27th – coincidentally being Luang Por Sumedho’s 76th birthday. He will remain there for the next three months, to facilitate the handover of duties, and then, after the Kathina festival in November, he will set off as a free agent with no fixed destination. He has already been the recipient of a vast slew of offers of places to stay but, for the time being, he is deliberately and gleefully keeping all his options open.

Once I had given him the news of Abhayagiri’s agreement, and we were discussing these changes, he reflected that, even though the wandering way of life is the essence of the mendicant spirit, it’s something he has never had the chance to follow since the very beginning of his monastic career. He has always been confined by one set of duties or another.

As one who has been a grateful student of his for more than 30 years it is a genuine pleasure to repay the immeasurable benefit he has brought into my life by enabling him to make this move. It will be a wrench to leave Abhayagiri, and all of the close connections that have formed in the 20 years since I first came to the USA, but I also welcome this change – unexpected though it might have been. Amongst other things it gives me a chance to clear out many accumulations; both those internal – my unconscious assumptions about cheerfully growing old in the forest at Abhayagiri, as well as external – all those bookshelves and filing cabinets groaning with the weight of papers of dubious worth.

I feel very grateful for the years that I have had working in collaboration with Ajahn Pasanno, the admirable group of lay friends who have served on the board of Sanghapala Foundation since its inception in 1988, and the fine monastic community that has developed here since 1996. It has been an honour and a delight to have been a part of bringing Abhayagiri Monastery into being but, by a fortunate confluence of circumstance, it is now in a state of maturity where it no longer needs both Ajahn Pasanno and I at the helm together. In this light, I have no doubt that it will continue to flourish without me, and I expect to come back and enjoy that flourishing from time to time as a visitor.

But aren’t we all, in truth, just visitors?

Transiency bears a bitter-sweet tang. The flavour of loss is an ache in the heart but the flavour of Dhamma is freedom. So, may this move and all that comes with it be a cause for the savouring of that finest of all tastes, utter freedom.

May Community Work Day

2010-05-04T15:08:46+00:00

Come help us put the finishing touches on the Monks' Utility Building at the next Community Work Day on May 9. The day's work may include landscaping, digging drainage ditches, and tidying up the building. For those who have not yet visited the Monks' Utility Building this is a good opportunity see and contribute towards Abhayagiri's latest building project.

Following the usual format, we will have two work periods, and you are very welcome to come and help out with either one or both of them. The first period is from 7:30 am - 11:00 am, then we break for the meal, and resume the activities from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Folks are then welcome to stay for our teatime if they wish.

Community work days are an opportunity to help us build and maintain the monastery, and are a much appreciated offering of service as well as an opportunity to spend more informal time with the monastic community.