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NEWS ABOUT THE ABBEY

UPDATES

Click on the following links for news and interviews about Sravasti Abbey and Venerable Thubten Chodron:

For news updates for previous years click here.

If you'd like a CD with the latest Power Point Presentation on Sravasti Abbey, please email

May 2008

What you’ll find:
   Monastic Residence Plans / Kitchen Remodel
   Visiting Singapore, India & Malaysia
   Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche's Teachings
   Jeffrey Hopkins' visit
   Other News
   Upcoming Events

Dear Friends,

We send you many greetings and good wishes as we celebrate Chinese Vesak Day on May 19. (Tibetan Vesak Day is a month later due to different ways of calculating the lunar calendar.) The anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana, Vesak is the most special day of the year.

Kitchen Remodel and Monastic Residence Plans  top 

The kitchen remodel is almost complete! Jampel, with Alec as his right hand man, assisted by Kevin and Ven. Semkye and with help from visitors Dave, Kathy, Tracy, and Nancy, has made a beautiful kitchen for the Abbey. Those of you who have visited here will be pleased to know that we now have an oven with a door that closes and an industrial fridge which saves many trips running up and down the stairs to the pantry. With a second sink, gone are the days of a traffic jam while trying to clean the jam from a plate. Feeding more guests is now possible J.

Ven. Tarpa and neighbors Pat and Jo Simpson (the project managers for building the Abbey’s new monastic residence) met with our contractor, engineer, septic installer, and others to plan the water system and infrastructure for the building. It is a complicated process due to many state regulations, so creative thinking is necessary. It’s coming along well, and we hope to dig test holes to locate the site of the septic system soon. Unlike the previous years, winter has lasted a long time this year—we had a foot of snow fall in April—so we have to wait until road restrictions lift and heavy trucks can drive out here. Watch your email soon to find out how to get involved.

Visiting Singapore, India, and Malaysia  top 

During my stay in Singapore in March, I signed the contract for building Gotami House, the new monastic residence, during a Chenrezig retreat that about 200 people attended. Signing a contract of this size was a little daunting and I was very touched by the encouragement and support of so many Singaporeans who are delighted to see the Dharma spreading to the West.

For four days in March, His Holiness the Dalai Lama taught on emptiness in Delhi, India, and I had the fortune to attend. Although His Holiness said that he was calm emotionally about the situation in Tibet, he did say that he had much to think about. When speaking about Tibet, his energy was clearly somber, but once he began teaching from Nagarjuna’s Root Wisdom, his spirits lifted considerably.

From Delhi I went to Dharamsala to visit my teacher Geshe Sonam Rinchen. It was good to see old Dharma friends in Delhi and Dharamsala and to experience the “new” India in the midst of an economic boom—a country so different from the one I lived in many years ago. I taught at Tushita in Delhi, Tushita in Dharamsala, Thosamling (where there is a wonderful nuns’ community), and also to the monks at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. The latter talk was quite interesting as the monks asked a lot about the possibility of introducing the bhikshuni ordination (fully ordination for women) in the Tibetan tradition. It became my task to refute their doubts and hesitation.

From India I returned to Singapore for two days during which I spoke at Singapore Polytechnic Buddhist Society. SPBS has a warm place in my heart because I taught there twenty years ago when I lived in Singapore. Many of the people who organize my present visits to Singapore were students at SPBS then. I also gave a talk to approximately forty men at a maximum security prison in Singapore. They listened well, and at the conclusion of the talk, we chanted om mani padme hum together.

Then it was on to Malaysia for a few jam-packed days. I spoke at Bandar Utama Buddhist Society, Nalanda Institute, Buddhist Gem Fellowship, and Shah Alam Buddhist Society. There was also an interview about working with anger for Eastern Horizon Magazine, which I consider to be one of the best Buddhist magazines.

Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche’s Teachings at the Abbey  top

We were delighted to welcome Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche, the former abbot of Sera-je Monastery, to the Abbey for his second visit. He continued teaching Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland, emphasizing how to navigate between the two extremes of absolutism and nihilism to arrive at the Middle Way view. Ven. Steve Carlier, Rinpoche’s translator, and I studied with Rinpoche 25 years ago at Nalanda Monastery in France. At that time, we had many lively discussions, questioning Rinpoche on numerous Dharma points. Their visit to the Abbey was a wonderful continuation of this.

Delighted to hear of the Abbey’s growth, Khensur Rinpoche blessed the site where the new monastic residence will be built and the site of the new retreat cabin. The Abbey was filled to capacity with visitors for the teachings, and many local people attended as well. What a welcome relief the new kitchen is! Rinpoche and retinue stayed at Pat and Jo Simpson’s lovely home. Once our new retreat/lama’s cabin is ready, he will be able to stay at the Abbey.

Rinpoche also taught at Airway Heights Correctional Center again, with several Abbey residents accompanying him. The inmates were delighted with the Dharma talk and asked many questions about the situation in Tibet, a topic dear to Rinpoche’s heart since he became a refugee from Tibet nearly half a century ago.

Jeffrey Hopkins’ Visit to the Abbey  top

Jeffrey Hopkins—author, translator, and interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama—taught a weekend course at the Abbey. Weaving philosophical points in with stories from his life, Jeffrey made the emptiness of inherent existence come alive. The meditation hall was full with residents, guests, and many commuters. We laughed, questioned, doubted, and delved into the ultimate nature. Jeffrey was very happy to see a Tibetan monastic community beginning in the USA and spoke about the benefits of having and supporting such a community.

Other News  top

We had a lovely Sharing the Dharma Day in early April, with about a dozen people making their way up in spite of the snow. Kevin led the meditation, Ven. Tarpa gave a great talk on purification and the four opponent powers, and Ven. Semkye facilitated a juicy discussion on what we learned about right/wrong and reward/punishment from our families.

You may be interested in watching this British TV news documentary, 'Dispatches' about Tibet. Please keep the people of Tibet and China in your virtuous aspirations, so that they may live in peace and freedom. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7982410976871193492&pr=goog-sl

May the flowers blossoming in May remind us of love, compassion, and bodhicitta blossoming in our hearts,

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron and the Residents of Sravasti Abbey 

Upcoming Events at Sravasti Abbey  top

Ven. Chodron Teaching in Other Venues

APRIL 2008

What you’ll find:
   Medicine Buddha Retreat 
   Monastic Residence Plans / Kitchen Remodel
   Teachings in Singapore
   Tibet
   Other News
   Upcoming Events

Dear Friends,

The Medicine Buddha retreat ended happily with a fire puja, offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in the Lama Chopa puja, and offerings to the kind supporters and donors who made the retreat possible. A potluck lunch in the community room followed because the kitchen remodel had begun. Who needs a kitchen anyway when there are 13 residents and 20 guests to feed? But everyone had a great time. The grand finale was the Sravasti Abbey Monastic Choir singing “Star Spangled Compassion.” Listen to our choir and join in chanting Shantideva’s moving dedication verses to a tune you know well. At the conclusion of the retreat, we also did skits: Ven. Semkye was reborn as St. Francis of Sravasti Abbey, with her flock of turkeys.

Monastic Residence Plans and Kitchen Remodel  top
The kitchen remodel has begun! We did Chenrezig practice in the dining room to infuse the project with compassion and then each of us took a turn starting to knock down the wall with the sledge hammer. Great fun! Jampel’s father, who is a contractor, came to help for a week and we made great progress. By the evening of the second day the space between the dining room and the library was opened up and the glulambeam was hoisted to support the roof. The painting is completed, the new marmoleum flooring is down and the new double-oven (one with a door that closes unlike the old one!) has been installed. Next comes the industrial fridge (so we don’t have to run up and down the stairs as often to get things from the pantry) and new countertops. Meanwhile the community has been cooking downstairs and picnicking in the office. Kevin says it’s great—he just as to swivel his chair to go from telephone to lunch!

We heard that remodeling the kitchen can be very stressful so we’re taking extra care to be harmonious. Some tension arose the first day of the remodel so we stopped and talked about our purpose and motivation. We’re remodeling the kitchen so that more people can come to the Abbey. But if there is tension in the community, they won’t want to come and even we won’t want to be there. In that case, there’s no reason to do the remodel. But we all have the same purpose—to practice the Dharma and to enable others to do so. To do that, we not only need new facilities but also need to practice well ourselves, to respect and appreciate each other, and to take care to communicate well and to be flexible, not digging in our heels and getting attached to our own ideas. Since then, everyone has gotten along very well, helping each other, laughing at the inconvenience of not having a kitchen, and making the many decisions that need to be made during the remodel together.

Another significant step is we signed the contract with Thomas Orjala of Northida Homes who will be our general contractor. He has worked with our architect Tim Wilson before, so it’s a good match. Ven. Tarpa and Thomas are now interviewing engineers, because we need to design a water system, septic system, electrical system, and so on. Building in the countryside is different from building in a city where it’s easy to hookup to the city’s infrastructure.

Teachings in Singapore  top
Just after retreat ended, I departed for Asia. The first leg of the trip was Singapore, where I taught at Phor Kark See Monastery, Tai Pei Buddhist Center, the Buddhist Library, and Buddhist Fellowship. Pureland Marketing and a group of my old students coordinated the visit, which was a great success. About 1100 people attended the public talk at Phor Kark See, and 200 people participated in the two-day Chenrezig retreat. Some pictures of the trip are on the web, more will be put up in the coming weeks.

The contract with Northida Homes was ready while I was leading the retreat in Singapore, so we had a short ceremony for signing it. I led the group in generating wholesome aspirations for the Abbey and praying for the existence of the Dharma in the world. Then, while everyone chanted om mani padme hum, I bowed three times and signed the contract. Although the Abbey was half way around the world, people felt very connected to what we’re doing. Singaporeans are eager to see the Dharma spread in the West and are generous supporters of the Abbey. We hope some of them will come and visit us soon.

Tibet
  top
We have been very concerned about the situation in Tibet, both the frustration expressed by the Tibetans and the Chinese suppression of it. I am presently in India, and had the good fortune to attend four days of Dharma teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Delhi. His Holiness is clearly saddened by the events and fears that after the Olympics, the Chinese government will flood Tibet with even more Han Chinese than the large number already there, thus making the Tibetan population with their distinctive form of Buddhism and unique culture obsolete in their own land. There was also a touching inter-religious gathering at Rajgat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. Please recite “Words of Truth” a prayer written by His Holiness in 1960, just after he and other Tibetans fled to India. Also, please sign petitions encouraging the Chinese government to negotiate with His Holiness’ Tibetan government-in-exile and do whatever you can to help the situation.

Other News  top
Take a look at the 2007 Annual Report and all that we accomplished this year. Thank you so much for your support and participation that has enabled all these activities to happen and so many beings to benefit.

Ven. Tarpa led a weekend retreat at Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle. Participants were very moved by this non-residential retreat and hope to have many more.

May the freshness of spring rejuvenate your body and brightness of a compassionate heart refresh your mind,

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron and the residents of Sravasti Abbey  

Upcoming Events at Sravasti Abbey  top Ven. Chodron (and other Abbey residents) Teaching in Other Venues

 

March 2008

What you’ll find:
   Medicine Buddha Retreat 
   Carl Takes the Anagarika Vows
   Thanks for Wonderful Local Support
   Chanting and Blessings in Seattle
   Monastic Residence Plans
   Other News
   Upcoming Events

Dear Friends,

The second month of the Medicine Buddha retreat is going well. Many of you have written, concerned about how we’re doing with the incredible amount of snow this winter. Aside from a few power outages, it’s been fine. We’ve gotten a lot of exercise shoveling snow—not just pathways through the garden, but off the roof of the house and the barn. The turkeys have moved into the garden and have become Ven. Semkye’s disciples, following her around as she feeds them cracked corn. Mudita the Moose strolled by the house one day, and by the middle of the month, as the weather became slightly warmer, the coyotes returned. 

Carl Takes Precepts  top

We would like to wish you a Happy Tibetan New Year, which we celebrated with Carl taking the eight anagarika precepts and beginning his training for monastic ordination. It was a simple but moving ceremony, witnessed by all the retreatants. (Sorry – we couldn’t invite people because guests cannot visit during retreat). He was happy and glowing, and people were inspired watching someone who is 23 be so clear about taking this wholesome direction in his life. He looks great in the gray outfit – well, as good as anyone can look in it – and he and Barb now look like twins, with only a foot difference in height. Since taking vows, he prefers to go by his refuge name, Jampel. 

Thanks to Our Supporters  top

Our local supporters have been wonderful during the retreat, offering food weekly and doing the laundry (our septic system is too small to do so many people’s laundry here). They sewed Carl’s gray anagarika clothes and drove them up here during a storm the night before the ceremony. And they’ve kindly offered many Care packages with homemade cookies and goodies. March 9 will be the concluding Lama Chopa puja to celebrate the completion of the retreat and to honor all of you who donated resources, time, and energy to make it so successful.  

Teachings in Seattle  top

In late February, Barbara, Alec, and I visited the Seattle area. I gave two Dharma talks to a wonderful group of people at Chi Yuan Temple(American Evergreen Buddhist Association), and we celebrated the Buddhist holiday of the Day of Miracles at Fa Shin Temple, where everyone chanted the Vajra Cutter Sutra together. Venerable Jendy kindly translated the talks into Chinese, and Alec will soon put the videos he made of the talks on the web.  

I also gave five talks at Dharma Friendship Foundation, where I used to be resident teacher. There, too, we found a great group of Dharma students. On the last day, we did a festive baby blessing to welcome the “Baby Buddhas” to their new lives. The center was packed with babies, children, family members, and Dharma students. What a lovely feeling there was amongst everyone! Deanna commented that years ago we had a baby blessing for her first grandson, but not the second who has been a (much loved) “holy terror” ever since. So this time she brought her daughter, both grandsons, and the new baby granddaughter, Ellie, for the blessing! Jeff and Susan’s son, Emmett, who is not quite two years old, kept us in stitches by chirping up with answers to the questions I asked the adults. Cameron, Colette and Mike’s first child, was happily content. Emma, the first baby to be blessed at DFF eleven years ago, helped the younger children, including Pema who had her baby blessing five years ago.

Monastic Residence Plans  top

Ven. Tarpa and Jampel have been doing extensive research on eco-friendly building and we have just selected our contractor. We’ll introduce you to him in next month’s eNews. Meanwhile Jampel is gearing up to begin the kitchen remodel this month. His dad, who is a contractor, will come for some time to give him a hand, and the Abbey community will help as well.

Barbara is heading up Inviting Generosity – that’s our term for fund raising, because we want people to get in touch with and feel their delight in giving. At this time, we are identifying people who would like to make Leadership Offerings for the new buildings. To help take the lead in launching this project, please or call the Abbey (509.447.5549). 

Other News  top

Marsha Rule did some great interviews with Barbara, Kevin, and Carl (Jampel), who all moved to the Abbey last May or June. You’ll love reading them.

Four more foreign language editions of my books have been released recently: Taming the Monkey Mind (Chinese, published by Dharma Drum Publishing), Buddhism for Beginners (Chinese), Buddhism for Beginners, (Spanish, published by Alianza Editorial, 2nd printing) and, Working with Anger (Portuguese, published by  Nova Era).

As the serenity of winter is beginning to bid us farewell, let us welcome spring with all the changes it brings,

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
and the residents of Sravasti Abbey

Upcoming Events at Sravasti Abbey  top

Ven. Chodron (and other Abbey residents) Teaching in Other Venues

February 2008
What you’ll find:
   Medicine Buddha Retreat 
   Teachings Live on the Internet
   New Year's at the Abbey
   Monastic Residence Plans
   Other News
   Upcoming Events
Dear Friends,

The peace of a snowy winter is upon us now that we are in the midst of Part II of the Medicine Buddha retreat. Thirteen people, from 21 to 70 years old, are doing the retreat and creating a retreat environment, with six sessions daily, one of them being a study session. Some of the people are doing retreat full time. Others are the support team, doing morning and evening meditation sessions, the study session, and all-day Sunday practice while offering service at other times. On Tuesday, there is a Q&A session which is being transcribed and sent to the 140 people doing the Retreat from Afar. Wednesday is a monastic training talk for the monastics and those preparing for ordination, and Thursday evening I teach the Essence of Refined Gold by the Third Dalai Lama. In between sessions we continue compassionately caring for ourselves and others.

Teachings Live on the Internet  top
Good news! The weekly Thursday night teachings are now being streamed live on the Internet! We’re very happy to know that others are joining us for the teachings. For those of you who don’t have computers or who like to listen together as a group, the teachings are also live on the telephone. While nothing is a substitute for being in the room with a teacher listening to teachings, this is the next best. Be part of the broader Sravasti Abbey community: listen in and even send in your questions.

New Year's at the Abbey  top
Our New Year’s retreat was a wonderful, loving event. The Abbey was full with people who wanted to spend four days looking into their hearts, resolving and purifying old habits and actions, and generating positive intentions for the new year. I spoke on the Four Noble Truths each morning, and the rest of the day was dedicated to meditation and discussion on how to observe and then counteract attachment, anger, and jealousy. There were many “ah-ha” moments during this retreat. New Year’s Eve we welcomed in the new year with a candlelight procession around the Buddha statue in the garden and a sharing of the many forms of our aspirations to pacify our minds and benefit sentient beings.

Monastic Residence Plans  top
The plans for the new monastic residence are coming along! Meetings with our architect, Tim Wilson, were fruitful and the design phase for the monastic residence is falling into place. He has sent preliminary drawings, and the building is not only beautiful, but also very functional. We have had excellent advice from those knowledgeable in green building—we want to protect our environment as we build the monastic community and spread the Dharma—and Ven. Tarpa continues to research green building materials. Rastra, Faswall, ICFs—she knows all the names and their R values! Laurel York-Odell, a fund raising specialist and friend, came to instruct us on how to invite others’ generosity to construct the new monastic residence. Barbara, Carrie, Alec, Frederick, Cheryl and others are hard at work preparing the materials, which you’ll see before too long.

We’ve been interviewing contractors as well as engineers because we will put in the infrastructure now for the rest of the buildings on our Master Plan. This will save much money in the long run. We’ve also been designing the kitchen remodel, which is badly needed in order to feed more guests. Those of you who have been here know what I mean! The preliminary design for a retreat cabin for two retreatants and/or visiting teachers and their attendants is in process. As you can see, we’ve been busy with these four steps in our first building project—infrastructure, monastic residence, kitchen remodel, and retreat cabin.

Barbara is heading up Inviting Generosity—that’s our term for fund raising because we want people to get in touch with and feel their delight in giving. At this time, we are identifying people who would like to make Leadership Offerings for the new buildings. If you’re interested, please  or call the Abbey (509.447.5549).

Other News  top
The core members of Israeli Dharma Friends asked me to speak about bringing Dharma to the West at the end of my visit to Israel. Many Dharma centers have similar concerns about the difference between Dharma and Tibetan culture, group practice, harmony among practitioners in a center, relations with other Buddhist groups, good communication amongst members, and overcoming the eight worldly concerns while spreading the Dharma. You can listen to the talk here. If you’d like to see videos of my talk in Germany in December, click here.

In the few weeks between Part I and II of the Medicine Buddha retreat there was lots of activity. Venerable Seo Gwang Sunim, Larry, Casey, and Chris spent some time with us. We have had lots of snow this winter and shoveling it has been a happy pastime as well as good exercise. Using the porta-potty is another story in the cold. We’ll be so happy when the new monastic residence is built so that we’ll have more toilets and showers.

May you enjoy the quiet and peace of the winter, and may your hearts and minds likewise be quiet and peaceful.
With all good wishes,
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
and the residents of Sravasti Abbey


Upcoming Events at Sravasti Abbey  top

Ven. Chodron Teaching in Other Venues

  • February 19 – 24: Seattle, WA. Contact: Dharma Friendship Foundation
    • Tuesday [2/19], 7:00 p.m.: "Delight in Excellent Deeds: The Benefits of Bodhicitta"
    • Thursday [2/21], 5:30 p.m.: "Essence of Refined Gold"
    • Friday [2/22] 7:00 p.m., Saturday [2/23] 10:00 a.m. & Sunday [2/24] 10:00 a.m.: "What About You? Exchanging Self and Others"
  • February 20, 23: Kirkland, WA. American Evergreen Buddhist Association, Chi-Yuan Temple, 13000 NE 84th St. Contact: 425.827.5767
    • Wednesday [2/20], 10:00 a.m.: "How to Deal with Bad Friends and Make Good Ones"
    • Saturday [2/23], 2:00 p.m.: "Morality for the Me Generation"
  • March 14 - 23: Singapore. Contact Seow Hong
  • April 11 - 13: Malaysia. Contact Benny Liow
  • April 18 - 19: North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, ID. Teaching series: "Peaceful Means in a Not-So-Peaceful World"
    Contact: 208.665.5862
  • April 30: Gonzaga University, Spokane WA. Teaching and interfaith dialogue: "Buddhist Wisdom on Violence & Reconciliation". Contact 509.389.5942
  • Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, Retreat: Vajrasattva and Compassion

Venerable Chodron's new book, which includes a CD with over 14 hours of guided meditation, released in September by Snow Lion PublicationsGuided Meditations on the Stages of the Path contains a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and is designed to help practitioners at all levels of the path, but especially those who want to establish a daily meditation practice.  top

JANUARY 2008

What you’ll find:
Abbey Reflections
FOSA Leadership Team Meeting
December Travels
Other News
Upcoming Events
Ven. Chodron's new book

Dear Friends,
We hope the ending of one year and the beginning of a new year for you has been a time of renewed dedication to what is important in life.

The first part of our Medicine Buddha retreat ended well with a fire puja followed by a long walk in the forest. Now we’re ready to begin the second part of the retreat, which will go until March 9. You’re welcome to join the Retreat from Afar. One person who did the Retreat from Afar in November wrote about how she benefited: “The first part of the retreat has changed a lot for me. I realized that the sentient beings I pray for are right here around me, and the chance to practice Dharma is right now. Like charity begins at home. The change in my attitude – for example, I was able to respond to resentment with heartfelt caring – surprisingly brought about a change in the attitude of others. I think the practice of Dharma and the altruism that is part of the teachings are very powerful tools for daily living.”

Dr. Alex Berzin, who visited and taught at the Abbey in November, shared his reflections of the Abbey. You may also want to take a look at his most informative website. We had a lovely Lama Tsongkhapa Day celebration on Dec.4 during which I spoke about Je Tsongkhapa's inspiring life and we did the Guru Puja followed by a candlelight procession around the Buddha statue in the garden, while chanting the “Migtsema.” The candlelight sparkled as it reflected off the snow. After completing the chanting, we listened to the silence of the forest and let our minds grow silent as well.
top

FOSA Leadership Team gathering
Our Friends of Sravasti Abbey Leadership Team meeting was joyful and fruitful, with many skillful and talented people enthusiastically pitching in to plan the building of our first monastic residence. After meeting as a large group, we broke into smaller task committees to work on an action plan. Ven. Tarpa heads the construction committee, which is researching green building; Frederick heads the website and print materials group, while Barbara leads the Inviting Generosity committee and Cheryl Gipson is the campaign project manager (Click here to read the minutes). In the three weeks since the meeting, plans have continued to develop. It’s really exciting to see everyone work together to make a home for the sangha in the West.top

December Travels
During December, many Abbey residents traveled. I taught in Israel, leading a retreat with Dharma Friends of Israel. It was wonderful to see how earnestly they practice and how much they have spread the Dharma since they began ten years ago. I also gave several talks at Pagoda Phat Hue, a Vietnamese temple in Frankfurt, with a wonderful sangha community. Take a look at pictures of my visit to the Pagoda. Teaching in both places was fun as well as inspiring. Ven. Semkye spent a week with our friends at Shasta Abbey, a monastery in the Japanese Zen tradition in California. Ven. Tarpa went to a family reunion in Florida, Carl visited his mother and sister in Oklahoma, and Kevin went to San Francisco to care for his son who was recovering from surgery. Alec also went to visit family and returned in time for the New Years Retreat. All of us were very happy to return to the Abbey.
top

Other News
The Abbey is the recipient of incredible generosity – here is just one heart-warming example: Six weeks ago a woman named Karen called from Canada wanting to make a food offering to the Abbey for the upcoming Medicine Buddha retreat. So after inviting the generosity of friends & strangers alike – including one man who offered all the cash he had with him – Karen took the $300 that was donated, purchased an abundance of food at the local food cooperative, then drove with her friend Shelly nearly 3 hours to the Abbey to make the delivery personally. Kindness abounds.

One of my Dharma friends, Jordan Van Voast, has begun an online site for Buddhist parents to share their experiences and support each other in raising their children. Visit it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dharmafam/

May you have many positive aspirations for the new year and may they all be fulfilled,

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
and the residents of Sravasti Abbey
top

Upcoming Events at Sravasti Abbey

Ven. Chodron’s Teaching in Other Venues ·      

  • March 14 - 23: Singapore. Contact Seow Hong  
  • April 11 - 13: Malaysia. Contact Benny Liow 
  • April 18 - 19: North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, ID
    Teaching series: "Peaceful Means in a Not-So-Peaceful World"
    Contact 208.665.5862
  • April 30: Gonzaga University, Spokane WA 
    Teaching and interfaith dialogue: "Buddhist Wisdom on Violence & Reconciliation"
    Contact 509.389.5942
  • Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, Retreat: Vajrasattva and Compassion

 Venerable Chodron's new book, which includes a CD with over 14 hours of guided meditation, released in September by Snow Lion Publications. Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path contains a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and is designed to help practitioners at all levels of the path, but especially those who want to establish a daily meditation practice.  top

 
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