Abbey News
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2012 News About The AbbeyClick on the following links for news and interviews about Sravasti Abbey and Venerable Thubten Chodron: 2012 News About The AbbeyFor news updates for previous years click here. February 2012
Winter retreat brings a quiet time at the Abbey. There's a lot going on, but it's happening within people's minds and hearts, so there's little news. The retreat community is harmonious and warmly supportive. The silence helps us to be especially aware of the kindness that makes our annual retreat—and Sravasti Abbey itself—possible. We often think of the worldwide Abbey community as we dedicate our merit each day. May compassion warm you and the hearts of all beings, and may harmony prevail throughout the world. Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron and the Sravasti Abbey Community We’re Back in the Meditation Hall! Winter Retreat Since many people had asked us to fill and consecrate their Buddha statues, we did that too. It was the first time for many of the retreatants to witness everything that takes place in the statue-filling process and they happily participated. We also had a “re-entry” discussion about how to take the benefit they’ve derived from the retreat home with them, and we concluded with a sharing go-around. Those who departed did so with joyous minds, and the rest of us—15 people—have joyfully continued with retreat. This winter has been comparatively mild for us, with little snow, which enabled us to complete moving the Meditation Hall. It also made walking between buildings easier for our guests. However, the lack of snow was not good for the forest. Interestingly, as soon as the Meditation Hall was finished and the one-month retreatants had departed, the welcome snow came and we sighed with relief. Several of the retreatants have shared their inspiring reflections on practice: Ken speaks of discovering new aspects of the Vajrasattva practice and Atenea writes about the mirror of the mind. back to top Retreat from Afar Several people have written their gratitude to be participating, and Mary Grace tells about the beneficial effect of doing retreat from afar. Teachings from the retreat are available online. My twice-weekly teachings on the bodhisattva precepts are on blip.tv and the talks on the Vajrasattva practice given by some of the other Abbey residents are on Bodhisattva Breakfast Corner, the Abbey's YouTube channel. back to top Other News More Dharma materials in Spanish have been uploaded. There are Spanish audio recordings and some transcripts from Ven. Chodron’s book, Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path. We've also uploaded two videos from Khensur Wangdak Rinpoche's 2010 teachings on Chapter Two from A Guide to a Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Jillian shares about getting back on the path after being waylaid for a while. May her experience inspire us all. back to top January 2012![]()
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We send you warm holiday greetings and all good wishes for the New Year. Our Dharma practice enables us to create the causes for all these good wishes and prayers to bear fruit, and so we encourage you in your spiritual practice as we welcome 2012. With prayers sharing the inspiration and blessings of our retreat with you,
Two New Bhiksunis! Ven. Chodron's Trip to Asia
After Dharamsala, I returned to Delhi for the International Global Congregation. This four-day conference had about 1000 participants from over 40 countries, and was organized by the Asoka Mission. The theme centered on Buddhism in the 21st century and included sessions on Buddhism’s Preservation and Development, Environment and Ecology from a Buddhist Perspective, Right Livelihood, Buddhism and Psychology, Women and Buddhism, Points of Contact between Buddhism and Science, and so forth. I felt honored to present a paper “Sangha Livelihood in the 21st Century.” Even more than the panels, I enjoyed speaking with so many people in the break times. It was special to have the opportunity to meet Buddhists from around the world, who have the same faith and values yet are enacting them in vastly different places and circumstances. However, gender imbalance was evident in the opening ceremony speakers—all males. The last day there was a prayer gathering at Gandhi Smriti, the site of the Mahatma’s assassination, with chanting by Burmese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tibetan Buddhists, Jains, and Muslims. Being at this place made me contemplate how much impact one inpidual can have on the world. Not only did Gandhi significantly change the Indian sub-continent and inspire so many non-violent demonstrations worldwide in the following decades; the act of the inpidual who killed him also dramatically affected the world. Let’s not think that our actions don’t matter; the actions of one person can impact many beings’ happiness and suffering. The closing session of the conference featured a talk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama , who From India, I returned to Singapore and gave a talk on “Bringing Harmony to Your Workplace” at the Buddhist Library. A FOSA Singapore “good-bye gathering” followed, and then I boarded the plane back to the USA. FOSAS did a marvelous job planning and carrying out the various events during my Singapore visit. They are a harmonious and friendly group of people who cherish the Dharma, and my hope is that many of them will join the Retreat from Afar this winter and will one day visit the Abbey. back to top The Meditation Hall Work on the Meditation Hall continued in November and went into December as well, but it slowed down because of snow and also because of the holiday season when inspectors and workers take off work. The hall is down on its new foundation, tar and insulation were put on the exterior footings, the inside walls were framed out, and the electricity was roughed in and inspected. We've finished putting in the insulation, drywall, and texture, and have just started painting. Thanks to everyone who made offerings to support the relocation and transformation of the Meditation Hall. Please come meditate with us soon! back to top Retreat Begins! Dani began the purification process before retreat even began. One night she woke up with severe abdominal pain and Zopa took her to the ER at 3 in the morning. She was very dehydrated, and as it turned out, she had appendicitis. Our local rural hospital is good, and a few hours later she had her appendix removed. She said she contemplated love, compassion, and bodhicitta just before having the anesthesia and so her mind was peaceful and happy as she went under. More than 200 people are doing the Retreat From Afar! If you’re interested in joining in, check the website for the materials and notify Ven. Samten that you would like to participate. The teachings on Vajrasattva that I gave last year are now on the web too, and will help all of you doing the Retreat from Afar. The Vajrasattva materials are also available in Spanish, due to the kindness of Karina who translated them. The teachings on Six-Session Guru Yoga are restricted to those with Highest Yoga Tantra initiation. If you are doing the Six-Session Guru Yoga retreat from afar,let us know and we’ll give you access to those teachings. back to topLama Tsongkhapa Day To conclude the puja, we did a candlelight procession around Ananda Hall and the Buddha statue in the garden. Snow was falling, making the candle light especially beautiful. Another special event during December is our annual reading of Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life , which we read aloud every Christmas. The verses in this book challenge our self-centeredness and self-grasping, and show us the way to cultivate mindfulness, love, compassion, generosity, and wisdom, both in our meditation sessions and in our daily lives. We dedicated the merit for the pure Buddhadharma to flourish in our hearts and in the world, for the long lives of HH the Dalai Lama and our other spiritual mentors, and for each sentient being to cultivate peace within him or herself and to live in harmony with others and with the environment we live in back to topSravasti Abbey is now podcasting our teachings! Dani, one of our new anagarikas, writes about how she uses the Dharma to adjust to her new life at the Abbey. Henry, from Singapore, writes his reflections on seeing the ruins of Nalanda Monastery in India. While Thanksgiving is over, you may want to read the contemplation Ken (an anagarika at the Abbey since September) composed and sent to his family about this day of giving thanks. During the winter retreat, in lieu of streaming the teachings on the “Paths and Grounds” on Thursday evenings, we are uploading a teaching that wasn’t up before that you can watch at your leisure. The “Paths and Grounds” will continue after retreat. You can find all the archived video teachings on the Abbey's blip.tv channel.For the people who need advanced notice to get time off for retreat, we include the 2012 schedule below. Details will appear on the website Events Page in the coming weeks. Please join us in the newly located Meditation Hall! back to top Home |










spoke forthrightly about the importance of individual practice and ethical restraint in order to preserve the Dharma and bring peace to society. One of the important results of the conference was the formation of an international Buddhist body, named the International Buddhist Confederation. You can read the preamble for this new organization and learn more about what happened at the Global Buddhist Congregation at the 
retreat that we couldn’t turn anyone away. As a result, the Abbey is completely full for the first month of retreat (emphasizing the need for Chenrezig Hall—the new guest house with a huge kitchen and dining room that we want to build). The Meditation Hall was not ready for the beginning of retreat, but 
