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APRIL 2004 UPDATE

Dear friends,

Just a year ago this month, I moved to Boise to begin to search for land for Sravasti Abbey. Now, just a year later, we have an abbey and a support organization, Friends of Sravasti Abbey, which has a board and a host of dedicated volunteers. It's amazing that we've accomplished so much in such a short time.

The one month I spent in retreat was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy silence and solitude after a busy year. Ven. Tenzin Tsepal took good care of me; she is a great companion to have at the abbey. Volunteers continue to offer food regularly, so we are well nourished. As monastics, we dedicate for the well-being of all our benefactors and those who make offerings to the abbey.

During retreat, we transited from winter to spring. Clearing last year's dead plants from the garden allowed us to see the bright green iris, lily, and tulip shoots, the delicate snowdrop flowers, and glowing purple crocuses. We've seen deer, elk, and a fluffy skunk, and a variety of chirping birds.

At the March work party we made progress remodeling downstairs under Morgan's excellent guidance. One bedroom room is painted, the sitting room is undergoing mudding and taping, and we'll cut the concrete to enlarge the window of the back bedroom at the next work party. Some of us were marveling at how joyous people are working together. How is it that they have such a good time lifting heavy sheetrock to put on the ceiling, mudding and taping new rooms, and organizing the library? I think it has to do with knowing that their efforts benefit others and help establish the Dharma in a new country.

As I sit here looking out the window at the meadows and forest surrounding Sravasti Abbey, I am acutely aware that our opportunity to live the monastic life here is due to the kindness of others. Years ago, when the idea first occurred to establish an abbey, there was not a penny to begin with. There is no large organization or religious institution supporting the abbey. I was on my own, and it is only through the generosity of people like you, who were inspired by the abbey's vision, that we now have a place.

I am a nun, not a fundraiser. Yet when people heard about the project, they gave generously so we were able to make a substantial down payment on the property. This indicates that many people see the value and benefit of having monastics and an abbey in their lives. They want to use their money to support their values of love, compassion, and wisdom. They want to create a place where all of us can live an ethical life and tame our minds. They want to contribute to harmony in the world.

Of course there's a substantial mortgage to pay and construction to do, but as a friend remarked, “The Buddhas and bodhisattvas got the abbey this far. They're not going to stop now.” It's true. When the weather permits, I go to the meadow and, chanting a verse from the time of the Buddha, I invite all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to come to Sravasti Abbey. It is their place; it is our place; it is for the welfare of all beings.

I would like to thank you for your kindness and support. Your contribution—be it financial or volunteer work or dedicating that the good deeds of the abbey and its residents expand and fill the world—is valued and appreciated. Please come and visit when you can, and please take advantage of the Dharma materials on the websites: www.sravastiabbey.org and www.thubtenchodron.org.

Guided by Helen Ann's enthusiasm, three cities have hosted parties for the abbey—Seattle, Portland, and Xalapa, Mexico—and made offerings to the abbey. Many thanks!

Now that my retreat is over, we have been climbing a steep learning curve. In just one week, Ven. Tsepal, Nanc, and I been learning about working with contractors, the ins and outs of septic systems, and the pros and cons of different types of flooring. We had a productive meeting with M'Tae, the consultant from Boise who will guide the annual Friends of Sravasti Abbey meeting at the end of May to create a long-range development plan.

Next week, I will go to Boston, to speak at Harvard's Pluralism Project, a group focused on religious diversity in the USA. Following that, I'll teach in Phoenix, San Jose, and Portland, as well as attend H. H. the Dalai Lama's teachings in Pasadena. Ven. Tsepal will be at the abbey and will continue to mud, tape, and paint the downstairs rooms. She's also leading the “mantra rolling” project preparing rolls of papers with mantras written on them to fill the abbey's new statues.

Please join me in prayers that Sravasti Abbey will be a beacon of pure Dharma teachings in the West for many generations to come and an agent for peace in our world. Let's work together to make the teachings on compassion and wisdom available to those who seek them, and may those wonderful qualities grow within our own hearts and minds.

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron

 
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