| JANUARY 2005 UPDATE
Dear Friends,
Sravasti Abbey welcomed the new year with a mixture of feelings - joy in having met the Dharma, in accomplishing so much at the Abbey in the last year, and in beginning Vajrasattva retreat; grief at the devastation of the tsunami.
I left India the day before the tsunami struck. The tragedy there has saddened us deeply and reminded us why compassion and the aspiration for enlightenment are so important. Some people have written to ask about prayers and practices to benefit the victims. The taking and giving meditation will help, as will other prayers.
My trip to Asia was wonderful. I spent nearly two weeks in Singapore, teaching and visiting friends. I'd lived in Singapore 1987-8 as the resident teacher of Amitabha Buddhist Centre and since then have visited almost every year. This visit, I spoke at ABC, Buddhist Library, My Healing Hands, and Phor Khar See Monastery. Friends at Pureland Marketing have already made some of the talks in DVDs.
In India, I spent a week at Gaden Monastery in South India, visiting Serkong Rinpoche, and then went to Sera Monastery for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings on Maitreya and Asanga's texts on the bodhisattva path. They were very inspiring, bringing home again and again how self-centeredness inhibits love, compassion, generosity, patience, and other good qualities. At one point, His Holiness said that the bodhisattvas' qualities seem almost incomprehensiblethe level of their compassion and generosity is totally free from selfishnessbut given that cause and effect function, if we practice and create the causes, the resultant magnificent qualities will arise in our hearts. His Holiness then gave initiation and commentary at Zongkar Chode Monastery and Gyudmey Monastery. Despite his busy schedule, he was in good health and full on energy. Photos will be on the website shortly.
My teachers and Dharma friends were pleased with the development of the Abbey. I took with me reproductions of a drawing of His Holiness done by Steven Lawrence, one of the inmates I work with. Although he had never met His Holiness, Steven captured him in the drawing, so much so that everyone to whom I gave a copy marveled at it. I wish Steven could have seen the reactions of all these lamas to his artwork!
Meanwhile at the Abbey, preparation for the Vajrasattva retreat continued. Residents, together with Dave, Heather, Miles, and several local supporters worked hard. They did take time, however, to renew and refresh by doing a weekend Chenresig retreat in mid-December.
Just after my return, Eric, our architect, and Ven. Jampa, his sister and my dear friend, came to visit the Abbey. We shared many good discussions about the vision for the Abbeyhow to nurture the monastic community as well as grow the physical facilities over the years. It's a challenging process, and Eric wants to help us do it in as comfortable a way as possible. All of us loved to walk in the woods, and since undergrowth is minimal this time of year, we could bushwhack our way through the forest.
The meditation hall is complete! On New Year's Eve, Ven. Jampa put the Kangyur (the sutras) and
Ven. Chodron cuts the ribbon
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the Tengyur (the major Indian commentaries) on the bookshelves we built. Eric and Miles carried in the Buddha statue; we hung the paintings of Manjushri, Maitreya, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We then stood in awe of their beauty and bowed. The next morning, New Year's Day, a bald eagle flew over the Abbey just as we were gathering to do a ribbon cutting ceremony and our first practice session in the meditation hall.
On the evening of Jan. 5, the seven retreatantsKevin, Aida, Lupita, Flora, Kathleen, Nanc, and Milesbegan the three-month Vajrasattva retreat. The next day millions of tiny Vajrasattvas in the form of snowflakes began to fall from the sky. A few days later, Khensur Wangdak, the former abbot of Namgyal Monastery, came for his second visit to the Abbey. He taught the "Bodhisattvas Confession of Ethical Downfalls," commonly known as "prostrations to the 35 Buddhas," with Jeff doing an excellent translation of the teaching.
You'll remember that in our last newsletter we offered people the opportunity to participate in the Vajrasattva retreat from afar by doing at least one session of Vajrasattva practice daily for the three months. The response has been wonderful: 36 people from around the worldU.K., Singapore, India, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Mexico, and U.S.have joined in. In addition, 16 of the inmates I work with are participating. The photos of many of these people decorate the meditation hall. All those in retreat are diligently trying to tame their minds (not an easy task!) and cultivate love, compassion, and wisdom (rare qualities in a society of consumerism and violence). We are grateful for your support in our endeavors and dedicate the positive potential we create for the well-being of all sentient beings. So know that you are in our prayers.
With loving-kindness,
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
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