AUGUST UPDATE 2006
Dear Friends,
FOSA meeting in the garden
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The warmth of summer is upon us and the Abbey is glowing in the sunlight. June 21-25 saw our Fourth Annual FOSA Board and Volunteer Meeting at the Abbey, which was filled with enthusiasm and good energy. The first meeting was three years ago in Cataldo ID, where the idea of Friends of Sravasti Abbey began. This was before we had found the present site for the Abbey, and people jumped in to help even though they didnt know what lay ahead. Now we marveled at all that has been accomplished since then. For the first time all Board positions are filled and no one has complained of burnout. Thats pretty good for a fledgling organization! We reviewed the values and principals of the Abbey upon which the Abbey is built, heard reports from the committees, thanked everyone for the support they have offered, and planned how to help the Abbey grow so we can share the Dharma with more people. Take a look at the minutes of the meeting. One big step forward is instituting eTapestry as a way to help us keep in contact with volunteers and donors. Another is the work on the Master Plan.
While recently in Portland, I went on alms round with three monastics from the Portland Buddhist Priory. Walking down busy city streets with our alms bowls, we followed the traditional Buddhist monastic practice of accepting alms and remained meditatively mindful as we encountered various sights and sounds. People came out of their shops and homes to offer foodsometimes bags of groceries, sometimes a single piece of fruit. We were grateful for whatever we received and rejoiced in the positive potential of the donors as we recited a verse of blessing. Lay students of the Priory followed us to carry the food after it had been offered; they also explained to onlookers about the Dharma. FOSAs co-chair, Kathleen Herron, was one of them, and she often gave CDs with Dharma talks to interested donors.
I had the fortune to attend the Twelfth Annual Buddhist Monastic Gathering, this year held at Bhavana Society in West Virginia. The abbot Bhante Gunaratana welcomed about 45 monastics to the four-day gathering. These gatherings never fail to inspire meseeing so many Western monastics from various Buddhist traditions gather together in harmony to share the Dharma and the monastic life and to learn about each others practices fills me with happiness. Many of us have held the precepts for more than twenty years, indicating that the monastic sangha is beginning to take root in this country. Throughout the conference we ate in silence from alms bowls, in the traditional manner. One day we went on alms round, some of us walking in the countryside, others in the city.
From West Virginia I went to St. Louis, where I gave a talk sponsored by the Missouri
Ven. Chodron with one of the prison groups.
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Zen Center and then spent the rest of the weekend doing prison visits. Kalen and other friends at Inside Dharma organized talks with Buddhist groups in prisons at Bowling Green , Licking, and Pacific. At a Potosi prison I visited with two inmates with whom Ive been corresponding for a number of years, whose writings are on the website. In Cleveland, I taught at Jewel Heart BuddhistCenter and spoke to the Buddhist group at a prison in Marion OH. Although the incarcerated men thank me for coming and teaching, in actuality they teach me more than I teach them.
There have been some comings and goings at the Abbey. Pema, our office manager, has moved to Seattle to help Tibetan Nuns Project. We thank her and wish her well. We have a wonderful new Admin Assistant, Terri Bowker, who lives in Newport and runs our office. Please be in touch with Terri if you would like to visit the Abbey or attend a retreat or teachings. Ven. Lobsang Thubten, a monk from Eugene OR, stayed with us for a month. Dan from Ellensberg visited as did Sharon from LA. Karri from Wisconsin lived at the Abbey for about 8 months in 2004 and we were happy to welcome her back again. The family weekend was lovely, with baby Michelangelo and his parents, Francesco and Heather, and toddler Jasmine and her parents Todd and Belinda. Todd and Belinda were last here just after we moved into the Abbey, so they marveled at the changes that have happened in just two and a half years.
Weve been busy, too, with teachings on the Weapon Wheel of Thought Training, a wonderful text discussing karma and how to be free from self-centeredness and ignorance.
Weve been caring for the forest and meadowstake a look at the women on ATVs. We appreciate Bob for clearing the major trails and Donna, Danna, Steve, and Bob for helping us cut firewood for the winter! Home improvements continued with the framing in of the loft. One of the workmen who did it got interested after hearing our after lunch chanting and asked for a Dharma book!
Our weekly classes in Newport have continued and a nice group of regulars attend. We enjoy the friendly, relaxed atmosphere as we share meditation and talks about daily life Dharma with people in the local community. We also paid another visit to our friends, the Carmelite nuns, at their hermitage a few miles from the Abbey.
Many of you expressed encouragement and support of our efforts to have full ordination for women in the Tibetan tradition. Ven. Jampa Tsedroen wrote a brief report on the conference in Dharamsala in May that dealt with bhikshuni ordination. Updates and articles of interest will be posted on the Thubten Chodron website. An international conference on Buddhist Womens Role in the Sangha will be held at the University of Hamburg from July 18-20, 2007, in cooperation with the Universitys Asia-Africa Institute. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will speak on the closing day of the conference.
May all beings be happy and free from suffering,
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
Upcoming Events at the Abbey!
- Aug. 20, 9:30 AM 3:00 PM. Sharing the Dharma Day. Join the residents at Sravasti Abbey for a day of meditation, teachings, discussion, and friendship.
- Fri. Spokane WA, 7.00pm to 8.30 pm. Ven. Chodron will speak on The Four Noble Truths at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W Fort Wright Dr, Spokane , WA. For details, contact Penny: reipe19@msn.com
- Aug. 29 and 30, 2:00 4:00 PM and 5:00 7:00 PM, and Aug. 31 10 12 AM and 1:30 3:30 PM: Gyurme Khenzur Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin will teach on The Bodhisattva Paths and Grounds. A former abbot of Gyurme Tantric College, Rinpoche will teach on the way bodhisattvas develop their abilities on the path to enlightenment.
- Sept. 1 4. Retreat on the Three Jewels of Refuge. When we have troubles, what do we take refuge in? Where is a reliable source of guidance to be found?
- Sept. 17: Sharing the Dharma Day at the Abbey
- October 15: Sharing the Dharma Day at the Abbey
- November 12: Sharing the Dharma Day at the Abbey
- Nov. 23: Thanksgiving Precepts at the Abbey
- Nov. 24-26: Rejoicing and Giving Thanks Retreat at the Abbey
- Dec. 10: Sharing the Dharma Day at the Abbey
- Mid-Dec.:Khenzur Rinpoche Geshe Wangdak will teach from the Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra)
- Dec. 13 March 15, 2007: Chenrezig retreat at the Abbey (note new dates)
Ven. Chodron's Travels
- Sept. 9 10: Ven. Chodron teaches at Treasure Valley Dharma Friends in Boise
- Sept. 17 25: Ven. Chodron teaches in XalapaMexico
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