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MAY 2005 UPDATE

Dear Friends,

Many thanks to all of you who were inspired by the Vajrasattva retreat and wrote to congratulate the retreatants on the successful completion of the retreat. To give you a sample, Rocio from Torreon, Mexico said:

"Since the day the retreat started, I imagined all the retreatants sitting together doing their practices. This was beautiful to remember throughout the day—while at

Jan
office, driving, or elsewhere—that people were sitting in meditation, praying, exploring the depths of their minds, trying to purify their own and others' negativities. It was inspiring while eating (actually while I was gulping down my food) to remember that there were people eating with full concentration. I saw this as the opportunity to affirm my own daily practice.

"My heart filled with joy knowing the retreatants received the oral transmission of the 35 Buddhas'Jan practice from Khensur Rinpoche and received the Vajrasattva initiation from Zopa Rinpoche. When I read that, I closed my eyes and imagined myself there with all of you. What a joy!"

With the successful completion of the first three-month retreat, we're shifting gears to put the Dharma in practice in our daily lives. Most of the retreatants returned to their homes and continue to stay in touch. The Abbey welcomed Jan Howell from Seattle as a new resident. Jan will soon begin training for ordination. Nanc, Jan, and Deb planted the garden and I had a break from the computer and enjoyed shoveling mulch. The meadows are turning green and birds abound. We also spotted the first moose on the land-Nanc saw him in April and I saw him a few days ago (he's grown in a month!).

Making friends with the local, non-Buddhist community is a priority for the Abbey. So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in April, we had an Open House for our neighbors. People came from Newport, Spokane, and other local towns, and volunteers from the Coeur d'Alene Dharma group prepared quite a spread of food which everyone enjoyed. Many children came and were fascinated by Buddhas in the meditation hall while the adults were curious about the Tibetan texts. The next Open House will be for the Buddhist community on June 12. Please come and join us and share the tranquility of the Abbey!

This month was one with a lot of outreach, beginning with a talk to the Buddhist group at San Quentin prison in California. This is one of the roughest prisons in that state, and the 45 men who attended the session, which included meditation and a Dharma talk, were very appreciative. They have been sitting together for six years under the guidance of Seido Lee de Barros from Green Gulch Zen Center, and when they meditated, the room was completely silent (quieter than when I lead retreats on the "outside"!).

Outreach continued with speaking at a class at Gonzaga University, a Catholic college in Spokane,

Chris Hadley SJ of Gonzaga University

and giving a four-part series in Newport entitled "Cultivating a Loving Heart." There was a book reading in Spokane last week and there will be a book signing in Coeur d'Alene next week for How to Free Your Mind: Tara the Liberator, which was just published by Snow Lion.

Our architect Eric and his colleague Dave visited the Abbey in late April and immediately got to work making a 3D model of the 40 acres where our future building will occur. This will help them plan the layout of the buildings and will help us to visualize how it will look. Eric also did a sketch for the retreat cabin we will build in the garden this summer. The floor plan will be on the website soon. Our other principal building project this summer is to remodel one of the bays of the barn to make a comfy community room where people can gather or sit and read quietly. If you have building skills and would like to help, let us know. We also welcome donations to make the building possible.

Our calendar of activities is expanding, with an Open House June 12, an all-day practice day July 9, and Nyung Ne Retreat May 22 - 24. Work parties have been renamed "Volunteer Service Weekends" to reflect the motivation of generosity and service that participants have.

"Exploring Monastic Life," a program for people interested in ordination, will be held at the Abbey August 8 – 26. Information and an application form are on the website. We will live together as a community, sharing a daily schedule of meditation, teachings, discussion, and offering service. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about monastic life and the joy of living in community with people who share your heartfelt spiritual aspirations.

Upon request, the next winter retreat will again be a three-month Vajrasattva retreat. It will be Dec. 6, 2005 - March 10, 2006. Six people are already enrolled, so if you'd like to attend, send in your application soon.

One of Sravasti Abbey's goals is to preserve and disseminate the Buddha's teachings as effectively as possible. We currently have extensive audio materials that need to be digitized, transcribed, and edited for distribution in print and on the Web. If you would like to help bring more of the teachings I've given to others, please contact Nerea at transcription@sravastiabbey.org. This is an excellent way to learn the Dharma as well as make the teachings available to others.

As the sunshine of spring fills our eyes, may the sun of wisdom enlighten our minds. Wishing you all the best,

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron

 
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