Monthly Gathering in Berkeley

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San Francisco Bay Area friends of Abhayagiri eagerly look forward to the monthly first Tuesday Sanghapala gatherings at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, which typically feature Ajahns Amaro and/or Pasanno and one or more other monastics. As the three-month winter retreat at Abhayagiri, when the visits are on pause, comes to an end, the anticipation is higher than ever. So, it was no surprise that Ajahn Amaro and Karunadhammo Bhikkhu were greeted with a full house for the April 3 gathering. Those gathered also welcomed Anagarika Santussika, a visitor who was ordained at Dhammadharini Vihara in Fremont and currently resides at the One Heart Center in Los Altos.

As this is the first in what may become a monthly report of the first Tuesday Sanghapala gatherings, focusing on the schedule may serve to give a taste of the evening to those who haven’t yet experienced one and may perhaps inspire some of those who live in the area to take the plunge and try one out for themselves. The next first Tuesday will be May 1. The gatherings take place at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (2304 McKinley Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703).

There really are two parts to the evening. Tea with the monastics begins at 5 p.m. and winds down after about an hour. During the break, the monastics rest and those laypersons so inclined can help clean up in the kitchen, informally chat with their friends and neighbors, or join in the evening chanting service (in Chinese and English) offered by the monastery. The main part of the program begins at 7:30 p.m. and includes evening chanting (in Pali and English), meditation (around forty minutes), an opportunity to take the five precepts, a Dhamma talk, discussion, and closing chanting, all ending around 9:45 p.m. The two parts are quite independent, and people are free to attend one or both, as their interest and schedules permit.

While the tea is intended to be informal and to provide an opportunity to interact with the monastics, the initial atmosphere may have struck some as a bit stiff and awkward, perhaps natural Page 2 of 3

on this evening after three months absence, with a period of greetings, offerings, and exchange of news about comings and goings in often quiet tones. The ambiance gradually became both more energetic and relaxed as the discussion shifted into questions about practice. Just as in an unplanned potluck meal where the variety of dishes offered somehow combine to make a balanced meal, many of the questions posed during tea this time nicely anticipated the theme of the Dhamma talk to come; namely, spiritual friendship based on an intention to live mindfully with the precepts as guiding principles, including an eye toward Right Speech.

Ajahn Amaro, as is usual for the first Tuesday gatherings, set a welcoming tone of ease for the main part of the evening by reminding all that, while there may be bowing and chanting, as well as formal meditation, participation in what may be unfamiliar practices to some is always optional. “You can be sure that while your neighbor is chanting, that person will not be critiquing how well you chant or even noticing if you are chanting at all, so please feel free to join in when you feel comfortable doing so and to just sit and observe when you don’t” conveys the spirit, which also includes the freedom to engage in whatever one’s normal meditation practice is.

While newcomers to Buddhism in the West are often focused on meditation, it is significant that Ajahn Amaro concentrated on the spiritual friendship and the powerful sense of harmonious community that pervaded the recently ended three-month winter retreat with the monastics more or less in isolation. Ajahn referred to the oft-told story of Ananda discussing kalyana-mitta with the Buddha. In Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation of the Upaddha Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 45.2), it reads: “. . . Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, ‘This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie.’ ‘Don't say that, Ananda. Don't Page 3 of 3

say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, and comrades, he can be expected to develop and pursue the noble eightfold path.’”

Ajahn made numerous points about spiritual friendship and the precepts. One that arose during tea and continued in the Dhamma talk was the concept of keeping the precepts as a form of generosity. Among other things, he explained that living according to the precepts simply and without making a big show of it is a source of immense support to the community, which in turn buttresses one’s own practice and results in a mutually reinforcing atmosphere in which all feel safe and secure. Right Speech comes into play in offering to (and accepting from) members of the community both praise and blame in a skillful way. There usually is no intrinsically obvious “right” formula for this sharing; instead, one has to learn to read one’s own heart to discern motivation and determine what is true, beneficial, and appropriately timed.

The first Tuesday gatherings do not of course happen spontaneously of their own accord but depend on the generosity of the community to provide time and effort and to make offerings of tea and chocolate when supplies run low. Among those who make the gatherings happen are Terri Julianelli, who sends out the monthly email bulletins announcing the gathering, Julie Schlein, who manages the kitchen during teatime, and Laurie Rand, who oversees setting up the meditation hall, including the books and other items for free distribution. And the meeting space at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery is due to the generosity its director, the Rev. Heng Sure, and to the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, of which the monastery is a branch. There is a long history of friendship between Abahaygiri and the DRBA, and many readers will recall that the late Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, founder of the DRBA, donated the land on which Abhayagiri now resides.