The monastery will close for the three-month annual winter retreat on January 2, 2019 and re-open April 1st. During this time, the resident community takes time to engage in more formal meditation practice following a changing schedule of group and individual practice. During these three months there will be no overnight guests accepted. (For overnight visits after the retreat please contact the monastery after April 1, 2019.) However, day visitors and those wishing to visit the monastery to participate in the meal offering or bring offerings of requisites at meal time are still welcome. It should be noted, however, that the community is practicing noble silence, and talking and conversations with the monastics and retreat crew are very li...
Posted December 28, 2018

Beginning on Saturday December 15th, the monastery’s weekly Dhamma Talk and Puja, usually held at 2 pm Sunday afternoon, will be moved back to 7 pm Saturday evening. The monastery hopes that returning the weekly program to its original Saturday evening slot will prove more convenient for those hoping to join the community for the regular teachings, meditation, and chanting. Additionally, the other weekly evening program held on lunar observance days will be moved from 7:30 to 7:00 pm starting on Saturday December 15th, helping those travelling from far away return home earlier and simplifying the monastery’s schedule by ensuring that all such gatherings take place at a uniform time. Please consult our calendar f...
Posted December 3, 2018

Late October found the smoke that thickened Abhayagiri’s sky in August gone for clear autumn air, the three deer that usually roam the monastery’s garden replaced by hundreds of families visiting from the city. With the three-months annual Rains Retreat finished, the community’s wider family drew together on October 28th to celebrate the Kaṭhina ceremony. One monk explained: “In traditional times, the three months of the monsoon season was a time for the early monastic communities to settle in one place. Anyone who has lived with a group of people knows that communal harmony doesn’t come easily. Diverse people spending time together in close quarters for a long period in harmony is a difficult and rare thing to find. The Kaṭ...
Posted December 3, 2018

Living in a monastery can be very difficult—eating one meal a day, keeping precepts, trying to live and work together as a harmonious community. But as Master Hua said, “If we want to practice Dhamma, we have to do what’s difficult to do, what others would not choose to do.” Even though most people wouldn’t choose to live in this way, there’s an enormous benefit to what we’re doing here. Living in community, we learn how to hold things lightly and take responsibility for what’s happening in our minds. During the work period, it’s easy for one little event to trigger anger, ir...