2019 saw much development of the monastery infrastructure. In addition to repainting parts of the main cloister area and constructing and installing replacement bridges on our loop trail, various major projects were undertaken. Solar System Upgrade One of the most significant monastery infrastructure developments this year was an upgrade to the off-grid solar system in the upper part of the monastery. The batteries were replaced, a larger new inverter was installed and finally in November, the last major phase of this year’s upgrade was completed with the installation of 12 new solar panels. This solar system meets several purposes of the monastery. The upper part of the monastery is not connected to the PG & E electrical grid and connectin…
Posted December 6, 2019

All are welcome to attend the formal ceremony in which Sāmaṇera Jotimanto will enter the monastic Saṅgha as a bhikkhu. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2pm on Monday, December 2nd.
Posted November 25, 2019

Friends, We hope you can join us at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery for the next Upasika Day on Sunday, December 1, 2019, a day of community, Dhamma study, meditation, and renewal. Please note that with the end of daylight savings time, we will take refuges and precepts at 10:30, and the meal offering is at 10:45 sharp. Our theme and topic for the day will be “Meditation: Developing Skill In Reflective Meditation.” Luang Por Pasanno, Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Nyaniko have graciously agreed to lead us in an exploration of the Buddha’s teachings on bringing a specific theme into the mind for reflection during meditation, including choosing and developing fruitful themes and the benefits of this skill. If you are so inclined, please read in a…
Posted November 23, 2019

Do things that honour and support a good heart, and live up to that in yourself. We can begin to see more clearly and intimately the difference between good and bad, wholesome and unwholesome, not from an abstract judgmental way. Feel the difference. Whatever makes you feel whole is wholesome. Whatever makes you feel bitter, regretful, unsettled, is unwholesome. No matter what people are doing to me, no matter what is going on, does a feeling of resentment make me feel good or not? The next time these things happen, notice the mood, and let go. The Buddha says he noticed feelings of cruelty in…