Northern California is experiencing a number of fires which are affecting many people. The nearest fire to Abhayagiri is called the August Complex fire which started in mid-August and burned 875,000 acres. While it has been providing Abhayagiri with a great deal of smoke, as of yet it has not posed any imminent evacuation threat. Nevertheless, many communities in the vicinity have been affected. T…

During the evening of Saturday, August 29th, Anagārika Aaron will ordain as a sāmaṇera, a novice monk. The ceremony will take place in the Reception Hall and will be live streamed. The program will begin with evening puja at 7pm. The ordination ceremony will begin between 8pm and 8:30pm. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, it is not possible for the general public to join us in the Reception Hall…

Abhayagiri will host an Online Upāsikā Day on August 23rd, 1-5pm. Since the last two Upāsikā Days were cancelled, the day will begin with an option to renew one’s committment to the five precepts online. The broad-brush topic for this Online Upāsikā Day is Living in a Changing Society: Dealing with Fear, Stress, and Worry… Cultivating Kindness, Patient Endurance, and Harmony. For a more interactiv…

Up until this year, on the first Tuesday of the month (April through December), one of the senior monks from Abhayagiri would visit Berkeley Buddhist Monastery to lead a tea time Q&A session followed by an evening program of chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk. Due to the pandemic, there will be virtual 1st Tuesday meetings for the remainder of 2020. It is important to frequently check the mon…

There will be a live stream of Abhayagiri’s Āsāḷhā Pūjā ceremony. Pūjā begins at 7pm PDT with chanting and meditation, followed by the opportunity to take the 3 refuges and 8 precepts (p. 131 of chanting book Vol 1. Link below) and a Dhamma talk. After the Dhamma talk we will hold our Āsāḷhā Pūjā ceremony and circumambulation. Āsāḷha Pūjā commemorates the Buddha’s first discourse, given to the fiv…

During the 3-month vassa period (July, August, September), the monastic community of Abhayagiri will be studying the bhikkhus rules and protocols (Vinaya). There will be classes about twice per week. Because of these classes, we will not have evening puja on the following dates: July: 8, 10, 15, 16, 22, 24, 30, 31 August: 6, 9, 14, 16, 20, 24, 28, 30 September: 4, 8, 13, 14, 20, 23, 27, 29 These d…

Audio Available from Indian Pilgrimage Ajahn Sucitto and Nick Scott spent six months retracing the Buddha’s footsteps through India. Their two books chronicling the pilgrimage are already on the Abhayagiri website in various formats : Rude Awakenings - Part I - https://www.abhayagiri.org/books/460-rude-awakenings Great Patient One - Part II - https://www.abhayagiri.org/books/461-great-patient-one…

At 9am PDT (Pacific Time) on June 13, Ajahn Jayasaro will be doing a virtual question and answer session with the Buddhist Community at Stanford (BCAS). The general public is welcome to view this event. The schedule for the event is : 8:30 - 9:00 AM PDT Group meditation (without Ajahn Jayasaro) 9:00 - 10:00 AM Ajahn Jayasaro Q&A with the Buddhist Commmunity at Stanford For more information, please…

Mark Your Calendar - The Annual Retreat is Scheduled for Dec. 4 - Dec. 13 Abhayagiri’s annual monastic retreat is scheduled for Fri. Dec. 4 – Sun. Dec. 13, 2020 at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Applegate, CA. Registration for this retreat will likely open sometime during the summer, usually in July or August. Due to Covid-19, and the uncertainty about what restrictions, if any, will be in existence…

In 2018, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo began a two year commitment to be co-abbot with Ajahn Ñāṇiko, to help with the transition period after Luang Por Pasanno stepped back from being the abbot and began a one year sabbatical. Having just finished his two year commitment, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo will be going to the Pacific Hermitage for the vassa and Ajahn Ñāṇiko will be the sole abbot for the foreseeable future…