Each year since the time of the Buddha, at the end of the three-month Rains Retreat, the lay communities around Buddhist monasteries have gathered to celebrate the completion of the retreat and to offer to the monastic community gifts of cloth and supplies that will be useful for the coming year. The cloth is then cut, sewn and dyed by the monks to make a robe on that day to offer to one of the sa…
Dear Abhayagiri Community, In the past few years, the dates and locations of our annual retreat have been somewhat fluid, and 2020 is no different. We are happy to announce that this year our annual Thanksgiving Retreat will be offered live online November 20-29, via Zoom and YouTube. Registration for this event will occur in early October, so please remember to check the website at that time if y…
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…
Abhayagiri is currently open for limited access to the general public. In addition to live streaming Abhayagiri’s evening pujas and Dhamma talks, it is possible for those who wish to visit Abhayagiri but the following health and safety guidelines must be followed. Visitors may go into the Free Distribution Book Room and the Restrooms but should otherwise not enter any of the buildings. When there…
Maybe one day we will succeed in wishing someone we don’t like well. It’s not about liking where we disliked, or pretending to like, but about seeing whether we can develop a capacity of heart, of kindness that is independent of the experiences we encounter. That needs a gradual training of the heart. And a very strong empowerment comes with it, because it means that our heart becomes more independent from other people. Others are less capable of influencing our moods or states of mind, because we develop our own inner resource for feelings of wellbeing and kindness towards ourselves and other…
Ajahn Cunda reflects on the challenges of skillfully receiving feedback from others and the benefits of relinquishing attachment to our likes and dislikes. This reflection was offered September 10, 2020 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
