✨🌸💦 THIS SUNDAY April 14th Welcome to Dhammadharini: Join the Sangha for the (Theravāda Buddhist) South & Southeast Asian Astro-Solar New Year

[❧ Dhammadharini Monastery]

Dear Community,

All dear Dhamma friends,

 

You are warmly welcome to join us for our first in-person gathering of the year upon emerging from winter retreat at Dhammadharini Monastery this Sunday April 14th from 10am-2pm. This week many of our friends are celebrating the South & Southeast Asian (traditional lands of Theravāda Buddhism) Astro-Solar New Year, in Sinhala Avurudu, in Thai Songkran and Wan Kataññu ("Day of Gratitude"), and in Khmer Chaul Cham Thmey. In South & Southeast Asian Buddhist cultures, the Astro-Solar New Year is a time of cleansing, renewal, forgiveness, blessings, and honoring our elders. Here at Dhammadharini Monastery it feels distinctly that the season is turning to springtime, the hills and fields are green, and the flowers are blooming beautifully.

Special for this year: We will be appreciating and blessing newly-retired president of Dhammadharini Support Foundation Srisakul "Susie" Kliks for her decade-long service on the DD SF Board of Directors, and welcoming in and blessing Dhammadharini founding friend and former Secretary of the Board Supatra Chowchuvech stepping into role of DD SF president. We'll also be celebrating the birthday of our Dhammadharini co-founder and president emeritus friend Sampunnā Shari Gent - Shari is offering a special Birthday Lunch Dāna. It will be a lovely springtime gathering of old & new friends, full of blessings.

Register here to join in person!

Warm welcome to join us. This event will be in-person only, outdoors in our meditation garden Dāna Sālā.

Please arrive at 10am to join in offering Astro-Solar New Year's Lunch Dāna to the Bhikkhuni Sangha at 11am, followed by community meal and time together. We plan for the gathering to end around 2pm.

A traditional part of the Astro-Solar New Year in Southeast Asia is "Bathing of the Elders" - to bathe our Buddha images, and to pour lustral flower water over the hands of the monastics and our elders - asking, receiving and giving forgiveness for anything from the past, and blessings for the coming year.  You’re welcome to bring your own (small) Buddha images from home, to wash them as part of the celebration.

  

Some words written by Ayya Tathaloka in honor of the occasion: 

✨🌸💦👏 ✨🌸💦👏 ✨🌸💦👏    

To all of my most revered and beloved elder kalyanamittas & teachers, still living and those who have already passed on, 

I pour water over your hands in reverence, asking your forgiveness and blessing, 

with deep, deep gratitude for all of the blessings you have showered me with, 

until nothing is left untouched by them ~

To all of my Thai, Sinhalese, Lao, Khmer, Bengali, Burmese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian and Nepalese Dhamma friends celebrating the Astro-Solar New Year: 

สงกรานต์  Songkran, 

ປີໃໝ່  Pi Mai, 

අලුත් අවුරුද්ද  Aluth Avurudda, 

បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី  Choul Chnam Thmey, 

သင်္ကြန်  Thingyan, 

পহেলা বৈশাখ/Pohela Boishakh -

- may we fully open your hearts & minds 

to receive all of the blessings of the wise and benevolent ones, 

and may brightness, freshness, and purity of heart be yours 

with good, clear and pure energy for beautiful and excellent life ~

for all ~

May we fully enter the most refreshing stream of the true Dhamma, 

in which the fires of greed, anger and delusion are cleansed and fully quenched, 

that we may know true peace and freedom ~

✨🌸💦👏 ✨🌸💦👏 ✨🌸💦👏    

Songkran water pouring: Bathing the Buddhas and "watering the monks"

If joining for the meal, you’re welcome to bring a dish to share.

Please park mindfully in the monastery neighborhood - there is abundant street parking. The speed limit is 15 mph. No parking within 50 feet of a stop sign, or in front of a neighbor's driveway. Welcome to pull in front of the monastery entrance to briefly drop off food and passengers, but please don't park there.

You may RSVP to the event on our website - we hope you can join us!

With metta,

-from our Dhammadharini monastic community

***

All Dhammadharini programs are freely offered as gifts of Dhamma Dana. If, out of gratitude, you wish to offer Sangha Dana of food, lodgings or any of the other four requisites of life to support the Dhammadharini Bhikkhuni Sangha, information can be found here.

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Dhammadharini Monastery

6791 Sturtevant Dr., Penngrove CA 94951

tel or text: +1 707.583.9522

email: dhammadhari...@gmail.com

more info on the web @ dhammadharini.net