End of Vassa ~ Beginning Kathina Season Letter

[Aranya Bodhi Hermitage]

Warm greetings, dear Friends of our Sangha,

Heart full of gladness from all of the good energy of our Kathina gathering at the hermitage yesterday, i write from a sunny and peaceful afternoon in the rain-drenched forest.  As was so on the day after the dedication of our reliquary stupa up on the mountain saddle which was the first International Bhikkhuni Day, or the day after the first bhikkhuni ordinations here, something very special has happened to this land that is palpable.  There is an energy of deep quiet, calm, contentment, peacefulness and happiness invisible walking the paths of the little breezes, spread deeply thoughout this whole stretch of mountain forest.  

If i had to give it name, the first time (the ordinations) i called "joy", 

the second (the stupa dedication) i thought of as "happiness," 

and this third (the Kathina), "goodness".  

My great appreciation to all who came to join in spreading the Kathina yesterday from near and far, and to all who participated by heart and offered support who couldn't join in body, but joined in spirit. And to all those who participated in our undertaking and keeping the three monthlong period of the Vassa here on this land together. I would especially like to thank Lal Senanayake, his dana coordination and all friends who offered alms meals, especially including those here at our hermitage, who have gifted all of these bodies with life, health, happiness and good energy. I would like to thank all of those who have offered kutis, our Dhammasala yurt, the kitchen trailer, the water and solar systems, and all of the many smaller and larger materials that have made living quietly here these months in the refuge possible. I would especially like to thank all past and present Dhammadharini board members, for enabling us to live and know the blessings of the renunciate life, here, in this time and space.  And i would like to thank friend Sumana, who has the great merit of offering the Kathina cloth to the Sangha, and shared that with all of us.  And to everyone who brought so many of our useful and helpful things here yesterday to offer together with the Kathina.

LOOKING AHEAD ~~>

 ~>  new place offered at in San Francisco East Bay for Kathina Season

You all may have read about the Kathina Season Match Grant that may enable our Dhammadharini Support Foundation to offer the downpayment on the space that will become our new monastery/vihara in a few months.  And you've read about the Kathina supplies offered yesterday.  Well, there are two more very special offerings for the Kathina Season:

Ven Bhikkhuni Han Tri, the founder of the Peace Pagoda in Fremont's Niles District, has most kindly offered our Dhammadharini monastics a room at the Peace Pagoda for the next four months of the Kathina Season.  This will enable myself, Ayya Sobhana and our monastics to have a monastic resting and meeting place when coming to Fremont, for being able to offer Dhamma teaching and keep supportive contact with our East Bay and SF Bay Area friends who are not able to make it up to our hermitage regularly.  The Peace Pagoda has been built on the old Niles tennis court and houses relics of the Buddha.  There is a lovely meditation and Dhamma teaching hall where it is possible to meet.  And we will have the company of fellow bhikkhuni sisters who love to live quietly and in seclusion.  This is a great boon for us, and will hopefully also help us to be able to find our new space.  There is only one very small room for residence, so it is not possible to be accepting more monastics, aspirants or friends for co-residence there, so finding our new place is important.  We plan to begin time by time residency at the Peace Pagoda from the end of November.  More details to come.

A last bit of most kind news on this subject:  a friend, hearing of the Kathina Season offering of room at the Peace Pagoda right away offered the utilities there for the next four months.  Blessings to both Ven Han Tri and this dear friend, truly beautiful examples of the heart and core practice of generosity the Buddha so beautiful embodied and so highly recommended to all of us.

 ~> closing our old women's monastic residence at the Bodhi House

We are deeply grateful for the years of lodging offered to our women's Sangha by Bodhi House owner Liz.  With heart of great thanks, on November 17th, we will be moving our things that have over-Vassa'd in storage at the Bodhi House to a safe place of public storage in Santa Rosa.  We do not yet have such safe storage space at our hermitage and we wish to protect your kind offerings until we are able to bring them to our new in town monastery/vihara.  

We do not yet have a sponsor for the storage space, but i am most glad to learn that our Dhammadharini Support Foundations finances have improved this last month of the Vassa and that it might even be back in the black by the new year (without calculating storage costs).  My heart of thanks to any and all of you who i don't know, and those who i do know, who have made this so.  I am so glad that this makes for less stress for those like our board and Committee members who are so kindly working so hard.  And that it is possible for us to continue deepening and sharing this life of the Path of Practice here.

Re: the move to storage on the 17th ~ please look out for upcoming announcements from our fantastic Volunteers Coordinator Lulu Garret Cook, cc'd here.  Just let her know if you think you might be able to help out with the move on the 17th on the Fremont end and/or on the Santa Rosa end.  All strong and able bodies persons welcome!

REFLECTING BACK ~~>

  bhikkhuni ordinations at Dharmavijaya in Southern California

The mind is strong looking ahead full of good energy from these last two weeks of the Vassa.  After completing our three cycles of retreat rotations, Ayya Sudinna and Ayya Sobhana from Aranya Bodhi and Ayya Anandabodhi and Ayya Santacitta from Aloka Vihara travelled to Southern California for the bhikkhuni upasampada of 4 of our friends and Path sisters: Ven Dhammadhira, Ven Santussika, Ven Dipa and Ven Chanda.  Our great congratulations to all of them on their full ordination, pictured below.  They were blessed by Ovada from Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi who has been trying to come to offer his support for our ordinations the past three years, but had been foiled by health.  Gladly he was able to join all the venerable Sangha this time, as were all to be ordained! :-)

  

  Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering & Buddhist Global Relief Walk

Following the ordinations, myself, Ayya Suvijjana and Pasada Bhikkhuni  joined all the ayyas above for the Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering, this year hosted by Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, a monastery of the Community of Mindful Living, founded by the Ven Thich Naht Hahn.  This was an excellent experience to be joined by Buddhist monastics of all traditions from around North America, from Canada to Nova Scotia to New York to the Mohave Desert, meeting and supporting one another and joining in discussion of the issues most relevant to us.  Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi joined us for the entire conference, and most participants came out on the streets of Escondido on the last day for the Buddhist Global Relief Walk to Feed the Hungry.  It was inspiring and powerful to walk silently together, we Buddhist monastics of all traditions, with shared dedication.

 

  Pavarana, Kathina and Independence for Ayya Suvijjana

It is my joy to share with you the completion of our Dual Pavarana with both our resident Bhikkhuni Sangha and our local Bhikkhu Sangha.  We very much appreciate both the Peace Pagoda and Wat Buddhanusorn hosting us on the full moon Pavarana Day.

And i have some special news:  Our Venerable Suvijjana Bhikkhuni has now been granted her independence as a bhikkhuni by her teacher. She was the first American-born woman to Go Forth on American soil with a Theravada bhikkhuni mentor. Now, after completing 5 years of training with her bhikkhuni mentor, she becomes the first American born woman to have lived together and fully completed that basic training together here in the U.S. together. I feel this is a small but special and significant milestone for Buddhism in America, in terms of it's deep and long-lasting establishment.  

  

When the pure white Kathina cloth was offered by friend Sumana to our Bhikkhuni Sangha yesterday morning just after sunrise, our Sangha chose to award it to Ayya Suvijjana to spread and make the Kathina robe.  Many friends joined together here in cutting and adding stitches to the robe here yesterday.  The sewing continued until near midnight, and then the dying and drying began, the robe determined with our Sangha together in before the crack of dawn in the candlelight at Freedom Kuti.  It will be a cloth to clothe her touched by all of us, from all of us ~ the robe of merit. We all hope that it will be for her as the first verse in the Therigatha:

Rest peacefully little Theri

wrapped in the robe you have made;

stilled are the afflictions that had raged within,

Withered like dried potherbs.

~~> NOW

As the golden afternoon light climbs the treetops across the canyon, i return to now and the beautiful, peaceful space of joy and gratitude here.  We have this space; we have this time; the work of the Path, the work of the heart, beckons ~ the Path apparent here and now, leading inwards, leading on, more fully and more deeply into the depths of the just this ~ the beautiful.    

My deep thanks and heart of gratitude for this space, this time, this freedom and this great heart.  

May all share in the blessings.

In peace & kindness,

Ayya Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni

Aranya Bodhi Forest Hermitage

End of the 2012 Vassa

First Day of the Kathina Season

2012

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"Beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end"
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