Storm and Mudslide News from Aranya Bodhi Hermitage and $8K Match Grant Good News

[Friends of Dhammadharini]

Dear friends,

May this note find you safe and well, wherever you are, living with the Dhamma in your heart.

We share with you this update from our monastic community, how they've been faring during these rough storms which have hit Sonoma County--the area of our monastery and hermitage--especially hard, and if you'd like to be a part of helping out and offering support together, a match grant opportunity.

"Dear Venerables, friends and supporters, an update from our Dhammadharini bhikkhunis' community, here in the heart of the severe Northern California storms area ~ 
 
First thank you all for your concern, your metta, prayers and blessings! 
 
All of our monastics and retreatants at Dhammadharini's Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast are so far safe, with no injuries, despite receiving ~19" of rain and ~57mph winds living on retreat in highly rustic conditions. 

 
IMPORTANT NOTE: There has been a landslide across our main private dirt track hermitage access road, blocking access. There are precariously balanced trees above the caved slide area which need to be cared for before the area can be considered safe. Another area of even more concern above and below the road has also begun calving (not yet collapsed). The footings of our wooden walking bridge over the seasonal creek chasm have been in large part washed away and destabilized rendering the bridge unsafe to use. There are other serious tree issues (trees perched to fall onto kuti) and other parts of our hermitage access road negatively affected by the storms.  
 
Good news is, food was able to be packed up the mountain on foot into our hermitage yesterday, so our bhikkhunis and retreatants are not starving. Further highly good news is all bhikkhunis and retreatants are in amazing good spirits.  
 
Further concerning news is more rain incoming tonight and the prediction of another "atmospheric river" mega-storm incoming in a few days, predicted to arrive around March 5th.  
 
If we can, we will care for whatever can be cared for now, and we would like to prevent an even more serious slide, which looks like it could collapse our hermitage access road. After the next mega-storm/s we will undertake further road and tree work and repairs to storm damages. 
 
Thank you again for all of your kindness, concern, metta, blessings and prayers. Ever so much appreciated. 

 
All of our Dhammadharini retreatants at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage and Dhammadharini Monastery (where all are safe and well, and there is no major damage many thanks to all pre-emptive and remedial work done these past two years), share blessings with you from these last two blessed months of retreat. 

We especially wish to send our love, care, concern and blessings to all of those friends and neighbors in our local community who have been effected by these storms, wishing all well, with much metta and compassion. 

 
May the Dhamma be with you!"

NEWS OF AN IMPORTANT OFFERING 

A friend of our community, learning about the landslide on our hermitage access road, has very kindly offered an $8K match grant to all those who would like to join in being a part of offering help and support together from afar for "Hermitage Storm Damage". "Anumodana Sadhu!" to this kind donor!

This is for all kinds of work related to storm damage at our Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage, like bolstering the slide and fixing the bridge, as well as preventing further damage, like protecting trees getting ready to fall on a kuti or access road, re/establishing drainage, or protecting the access road from collapsing, etc. 

If you'd like to make a donation towards the $8K match grant, you can go to our Dhammadharini Support Foundation donations page. We invite you to please send a quick note to the hermitage email or a text to +1 707-583-9523 to let know about your donation, so knowing about your support, work can begin as soon as possible. Thanks so much and anumodana! Sending metta and good wishes also welcome :). 

Glad all our monastics and retreatants are safe and well - so far!
Much appreciation to the generous donor and to everyone who joins in together. 
May you have every good blessing!
May you be safe and well, peaceful and at ease, living with Dhamma in the heart.
-- 
Dhammadharini

 Support Foundation @dhammadharini.net

Monetary

d

onations

may be posted to the monastery address or made online (info).

 

☸ our monastery
Dhammadharini Sonoma Mountain Bhikkhuni Monastery

6791 Sturtevant Dr, Penngrove CA

94951, USA
Email: dhammadhari...@gmail.com
Phone or text: 707.583.9522

 ☸ our hermitage 

Dhammadharini's Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage

Email: awakeni...@gmail.com

Mailing Address: PO Box 16, Jenner, CA 95450, USA

Skype phone voicemail or text: 707.340.4282

[❧ Aranya Bodhi Hermitage]

Dear friends of our Sangha and of our hermitage,

We are happy to share with you that even with two "atmospheric river" mega storms these past few weeks (plus just another one), all of our bhikkhuni and anagarika and supporting retreatants were able to complete our Dhammadharini whole community winter retreat both at our monastery and at our hermitage on March 3rd, safe and sound. Even with streaming skylight water leak in the monastery meditation hall and hermitage flowing mudslide etc.  

Strong-, bright- and good-hearted beings that they are, after it was a little less liquidy, our hermitage retreatants shovelled through the landslide well enough to get the truck to the other side. And then, thanks to your very timely support and our network of local contacts, a professional with a backhoe loader (pro gear) was able to come in and get the road provisionally cleared it out without further disaster. 

Your timely support brings us to another bit of big good news we're happy to share with you-- In these past four days, the $8K match grant offered by a kind friend has been matched both in dollars ($8240 given) and in kindness (💝💞). This timely support from so many close friends and also some kind unknown people has been so heartening and inspiring, and very practically helpful! The resiliency scientists are right! If one has faith/a spiritual path, and one has a good network of friendships/relationships, one's chances of well-weathering the storms of life are very greatly increased! Thank you very much and "Anumodana!". Truly what is so encouraging are the gifts from the heart. 

In response to kind and compassionate friends wanting to know how we are, over the past couple of days since completion of our winter retreat, several of our last group of hermitage retreatants during this final stormy time have written a few words to share with you. If you were one of those people curious and interested to know how we are doing, this is for you ~

Final--stormy!--retreat group at Aranya Bodhi, happy and bright, plus one bright invisible one taking the photo! 

Other Dhammadharini retreatants were on retreat at our monastery at this time, having had hermitage retreat time earlier in the eight weeks.

from our dear photographer ~ 

Thank you dear ones for an unforgettable month 🙏💗

from Ayya Sucitta, with happiness ~

Dear All,
I really have experienced on this winter retreat at our heritage, the huge positive energy from our practice, supported by the pure nature, could looked care about us each other very much, not bothered any of things. Drove us be calm and peaceful and made us possible to stay at this present moment with the contentment. I appreciate all of you were helping mutually well and practice in harmony with the diligence. There was more important reason that we realise what real Metta is, not only by uttered.
Much Metta and Gratitude,
Ayya  Sucitta, with happiness 

Joyful and encouraged with blessings to all, from Ayya Suvijjana ~

Respectful greetings Venerables 
and Warmth and Metta to All,
I would also like to extend my gratitude to everyone who made the retreat period possible both at the Aranya Bodhi Hermitage and Dhammadharini Monastery.  Much anumodana to all who offered support in the way of groceries, meals, shopping, financial and physical support.  We also appreciate greatly all those who joined us for Dhamma programs and meditation.
I write as I am still at the hermitage now with peaceful intermittent showers and a bit of sunshine.  We got through the intensity of the winter weather with out too much difficulty.  Although the intense storms brought some trees down and we had a landslide that block the access road down to the community area at the hermitage for a short time, we weathered it all quite well.  Help came quickly to assist us in caring for these inevitable difficulties.  And even though we had some extreme weather at times, everyone here got along in harmony and faced things mindfully and calmly.  For the most part there was the quiet day to day mindful caring of things and time for meditation and Dhamma.  
At this moment the slide area by the road has stabilized and the road remains clear so that cars can pass.  No new trees down [update: with new storm, more trees down, but they were expected to fall if not brought down, and we're very glad they did not fall on top of people, animals or buildings].  All the buildings are in good shape thanks for the care that was taken to keep them dry through the winter.  

I am so grateful for the support I had for a month in seclusion here at the hermitage.  This gave me time to do a lot of hard inner work.  It was an opportunity for me put to practice some of the teachings of the Blessed One.  In this modern world, this is a rare opportunity to have the kind of seclusion that a forest hermitage provides.  We are so fortunate to have this available to us. 
We feel joyful and encouraged by the show of financial support for the tree work and repairs to the road and other safety issues at Aranya Bodhi.  Blessings to all of you for making this monastic life possible.
With much metta,
Suvijjana Bhikkhuni

from Niyyanika Bhikkhuni: working in harmony mindfully, with kind care ~

Winter Retreat at Aranya Bodhi hermitage was an amazing blessing for those of us spending one or two months in such a secluded and supportive environment.  The Buddha's injunction that there are empty huts and roots of trees for practice was well held by us as we meditated amongst the elements.  How lucky we feel that there is such rustic land and conditions available to nourish  the practice for liberation.  

The retreatants and local supporters worked in harmony to care for the things that arose due to Winter weather. Pulling together the monastics and stewards were able to drag and trim the downed trees enough out of the way in case emergency access was needed; although a volunteer came up from the Bay Area with his professional equipment to help cut up the larger trees so they could become firewood for the future.  It felt good that we were there to mindfully tend to the water that the strong winds pushed under the doors of several kutis so that they remained in nice condition for future retreats.  

 Working together we even were able to clear enough of the landslide, that temporarily blocked the road, to again allow vehicles through. Then the professional backhoe, that was the first use of donated funds, made short work of the remaining downed earth.   There was much appreciation for all the kind donations made and matched within just a handful of days. Today, now post-retreat, we began outlining what more extensive road and tree work is to be done to tend to the areas damaged.   

We also have much appreciation for the kind care of those who had all-wheel drive vehicles and delivered groceries or came to cook a meal as part of the regular retreat support.  My heart was particularly warmed by the flowers on the altar for the more than six weeks of the retreat when the heat was not working in our Dhamma/Dana Sala yurt.  It was cold for the morning chanting, but those flowers lasted so amazingly well with such good cheer. With parts for fireplace repair brought in by a local supporter, the monastics were able to fix the fireplace and heat was restored for the final bit of retreat. Meanwhile, all the winter-usable kutis were kept warm for solo practice, with over half of them stocked with wood cut by volunteers before the retreat began.   

It would not be possible to live and practice the way of renunciation as taught by the Buddha without all the kind and generous care and support of so many.  Truly, we are nourished by the goodness of so many and share the merits of this practice with all.
With kind care,
Niyyanika Bhikkhuni

What wholesome action! 

from Anagarika Ariyasara ~

Anjali Ayyayo and Dhamma friends: 
This is my first winter retreat in our hermitage and I have spent the full eight weeks here, how grateful I am! From my direct experience, this is by far the most conducive environment for deep meditation. My heart is filled with gratitude to all our supporters for making this hermitage available for seclusion practice. 
The stormy weather posts challenge for our survival here in the wild nature, but also it provides excellent opportunity for penetrating into the four great elements and Anicca. During the first atmospheric river storm, I had to move out of Squirrel Kuti because it was not safe due to large number of dead Tan Oak trees around [We've had a very large number of Tan Oak trees die on our hermitage land due to "California Sudden Oak Death" these past two years]. I practiced death contemplation meditation during the two stormy nights when the strong wind and heavy rain were pounding on the roof and sides of the Sangha Kuti. It was very powerful and unforgettable indeed. There are 6 good sized trees fell down around Squirrel Kuti during the retreat time. I was in the kuti on two occasions. The first time I was meditating in the afternoon, and the second time I woke by the loud noise around 1am at night. By the power of Triple Gem, the lovely Squirrel Kuti is still humbly standing among the falling trees in the "dead" Tan Oak grove. My understanding of our lord Buddha's teaching has deepened through this constant changing weather and nature. And my equanimity towards all things has improved much also. 
How wonderful to see there are so much care and support from our community friends, and in such short time we have raised sufficient funds to help to make our hermitage safe. By clearing the dead trees, not only we will make sure the kutis are safe, but also the redwood trees will have more space to sprout and grow. It is beneficial for humans and nature. What wholesome action it will be!
with much metta and gratitude
Anagarika Ariyasa 

We would also like to acknowledge and appreciate everyone who has offered help and support and taken so much care over these past several years with the trees, roads, trails and water drainage work at our hermitage...and also all those who've contributed these past two years to much needed repairs like roofing and leak-fixing, siding and drainage ditch clearing at our monastery. If it weren't for you, it could and would have all been a lot worse. Your support has been very helpful. We are grateful.

With very much metta 

and blessings of this good Dhamma to all,

--

 

 

 

"Beautiful in the beginning, 

beautiful in the middle, 

beautiful in the end"
--
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