December Wat Enews

Visits from Senior Monks

Ajahn Tiradhammo

Abbot of Bodhinyanarama Monastery

New Zealand

5^th to 8^th December

 Ajahn Sucitto

Abbot of Chithurst Monastery

UK

12^th to 15^th December

Tan Chao Khun Samai

Abbot of Wat Pah Buddharangse

Lumeah

16^th to 19^th December

 Weekend Retreat with Ajahn Pasanno

Abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery

USA

Living with the Master

20^th to 22^nd January

 

Transform anger with kindness

and evil with good,

meanness with generosity

and deceit with integrity.

Dhammapada Verse #223

Raining at the Wat

My two and a half weeks at the WAT during the rains retreat were most valuable. I enjoyed the regular meets for meditation and chanting, and really appreciated the greater freedom from time when I was on silent retreat. It was great to have a community of practitioners working for each other and for this I’m thankful.
I really love the quietness of the Wat, and the sound of nature playing out in the forest.  I’ll be back, hopefully soon.

with metta
frank

Reflections on the 8 day retreat

I recently attended the 8-day silent retreat at Wat Buddha Dhamma.  I arrived at the Wat the day before, exhausted from work and city life in general. Also, I hadn’t been sleeping well and knew it was going to take a few days for me to wind down.  My last long retreat was a few years previous and I remembered how relaxed I was just half way through, so had pretty high expectations of a similar blissful experience this time around.

The retreat began formally in the sala with 10 or so retreatants requesting the 3 refuges and 8 precepts from the senior monk, Ajahn Khemavaro.  As with most retreats at the Wat, the days in Noble Silence consisted of meditation & chanting, eating, service, more meditation and chanting, a Dhamma talk and sleeping.

Day two I started crying near the end of morning meditation and cried again at an interview with the monks. I cried because I was tired and frustrated and upset that things were not going my way; just let me have my way!

Susan Browne in her poem, buddha’s dogs, recalls a day long retreat: ‘eight hours of the mind watching the mind …. and the thoughts so far they are wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting, judgement, sadness’.

By day four I am winding down and very much appreciating the peace and spaciousness, beauty and ease around me and amongst my fellow retreatants. Stopping on the way to the shower, I watch a family of tiny fairy wrens popping around the green foliage of a fallen gum tree, trilling their sweet barely audible trill. They seem so happy together. There is also water babbling along the creek, a sound I haven’t heard for such a long time.  Across the large field near the showers I spot a wombat munching on grass. As I approach, she notices me and races off at a speed that belies her squat, plump physique. With each choice to stop and pay attention to the present moment, my heart rests a little more.

At the last session in the Sala on day 8, Ajahn guides us through a Metta meditation with a beautiful image at the end of us all pooling our goodness and radiating it out to the forest and world outside the Wat, this place ‘enclosed by grace’*. I leave, not blissful but with what seems a more grounded feeling of trust in this path of peace and a great appreciation for the gift of the Dhamma and the Wat.

Marie

July 2011

* from Patrick Lane’s ‘What the Stones Remember: A life Rediscovered’.

My experience at WBD

‘It is not that you shouldn’t be attached to places or teachers.

What matters is that you be that which observes the attachments.’

Luang Por Sumedho

 

Wat Buddha Dhamma is a gorgeous place to visit. A tranquil bush track winds its way up to the exquisitely beautiful meditation hall. Amongst the many qualities of this isolated forest monastery is the amazing kitchen – every cook’s dream –  perfect design and so well equipped, even without electricity. There’s a rare-to-find specialist library of dhamma books and visitors get to stay in quaint little homes many built during the 1980s by the then resident lay community.

For the last 10 years I’ve been an infrequent visitor to the Wat and am always soothed by the calm and peaceful environment. This year I was able to spend 3 months there and feel blessed to have been in the company of kind, gentle and compassionate monks and lay people whose dedication to the path deeply inspired my own practice.

As it says on the Wat’s website, meditating at a Monastery may not be for everyone. For me, the monastic environment, with its daily routine of work, chanting & meditation (and the not infrequent afternoon nap), alongside the keeping of the 8 precepts felt solid and trustworthy. Paradoxically, it also fostered a tremendous sense of freedom and spaciousness that I don’t feel now that I’m back to being a ‘householder’ going to the office each working day.  Fortunately, the Wat’s not too far away for weekend visits.

Marie

End of Rains 2010

We have now reached the end of the Rains Retreat, and we are now busy post-retreat with a project to both improve fire-safety and to beautify the Wat, as well as with preparations for the upcoming December retreat. Currently, there are 4 permanent residents – two monks, a long-term lay supporter and an Anagarika (someone in training to become a monk) – and 3 ladies staying for a month or longer.

Three events marked the close of the Rains Retreat of 2010.

First, Tan Chao Khun Maha Samai came along to the Wat on October 17^th to lead the celebration of the annual ‘Thai-Australia’ day. This day has been an annual event for more than 20 years. This year, as well as a large number of Thai supporters, many people of Vietnamese origin also came, reflecting Ajahn Khemavaro’s growing support amongst the Vietnamese community of Sydney. There were more than 100 people in all as well as 2 Venerables from Tan Chao Khun’s monastery Wat Pa Buddharangsee. The day followed the usual program –  after a lovely meal shared by all, the monks led a slow procession to the Sala chanting ‘Iti pi so’ along the way, and then circumambulated the Sala three times before heading inside. The group then took the 3 refuges and 5 precepts, and listened to short Dhamma talks by Tan Chao Khun and by Ajahn Khemavaro before making their offerings.  An amount of over $4000 was raised for the benefit of the monastic community and the running of the Wat. After the ceremony, Tan Chao Khun led a short monastery tour.

Second, the community ended the Rains Retreat on the night of October 23^rd with a formal ceremony, dating back 2,500 years to the time of the Buddha. This involves each person who stayed the Rains Retreat at Wat Buddha Dhamma offering ‘Pavarana’, a beautiful invitation to the community to admonish him or her based on any wrong-doing they may have committed during the Rains Retreat. After all the members of the community, both lay and monastic, have invited admonition in this way, first the monks then the lay people perform a forgiveness ceremony, so that any wrong-doing of body, speech or mind, whether intentional or unintentional, is forgiven by the senior monk and they in-turn forgive any wrong-doing by him.

Finally, in the time of the Buddha the community of monks, provided there were 4 or more in residence the whole Rains Retreat, would hold a ‘Kathina’ ceremony to mark the end of the Rains Retreat. At Wat Buddha Dhamma, because there were just 2 monks in residence the whole Rains, it was not possible to hold a complete Kathina ceremony, so instead on the 21^st of November a Robe Offering ceremony was conducted, sponsored by Charlie and Kim Tran. Although Tan Chao Khun Maha Samai could not come, this was by far the biggest ceremony of the year. Some 250-300 people came to the Wat to support the monks and to celebrate the end of the Rains. The day followed the same program as usual, except that once inside the Sala the group was led in requesting the 3 refuges and 5 precepts in Vietnamese by Kim Tran.  Kim then chanted the formal request for the Sangha to receive an offering of robes and other requisites and a very generous offering of large numbers of robes and other items needed by monks was made. Donations were also collected, and more than $7,300 was raised for the benefit of the monastic community and the running of the Wat. After the ceremony, people had the opportunity to go on a short tour of the monastery.

My stay during the rains

My 10 day stay during the rains was brief but nevertheless provided a precious opportunity to leave behind the daily grind and relax into the beauty and simplicity of life at the wat.  It was late September, early October so the weather was mild and spring was in full swing with lots of flowers and animal activity.  While I was there the population of the community fluctuated between 8 and 12 and there were visitors on most days.  This unusually high influx of visitors was put down to the pull of metta practice.  I have to say it felt loving and kind and safe to me, instant friends and no worries.  The weeks leading up to my arrival were a little busier and a tad more stressful than usual so my main aspiration going in was just to relax and that I did.  What I hadn’t anticipated was the power of sitting with the community.  I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this very old tradition, perhaps sometime down the track I’ll be able to stay a little longer.

Kelly.

September 2010 Full Moon Practice Day

On the night of the September full moon instead of the usual 9:00pm-12:00pm sitting and walking, we were instead going to go all night till 5:00am – with a break at 12am for some refreshments.

The full moon at Wat Buddha Dhamma is so incredibly bright you can read by it, and this combined with the extraordinary silence of the evening made it a special experience.

The entire night until dawn was marked by a hush that fell over the Wat – there was no no wind in the trees and outside only one insect was making a small amount of noise, every other creature was totally silent – there were no bird noises and no sounds of wallabies moving about.

Below, our guest Donald gives his experience of this special night:
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Full Moon Sit

I stayed for a week at Wat Buddha Dhamma in September and was lucky enough to be there during the night of the Full Moon.  All the residents and guests were excited about it in the lead up to the 23rd when we would sit all night.   When the day finally came the Abbot was very flexible about the hours we put in and stressed that it was optional for everyone.

Some of us sat and walked from 7 to 12, some from midnight til 5 am and some did it all.  I went to bed shortly after the Dharma talk and got up around midnight, then sat until morning.  Sitting in that unique Sala, walking under the full moon, walking back to the village with sound of the birds waking up, feeling tired but serene afterwards all made the experience something special that I want to do again.

Donald.

A memorable month

As we enter the final month of the Rains, it has been a memorable past month. The more notable of the events of the past month are detailed below, with some pictures available on our website.

Spring has definitely arrived, and the cold of the morning is quickly chased away by the early morning sun. The makeup of our little group has changed somewhat – Giles has left, Frank has stayed for a time and now also left (please see the post ‘Thoughts from two guests – Rains Retreat 2010’ for some reflections on their time at the Wat). Presently we have Donald, Marie and Margaret as our shorter-term guests. Amandus and Thu are on silent retreat, with Marie on breakfast and Margaret cooking delicious meals for lunch – though not today! Today Khun Porntip and Khun Bao are back for the full-moon day observance and, as usual when they stay, they are cooking lunch.

Today, Thursday, is the full-moon day (‘Wan Phra’ in Thai) and the usual Wednesday Dhamma Talk will be given tonight instead. Tonight we also attempt to sit & walk the whole night, till 5:00am. Let’s hope Ajahn Khemavaro gives a very inspiring Dhamma Talk to power us along!

The book of Ajahn Dtun Dhamma Talks ‘This is the Path’ is now in the process of being printed. Shortly several thousand copies will be available for distribution in Thailand and in Australia. Many thanks once again to those who contributed to this important project.

Dana Day at Sangha Lodge 5th September 2010

Ajahn Khemavaro and Venerable Pasadika recently attended the Association of Engaged Buddhists’ Dana Day. On entering the Lodge (a converted house in Lewisham) it was immediately apparent that this was a warm and friendly group, very dedicated to practice. The front of the Lodge has been turned into a shrine and meditation room strewn with cushions, and was soon fully occupied even as more people kept arriving, filling the whole house with people eager to hear the Dhamma. After some chanting and a short guided meditation, Ajahn gave a Dhamma Talk on the theme of gratitude to parents – very appropriate as it was Fathers Day that day. The meal was then offered. Each person had brought some delicious food to share and the monks were treated to a great variety of offerings, each offered with joy by the person who brought it. After the memorable meal there was time for people to chat with Ajahn Khemavaro and after a little Q&A session it was time to depart. Thanks to Molly, Serge, Sue and the other organisers for a memorable ‘Dana Day’ at Sangha Lodge.

Hazard Reduction Burn September 2010

On two recent days in September a Hazard Reduction Burn was carried out at Wat Buddha Dhamma. The reason for carrying out the burns was to reduce the ‘fuel load’ – the mass of combustible materials available for a fire. This makes the Wat a safer refuge for people and animals. In 2002 a bushfire forced the evacuation of the Wat and devastated the local area. The Group Captain in charge of fighting the fire said that the Wat had the highest fuel loads he had ever seen. As a consequence, in the words of a report written about the 2002 fire: “There was an eerie silence in the burnt bush for months after the fire – no birds, no wombats, no wallabies.  They’re back now, but consider that the Wat would be a safer refuge after the hazard reduction work is done.”

So it is notable that after each of the Hazard Reduction Burns birds were singing in the trees just the next day after the burn. Indeed, the upper story of larger trees is still completely intact, and only the fuel load on the ground was impacted. Some special plants also received individual protection – 7 Banya pines and a newly-planted Ironbark were protected by raking the ground around them in a circle, then setting fire to the perimeter of the cleared area while keeping the ground and tree watered. This was very successful and all trees were saved. Please see the September Blog Pictures gallery on our website for pictures.

We would like to thank the ever energetic Captain Ian of the Lower MacDonald Rural Fire Service and his team of able assistants:  Sal, Joan, Ian, and last but not least Rob for their professional and dedicated service.

Josh’s Cave

Many of those who have visited Wat Buddha Dhamma over the years will have heard about the large ‘cave’ near the South Eastern boundary of the monastery. This is a large overhang, very appropriate for meditation practice and during the warmer months a suitable place to stay for a few weeks. Ajahn Thanasanti spent some many, many hours there during her stay at the Wat in 2002. Since that time however the path to the cave has become overgrown and the cave disused – until now! Josh, our keen young trainee has (with the assistance of our guest Frank) cleared a path leading to the cave, and also made the climb up to the cave much easier. Shortly, he will begin living and practicing there. We wish him every success in his noble endeavour. Please see the September Blog Pictures gallery on our website for pictures.

Painting and protecting the Sangha House Balcony

Not long ago, Tuan, an energetic and devoted lay disciple of Ajahn Khemavaro’s replaced the most rotted boards of the Sangha House balcony. This left the balcony needing a good coat of paint – for the new boards and to extend the life of the existing boards. Recently Tuan came to the Wat with all the necessary paint and equipment to do just that, and he, Thu, Venerable Pasadika and Frank gave the old Sangha House Balcony a new paint job. Of course, it’s still the same good-old mission brown, just fresher and shinier than before. After the painting, Tuan gave the boards a weather-proofing treatment to further extend their useful life. As a bonus, the kitchen floor also has a new coat of paint, albeit in a rather unique style.

Sala Solar Upgrade

Many previous guests will remember chanting in the sala by the light of a torch, while the monks made do with 12V lamps. Happily, this has all changed for the better – first, thanks to David Gray, the sala was converted to 240V, then a more powerful inverter and regulator were installed and finally the old, rickety solar panel frame and the 2 old panels were decommissioned. Simon, the nephew of David, came to help us install 4 beautiful new panels onto what he described as the BMW of solar panel frames. This frame was constructed with German precision by Amandus, our long-term lay helper. The day of installation many challenges were overcome – how do you lift a 4.5m steel pole onto a 2m wooden one? How do you get it to slide down over the wooden pole when the wooden pole is a few mm too wide? (A: – force, grease (a lot) and power tools!). How do you get the panels onto the frame when it’s several metres in the air? All these challenges and more were overcome, and by the end of the next day our beautiful new panels were charging a 4-battery battery bank giving us lots of power for our lights to chant by and for future hot and sweaty days when the fans will be going full blast. Many thanks to Simon and to Frank our guest for their help in installing this wonderful new addition to the Wat. Simon also put the old panels to use by installing them on the old solar rack next to the office and removing the old and unsightly panels that weren’t providing much power any longer. Please see the September Blog Pictures gallery on our website for pictures.

Thoughts from two guests – Rains Retreat 2010

One month in the forest

I have recently returned to the city lay life after spending the first month of the Rains Retreat at the Wat. I had been desperate to get there and was anxious I would not be able to get there due to ongoing health problems. After spending my last week frantically organising everything I thought needed organising I finally made it, only to have to return the next day to have my car repaired as it was in need of recuperation, so nothing went to plan. However, I was immediately at ease being there and being with the sangha, old friends and making new (shout out to josh). I have never been a great nature lover, respectful but somewhat take it or leave it. However there was an immediate impact of the beauty of the bush, the bird song and assorted creatures, possums, wrens, wallabies and of course wombats (who are very selective about who they reveal themselves to). The bush forest was a tremendous balm to my mind, I almost didn’t notice the cold. But no traffic, no city hum, sirens, people, concrete, no mobile or emails to worry about and certainly no withdrawal symptoms. It was a powerful reminder of how important the right environment is if one hopes to make some progress on the path. Secondly the company was wonderful – we were a harmonious and respectful little group – and again another powerful reminder of the  need for spiritual friendship. Ajahn Khemavaro provided kind and considerate encouragement along with Venerable Pasidika’s humble and gentle companionship. These were all very inspiring for me. However my mind and body were such that my dreams of hours of deep meditation were not to be and the hours were instead spent in contemplation of the body – pain arising, exhaustion in mind and body, but I was so grateful to be able to endure it at the Wat and for the warmth of the little pot belly stove. My biggest fear was not death, and I did seriously wonder if it was a possibility at times, but of having to leave early for the hospital. Eventually I recovered sufficiently to begin to sit more productively, to sweep the path and to chop wood, all of which were a great joy to me. In the end of my too brief a stay, I realised how precious these opportunities are and how important it is to pay homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha for without these jewels there would be nowhere to go and no way out. There is so much I could write about but if people come and see for themselves they won’t need to read about it they will have their own experience and knowledge, which is wonderful and marvellous. With metta, giles.

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18 Days of opening the heart

I was recently fortunate enough to be able to spend 18 days at Wat Buddha Dhamma for the Rains Retreat. This was to be my longest retreat and I was really looking forward to the opportunity to practice for that length of time in the stillness of WBD.

It was so nice to get up and meditate early in the forest, listening to the animals waking up and starting their day. Then the daily routine of chores and sitting and chanting made the days all flow easily. I also really enjoyed the weekly Dhamma talks and the Sutta discussion.

I was quite aware of the hindrance to practice that expectations can bring, so I planned to bring none of them with me. Ha! As I found out, they had other ideas, and I discovered that my unvoiced expectations had stowed away in my luggage to reveal themselves over the stay. I mean doesn’t it make perfect sense? If a four day retreat brings this amount of peace and insight, then surely an 18 day stay would be four times as fruitful! Interestingly, the dhamma always reveals itself in its own mysterious ways and timeframe.

Fortunately, for the most part I was able to smile at my wanting and sometimes negative mind which loves its terms and conditions. It would be like ‘Ok, I’ll be content sitting here in the present moment, BUT THEN I want something special!’

So….that was what I had and so that was where I practiced. Continually inclining towards opening my heart to what is and being mindful of that. And really, really appreciating the power of patience and trust. And that was where peace arose.

Anyway, I mean really, what do I know about the unfolding of the Dhamma? All I can do is my very best putting the right conditions in place and then just wait. That’s all!

Metta, Francis.

One month into the Rains

The most important news to share is the upcoming event posted below:

Wat Buddha Dhamma Sangha in Sydney for Dana Day

at Sangha Lodge 5th September 2010

Location: Sangha Lodge, 20 Victoria Street Lewisham, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Sangha Lodge of the Association of Engaged Buddhists host a monthly Dana Day. In the words of the website (http://engagedbuddhists.metta.org.au):

Dana day is an opportunity for the community to offer food to the Sangha (monks and nuns) and share a meal together. Dana Day consists of a short Dhamma talk by the resident Sangha, often followed by a short meditation period. Lunch is then shared.

This September 5^th the monks from Wat Buddha Dhamma will be attending. The schedule is:

10:00 – 11:00     Chanting, 5 precepts, Guided Meditation, Dhamma Talk

11:00 – 12:00     Lunch and Clean Up

12:00 – 1:00       Q & A

All are very welcome to attend.

For more information, please see the website http://engagedbuddhists.metta.org.au

or contact Sangha Lodge ( Tel: 02 95903617 ).

We are now entering the final weeks of Winter. Although the nights are still very cold at times, the days are sunny and warm. The wombats and goannas have emerged from their long sleep and the big fish have been busy making little fish. Spring is not far away!

Our little group continues to practice, some with more dukkha than others. The routine has started to vary a little, sometimes we have a 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm meditation session instead of 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm meditation session, then finish the 7:00 pm meeting at 9:00 pm instead of 8:30pm. Each day is different.

On the community front, Amandus and Thu have finished their two-week retreats, and Thu is treating us to some lovely dishes in the kitchen at meal time. Josh is serving up a warming and nourishing porridge each morning for breakfast.  Each Full/New Moon (fortnightly observance day) we sit and walk from 9:00 pm to midnight. We have been joined on these days by Khun Porntip and (when she can come) Khun Bao. Khun Porntip is, in the words of Tan Chao Khun Mahai Samai ‘ an old supporter from Khantipalo days’, so she’s certainly seem some changes to the Wat, and still likes to come regularly to stay and to support the monks.

On the ‘business’ front, Ajahn Khemavaro has been hard at work preparing the printing of the first book in English of Tan Ajahn Dtun’s Dhamma Talks. This will be titled ‘This is the Path’. Ajahn Dtun, although comparatively young in years, is in full possession of the ancient wisdom of the Buddha’s teachings, and his words are very welcome in these times when it is so easy to be caught up in the hectic pace of life and bedazzled by all the wonderful new technology. The last touches have been put to the artwork and final corrections made, so now it’s off to the printers for a check of the 1^st hardcopy. Once that is approved, several thousand books will be printed in Thailand and shipped to the Wat. A big thank-you to all those who have contributed to making this exciting project a reality.

We were pleased recently to receive a visit from 2 Vietnamese Theravada monks – Venerable Nyanasiri has 9 years as a monk, and is a disciple of Bhante Khippapanno of Washington, D.C. Venerable Thien Thang has 18 years as a monk and is doing his PhD at Bodh Gaya in India. Both are in the Burmese Theravada tradition. The Theravada tradition is small in Vietnam compared to Mahayana, and is located mostly in the South. We were very pleased to hear that Venerable Nyanasiri will be spending the Rains Retreat at a Vietnamese Vihara in Melbourne.

The Wat has benefitted recently from the careful and generously offered work of Simon, nephew of David Gray whom many of you might know. Thanks to his work, Sangha House now has additional solar panels and an upgraded regulator. The monks can now shower and use the lights in the house without fear of draining the battery. Ayya Khema’s kuti also benefitted by the addition of light fittings and the Sala had some improvements to electrical fittings done. When Simon returns in a few weeks, the Sala and Office will receive upgrades to their solar capacity. All this work on the solar system makes the lives of those who live here a little more comfortable but also, more importantly, guarantees lights and showers for visiting senior monks and their supporters (something that couldn’t be guaranteed before!) and also allows for future expansion of the number of monastics living at the Wat.