We have had the good fortune to host Ajahn Vajiro, a 40-vassa English monk and the abbot of Mosteiro Budista Sumedhārāma, Portugal, for a week’s stay here at Tisarana.
This Saturday, 06 April 2019, Ajahn Vajiro will be offering the Dhamma talk for our regular Saturday program. The program starts at 1:30Pm in the Tisarana Dhamma hall. All are welcome!
As Tisarana has grown and become more popular we have noticed an increase in sincere guests who never get to properly understand the monastery or how it works. We think this is because there’s so much going on during the “work year”, and we haven’t set ourselves up to properly orient guests who may have very little prior exposure to monastic traditions.
To address that issue we are implementing a new 3-day training program for new guests. We have cleverly named this the “New Guest Orientation Weekend“. Catchy, eh?
The schedule for these trainings can be seen on our Calendar. The first one is scheduled for next weekend, starting 05 April.
The program is meant to thoroughly orient new guests to every important aspect of Tisarana, our lineage from Ajahn Chah, key monastic regulations, the economic, social, and spiritual functions of the monastery, along with such practicalities such as how to bow properly, or where to sit in the Sala, or where are the good hiking trails. The program will be delivered by our own resident community, including our main steward, Niraso, along with the guest monk, the senior monks, and the junior monastics.… Read the rest
Ajahn V. gives a talk to retreatants in Singapore on his last evening there, Jan 2019. Includes Q&A.
Starting on 1 January 2019, The Tisarana community will enter the three-month Winter Retreat. Please be aware that the community will be practicing noble silence. As such, talking and conversations with the monastics and retreat crew will be limited.
In addition, until 31 March, Tisarana monastery will not be hosting overnight guests. However, the monastery will continue to be open to day-visitors.
Also, our usual Saturday afternoon program will be suspended and will resume in the spring when the retreat is over. We will continue to offer a Dhamma talk as usual on Lunar Observance evenings starting at 7:00PM. Please consult our calendar for specific dates.
We wish thank all of our supporters for this wonderful opportunity to deeply cultivate formal practice.… Read the rest
Come celebrate New Year’s Eve at Tisarana.
On Monday, December 31st, we will be holding a special puja starting at 7:00pm, which will include chanting, meditation and a Dhamma talk. Following the evening puja, there will be a relaxed get-together on our new property to greet the New Year.… Read the rest
Dear friends,
It is the 22nd of December and I am at a monastery near the city of Mae Hong Son in Northern Thailand. At breakfast this morning the temperature was 19C, that’s plus, and the birds were singing their hearts out. I’m here at this forest monastery, 50km from Burma, at the invitation of Ajahn Cagino, the Dhammagiri foundation and Dhamma friends from Singapore who support this monastery and often come to visit. This evening we shall begin a 7-day retreat.
Among our forest monasteries, Ajahn Cagino has created a unique space for the practice of wisdom and compassion. It is a forest monastery, an orphanage and retreat centre set among rural villages and extensive forests. Some 12 years ago Ajahn Cagino was walking tudong in this area and came across an orphaned boy. Must do something. He contacted his sister in Malaysia who organised funds for this boy to be cared for. On subsequent visits Ajahn Cagino came across more kids in need so supporters bought a house, people were employed, volunteers gave their time and so it grew.
The lower part of the monastery has 60 children in residence, the upper part for monks has 20 bhikkhus, many visiting from Wat Pah Pong who have just returned from tudong.… Read the rest
The Tisarana Community is pleased to share our photo book for the Summer of 2018. You can view the photo book online, download it or request a print copy. A French version is also available.
If you would like to order a print a copy from the printer:
Saturday Program Cancelled, Departure of Luang Por Viradhammo:
Today, Saturday 03 November 2018, our usual Saturday program of a 1:30 meditation and Dhamma talk is canceled. Instead we will be seeing off Luang Por Viradhammo who will be departing for a 2-month trip through New Zealand and Asia at 2:30 PM. … Read the rest
This year’s Kathina ceremony will be starting at around 10AM this coming Sunday, October 28, 2018.
The event will not be held at the monastery. Instead, Tisarana’s Kathina will be held at the Stanleyville Hall across the street from the St. Bridget Church in Stanleyville. The address is 844 Stanley Rd, Stanleyville, ON K0G 1K0.
The doors will open at 9AM and the preliminary ceremonies will began at 10:30AM, followed by a meal offering and blessing. At 1PM, the Kathina offering ceremony will take place followed by a Dhamma reflection. Please come early if you have any food offerings.
For more information about this year’s Kathina, including its history, please see our previous news posting.… Read the rest
The Tisarana community will be celebrating this year’s Kathina ceremony on Sunday, October 28th starting at 10:30am. The event will be held at the Stanleyville Hall across the street from the St. Bridget Church in Stanleyville, which is only 5 minutes from Tisarana Monastery. The address is 844 Stanley Rd, Stanleyville, ON K0G 1K0. Everybody is welcome to participate in this auspicious occasion.
The Kathina ceremony is a 2,500-year-old tradition celebrated across Buddhist monasteries around the world. Following the end of three-months rains retreat period, the Buddha allowed for the lay community to make offerings of cloth and other requests to the Bhikkhu Sangha. The word “Kaṭhina” refers to the frame on which cloth is attached to while sewing robes. Cloth offered on Kathina will be used that day to produce a robe that will then be offered to one of the monks. The Kathina ceremony signifies and celebrates the deep relationships between the lay and monastic communities.
The doors will open at 9AM and the preliminary ceremonies will began at 10:30AM, followed by a meal offering and blessing. At 1PM, the Kathina offering ceremony will take place followed by a Dhamma reflection. This year’s Kathina offering is sponsored by a group of Ottawa Buddhist families and friends.… Read the rest
