News Updates, Page 27

Family Camp:
5th – 7th September (Labour Weekend). An opportunity to spend time at the monastery with a range of activities for both parents and children. Tents, campfire, chanting, meditation, craft, long walks, food, friendship and sunshine. If you are interested in taking part contact the monastery or contact Vivienne Bartlett – (613 567 8308).

Canoe Retreat:
Led by Ajahn Kusalo. August, Wed 12th – Tues 18th. The plan is for a small group (max. 6 canoes) to paddle in to a base for five days of quiet dhamma; meditation, talks, discussion, silence. A relaxed retreat schedule with group and personal time through the day. Food will be organised but you will need your own gear; tent, canoe, etc. Interested? Contact Tina Stephenson:

Kuti Progress:
The roof is on, the walls are clad, one window is in, the porch is down. There is still a lot to do but it looks like we are on target for winter habitation. 2x[photo]

Barn:
There are quite a few little (and not so little) bits to be repaired before the new floor actually goes down. One of the basement posts, as well as being a bit rotten, had punched a hole in the concrete floor.… Read the rest

Mistaken:
For those who didn’t spot the error – the correct URL for the Satisaraniya web site is: www.satisaraniya.ca

Floored:
So far the plan for the new barn floor has been flawless. The logs and lumber arrived yesterday, all the way from Pembroke, and look well up to the job. 4x[photo]. Trees seem less part of the equation when they arrive as nice, clean machined sticks as when they land as logs. Those trees are paid about 50 cents a year to grow. Thank you. We have stripped the bark off them and work on machining them will start in a few days. Watch that space.

Enshrined:
After two weeks of work by Prasert and the community of 8-12 hours a day the lobby shrine is (almost) complete. The only thing remaining to do is the painting of the two devas that flank the main Buddha image – three coats. This would be a good job for someone over the next… whenever. It all looks rather stunning. There is a separate photo album showing the progress of this work.

Appeared:
Wildflowers, bees, bugs, buds, birds, nests, leaves, grass, warmth, sun, summer. You too are welcome to put in an appearance and enjoy all these seasonal arisings.… Read the rest

AGM:
The Annual General Meeting for Tisarana will be held this coming Saturday after the usual day of mindfulness (approx. 3pm). All are welcome.

Satisariniya:
The nuns’ monastery is becoming more real than the previous reality that it really was before!? The major change is the purchase of a property. Fourty-seven acres in the Perth area and not so far from Tisarana. There is a very nice house [photo] and a good number of very serviceable outbuildings. The land is a lovely mix of pasture and forest with a lovely spring fed pond. You can follow developments on the web site: www.satisaraniya.ca

Beautiful Barn:
As if the wonderful wood and space and light was not enough. We have a Thai artist friend staying with us and he is transforming the barn lobby into… into — something different (words are not enough). There are several pictures on the website but even they don’t give a clear indication of the scale and beauty of the whole. Come to the day of mindfulness and AGM on Saturday and see the (hopefully) finished product. 6x[photo]

Holey Barn:
The lobby is almost done but the floor in the main area is breached, bereft, sundered, rent, gashed and probably needs more work than it needs a thesaurus.… Read the rest

Creatures:
A bit of a critter review this week. The raccoons have been up to their usual food seeking tricks with their latest assault focussed on our garbage/recycle shed. Several porcupines have been spotted and the ground hogs are out in force foraging. The birds have been busy building nests and now have their work cut out tending their chicks. 4x[photo]

Ottawa Retreat Report:
The weekend retreat organised by O.B.S was a great success with about thirty participants for both days. The use of two venues was not a problem at all and the facilities worked well for both. The weather was lovely. A good time was had by all. Many thanks to all those who gave their time to organise that event. Well done.

Kuti:
The new kuti is well under way with the site and the floor finished. The walls are on their way with the roof just waiting for a bit more sunny weather. [photo]

Topping it off:
The barn roof is slowly having all the holes filled. Kelvin and Tina have offered to oversee the work and are determined to see the job through to the end. It is high and quite steep but we have a good set up of ladders and safety ropes.… Read the rest

Vesak:
What a wonderful day it was with the dhamma sala full of friends come to celebrate the life of the Buddha. The weather was – as it was – but the timely sun smiled and shone beautifully on us all during the rice pindapat. 4x[photo]. Everyone agreed we should do it again next year.

Non-residential Retreat:
Explore the Anapanasati Sutta with Ajahn Kusalo. Breathe as you never have before.
Friday 22nd: 7-9:30 pm Tu-An Pagoda
Saturday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Tu-An Pagoda
Sunday: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Dieu Khong Temple

Thai Visit:
The house was as full as it has ever been with 18 guests; a group of Thai friends from Toronto staying overnight on Sunday. [photo] It was a busy weekend with another group from the Unitarian Church in Almonte joining us for the usual Saturday afternoon of mindfulness. Such a delight to be a part of this interest in dhamma.

Barn Roof:
Around the various bullet holes, loose nails, torn tin and general deformation there is a solid roof. A contrarily flummoxed climbing apparatus has been divulged complete with safety ropes to secure intrepid climbers who will plug the gaps. [photo] Water ingress over the years has resulted in quite a bit of rot; particularly the floor, which will be repaired.… Read the rest

Vesak:
The traditional story tells of the birth, enlightenment and parinibbana of Gotama the Buddha taking place on the full moon in the month of Vesak. The wheel of Dhamma set turning in the world. Join us on Saturday 9th to celebrate this auspicious occasion.
10:00 Precepts and chanting with meditation, readings and reflections.
11:00 Rice pindapat.
11:30 Shared meal.
1:00 Dhamma talk, readings and reflections.
2:00 Closing chanting.
After this there will be an opportunity to have a look at the kutis; take the tour.
See you on Saturday.

Working Bee:
It was all quite the buzz, the buzz. There were enough people so that several projects could be allocated to different groups. The new module extension was painted, several sections of old cedar-rail fence were taken down, the Passadhi kuti (finally) got exterior paint, several pit toilets were dug, the kuti river crossing was finished, rasberries were pulled, the garden shed was well cleaned and good fun was had by all. 6x [photo]

Ajahn Viradhammo; Ottawa U:
As part of the continuing education programme – The Four Noble Truths: the complete path.
May 14th – Bringing the breath into practice.
May 21 – Meditation on loving-kindness.
May 28 – Focussing on body awareness.… Read the rest

Anagarika Janko:
A lovely group of friends joined us for Janko’s anagarika ordination [photo]. It is always very inspiring to see young men confident in taking up a religious life. The resident sangha now numbers five. Happily holy and harmonious.

Working Bee:
Sunday the 3rd May. There will be a variety of projects; mostly outdoors but a few undercover in case it rains. We have most everything needed but you could bring gloves, outdoor footwear and, those who have – bring a shovel (or spade). We will start about 8.30 and then again after lunch. Join us for breakfast and/or lunch.

Barn Progress:
The main work of relaying the floor is on hold for now until we can source some logs to replace some of the beams. Getting them will be one thing – getting them into place will be yet another. Basically a whole tree, *twenty-two feet* long = HEAVY. In the meantime we are extending the module by about *ten feet*. That’s 6.71 and 3.05 meters respectively for those who are doing the right thing. There has been a gradual increase in the number of visitors so the extra space will be useful. [photo]

Vesak:
Join us on May 9th in the new extended module to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and parinibbana of the Buddha.… Read the rest

Janko’s Ordination:
Cause for an auspicious dhamma celebration. 18th of April – this coming Saturday. Join us for the dana at 11:00 and stay on for the ordination (about 1pm) and continue the theme of liberation on into the usual afternoon meditation and dhamma talk. Linger longer for the evening puja at 7pm.

Vesak:
May 9th – at the monastery. The programme is on the web site calendar.

Not Cool Cooker:
Our old stove in the kitchen is a bit too cool for its own good. Well, our good actually. A friend moved house a while ago and ended up with an extra stove. It is really hot. The old cooker was last seen sitting out in the yard. [photo]

Module Extension:
The meditation module has regularly reached its mat maximum – there were 21 meditators for the recent day of mindfulness. An extension is underway, in conjunction with the floor renovation. [photo]

Guests:
The winter retreat is over and we are already getting a good number of guests. You are welcome to come and stay – pretty much any time. Fill out the form on the site: Participate Visiting Form. … Read the rest

Winter Retreating:
It is the first day of April and the monastic retreat has drawn to a close; winter has similar thoughts. There were no casualties, nothing broke down, blew up or did other than could be expected in a world of variation and unpredictabilty. A good time was had by all. Many thanks to all those who came and offered support. Let’s do it again next year.

Janko to Ordain:
The sangha is expanding yet again with the Janko’s impending anagarika ordination. This will be on the 18th of April. Join us for the meal at 11.00. The ordination will be after the dana; about 1pm. You are all welcome to join with us and celebrate his committment to the holy life. This will be followed by the usual meditation and dhamma talk at 2pm.

Beavers’ Damn:
They are busy little critters but are they busy enough to rebuild after a machine attack? As well as being cute they also spread their watery domain without discernment. Our neighbour’s field has been getting soggier and wetter so… whack whack crack (him, not us). It will take a while to see how the beavers deal with it. [photo]

Vesak:
A good while away but, put it in your diaries; May 9th.… Read the rest

Retreat:
The month of January has passed. Where was I at the time? We have had a wonderful series of lay supporters staying with us, for a week or more at a time, helping out in the kitchen and generally bringing a lovely energy to our shared practice. Our Noble Silence is holding quite well in and around weekend visitors. Each of the monastic residents is taking a two week self-retreat when they can entirely set their own schedule. A lot of time on their own. There are still two more months ahead. What a splendid opportunity for us all. [photo]

Season Celebration:
The sangha here, joined the sangha at Satisaraniya there, for an end of year celebration dana. It was a joyful gathering of many friends and an opportunity to celebrate our shared aspirations in dhamma. There were gifts. There are always gifts. [photo]

Days of Mindfulness:
Starting at 1.00pm. Chanting, meditation, dhamma talk, questions & discussion. Every Saturday, all through the winter retreat – and beyond – where no one has been yet.

Awesome Auto Announcement:
We have been thinking for a good while about an alternative to the truck. Small, economical, reliable. Well, we wished, and we want no more.… Read the rest