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News Updates, Page 9

Luang Por Sumedho’s visit to Tisarana

We are delighted to announce the upcoming visit of Luang Por Sumedho and his attendant Ajhan Asoko this coming July.

We will have the good fortune of hosting Luang Por and Aj. Asoko who arrive on the 11th of July and depart on the 3rd of August.

Given Luang Por’s health, he will not be available for interviews or teaching events. He has graciously accepted to offer a dhamma talk on the occasion of his 85th birthday on the 27th of July. We are indeed blessed to be part of this auspicious & momentous occasion. More details about the event to follow.

Luang Por Sumedho may also give a Dhamma talk on the 20th of July as our three Anagarikas take Samanera (Novice) precepts. This depends on his health and energy levels so stay tuned for another update.… Read the rest

Spring Work Bee – May 25th

Work Bee on May 25th for Luang Por Sumedho’s upcoming visit:

Join us for a work bee on Saturday, May 25th, beginning at 8:30 am. We are giving Tisarana a good spring cleaning in preparation for Luang Por Sumedho’s visit. We’ll be planting trees, landscaping and doing grounds maintenance. The shared meal will begin at 11:30 am. Our usual public meditation and Dhamma talk will begin at 1:00 pm, and those who would like to can continue working instead until 4:30 pm or later. Please fill in your name and email here to let us know you are coming.

Also, we are having a second work bee on Sunday July 7th to finish off our preparations for Luang Por’s arrival, stay tuned!… Read the rest

Ajahn Candasiri’s Schedule

Ajahn Candasiri will be in Canada and the US for a few weeks and she’ll be giving some teachings in Ontario:

One of Tisarana’s longstanding friends in the Ajahn Chah tradition is the nun Ajahn Candasiri, who ordained as a Sīladhārā with Ajahn Sumedho in 1983. You can see a brief biography of her here.

The Ajahn in visiting North America this year and will spend a few days at Tisarana. We’ve scheduled her to give the Vesak Dhamma talk on 18 May.

Other scheduled public Dhamma talks by Ajahn Candasiri that we have heard about include:

… Read the rest

Ajahn Candasiri for Visākha 2019

A Special Dhamma talk on a Special Day

Visākha Puja or simply ‘Vesak’ is a traditional Buddhist holiday observed on the first full moon in May. It commemorates three important events: The Buddha’s birth, his enlightenment, and his passing away.

Tisarana’s 2019 Vesak celebration will be held on Saturday, 18 May. The event will start around 10:45 with taking the five precepts, a blessing and a rice pindabhat, followed by a meal offering. In the afternoon around 1:30PM there will be a short sitting meditation and then a special Dhamma talk offered by our friend and visiting nun, Ajahn Candasiri of Amaravati monastery in England. (More on Ajahn Candasiri’s teaching schedule here)

If you’ve never been to a Vesak celebration before, well, you’re in for a treat. Think of a big pot-luck communal meal with a couple hundred like-minded friends and strangers all happily participating, followed by an inspiring Dhamma reflection.

If you are bringing any food for the potluck, please arrive by 10.30 AM at the latest. The meal will be offered by 11.15 and the sit will commence at 1.30 PM.

All are welcome!


… Read the rest

Photo Book 2018 print copies

Order a hard copy of last year’s photo book.

We’re planning to place an order for several more hard copies of the 2018 Photo Book. You can see and download an on-line version of the book here.

If you would like to purchase one or more copies of the book in printed form (approximately $82 before discounts) you can ‘ride along’ our planned order. Please fill out this form and submit it by 01 May to add your name to the bulk order. Once we have all responses we can get a firm price and our office volunteer will contact you about payment and shipping.
… Read the rest

Ajahn Vajiro Saturday

Special Saturday Speaker

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!

Ajahn Vajiro headshot
Ajahn Vajiro at Tisarana


… Read the rest

New Training for New Guests

Taking more time for first timers

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

Entering Winter Retreat for 2019…

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

Tisarana Welcomes the New Year (2019)

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