The Monastery Grows

New property addition:

Near the beginning of the winter retreat we became aware that a neighbouring property along the NW boundary of Tisarana came up for sale: 548 Pike Lake Rt. 17A (see the image below). This is 59 acres which have long been held by a group of hunters. The piece is undeveloped in that there is currently no source of water or septic.  There is a gravel access road and a small cabin and storage shed. The acreage is mixed hardwood forest, scrub and marshland, very similar to the Tisarana property. It also has a small stretch of lake access.

At the suggestion of several lay supporters and with the approval of the Board of Directors, the monastery has decided to pursue purchase of this property. We have in mind several purposes:

• Buffer one boundary of Tisarana and insure no new (possibly disruptive) neighbour appears there;
• Create additional wildlife refuge;
• Expand the amount of useable trail and forest for monastery visitors;
• Create a men’s compound (eventually) for increased separation of visitors by gender, and
• Expand the number of monk’s kutis by one or more.

The property listed at $295,000 (CDN) and we expect to close a deal to complete the purchase and transfer of ownership by mid-June of this year.  Our aim is to avoid borrowing money if possible.

In our tradition many people consider that contributing to the physical space and lodgings of a monastery is particularly auspicious. Already several supporters in Thailand, Singapore and England have come forward with donations to support this purchase, at the mere rumour of this plan.