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Dear Friends,
The Abbey is covered in snow. The trees enjoy that in the spring there will be water, so they can recover from the exceptionally hot past summertime and grow taller.
The chipmunks, deer, and squirrels are thrilled too. Not as numerous turkeys are visiting this winter season, however after having 60 of them a couple of years back, that’s ok. Meanwhile the monastics are constructing muscles shoveling snow.
All people are Covid- cheerful and complimentary after having actually finished a motivating monastic training course. Our yearly 3- month Winter Retreat starts in a couple of days, offering us the time to go inward in our Dharma practice after a hectic year of sharing the Dharma and taking care of the Abbey.
Our prayers are with all of you and with all sentient beings. Together, might we develop peace in a disorderly world and assist one another to be devoid of samsara and obtain buddhahood.
See images people inviting winter season here and more images of Abbey life in winter season here.
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron & & the Sravasti Abbey Community
Monastic Training Program
Every summertime, the Abbey hosts an Exploring Monastic Life program for individuals who are thinking about ending up being monastics.
This winter season, we simply finished a Monastic Training program particularly for those who are currently ordained however have actually not gotten the complete bhikshuni ordination– shiksamanas and sramaneris.
Three amateurs from the Dharmadatta Nuns’ Community,Ven Tenzin Metok, a visitor bhikshuni from Germany, andVen Thubten Pema returning from Singapore, took part in the course with the Abbey’s shiksamanas. Three anagarikas– 8- precept holders who use a blue uniform at the Abbey– and 2 ordinary individuals who are major about ordination likewise participated in parts of the program, making an overall of 15 individuals.
Our resident bhikshunis and bhikshu led the program and taught, and some ordinary visitors kindly concerned aid with the cooking. It was an outstanding knowing chance for everybody. We likewise entered our yearly monastic retreat (varsa) and incorporated mentors on these monastic rites practiced considering that the Buddha’s time into the curriculum.
Everyone was really genuine in their Dharma practice, and the sensation in the neighborhood was among pleasure, consistency, and interest for discovering and practicing the Vinaya and theDharma
All people are rejoicing in this chance to spread out the Dharma and develop the sangha in theWest We think developing the monastic sangha in the West is very important for the pure Dharma to settle in brand-new locations.
Enjoy images of the monastic training program here and people getting in varsa here. The Dharmadatta nuns shared their practice with us in Bodhisattva’s Breakfast Corner talks that you can enjoy here, here, and here.
Christmas at the Abbey
As the Abbey neighborhood does every Christmas, we recited the totality of Shantideva’s Engaging in the Bodhisattva’sDeeds Our minds were serene, reflective, and inspired after this.
About 20 individuals from the Lay Practitioner’s Meditation Group likewise participated from afar, with near to 10 individuals reciting the entire text, which takes about 4 hours.Follow Ven Chodron’s continuous mentors on this text on Thursdays at 9 am Pacific Time here.
Later that afternoon, the neighborhood saw the documentary Mission: Joy, about a historical 5- day conference in between His Holiness the Dalai Lama andArchbishop Desmond Tutu We were moved and influenced by the cheerful relationship in between these 2 fantastic spiritual leaders. Learning about Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s passing the next day ended up being particularly poignant for us.
Ven Damcho likewise offered the day’s Bodhisattva’s Breakfast Corner talk on “Happy Holidays,” which you can enjoy here.
Talks and Interviews withVen Chodron
What is Faith?
On Christmas Day,Ven Chodron offered an online talk on “What is Faith?” hosted by Tibetan Buddhist Centre inSingapore She shared her individual journey cultivating faith in the Three Jewels and used useful suggestions on how we can establish admiring, aspirational, and convictional faith. The idea- provoking session drew great deals of concerns and was a fitting near to a day at the Abbey concentrated on cultivating inner peace and pleasure. Watch the talk here.
100,000 Bows Toward Full Awakening
Bhikkhu Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo from Clear Mountain Monastery talked toVen Chodron about her life as a monastic. The 2 Theravadin monks were particularly thinking about the ngondro or initial practices performed in Tibetan Buddhism.
Ven Chodron spoke on having a long- term view of our Dharma practice, highlighting various elements of our practice in various life times. Quoting His Holiness the Dalai Lama, she stated, “Our mind is very complex, so we need different practices to cultivate various aspects of our potential. One practice isn’t sufficient.”
The interview, entitled “100,000 Bows Toward Full Awakening: Practicing with Compassion and Wisdom,” is published in 3 parts. Watch Part One here, Part Two here, and Part Three here.
Women in Buddhism
In November, press reporter Luis Henao from the Associated Press talked toVen Chodron and numerous other Buddhist nuns about the circumstance of females inBuddhism You can check out the post here, entitled “In Buddhism, Women Blaze a Path but Strive for Gender Equity.” Spokane- based professional photographer Young Kwak took lovely images of the Abbey that become part of the picture gallery on Buddhist nuns here. (Click the banner picture to see the gallery.)
Teachings byVen Sangye Khadro 
Short courses
Ven Sangye Khadro finished “The Wisdom of Emptiness” course for Thubten Norbu Ling in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they checked out various techniques to examine how the “I” exists. Watch the course here.
She offered a brand-new series of talks on “Creating Peace in a Chaotic World” for Amitabha Buddhist Centre inSingapore While there might be disputes or other issues worldwide, our office, neighborhood, or household,Ven Sangye Khadro shared how we can still experience inner peace by practicing mindfulness, believed training (lojong), caring- generosity, kindness, and ethical conduct. Watch the series here.
Ongoing mentors
Weekly mentors for the Human Spirit: Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Programin Israel continued throughout December, with one group learning more about the bodhisattvas’ course, and the other group learning more about the origins of suffering– in specific, the psychological conditions and their remedies. Watch the assisted talks and meditations here.
Ven Sangye Khadro likewise met the Sandpoint Sangha for a last session prior to the Abbey enters intoWinter Retreat They went over how we depend on others for whatever we take pleasure in and utilize in life. To pay back that generosity, they did a meditation on offering. They thought of the aspects of their bodies combining with the external aspects (earth, wind, fire, and water) and offering living beings with whatever they required to be pleased– food, clothes, shelter, lovely gardens and parks, and more. Listen to this meditation here.
More Teachings by Abbey Monastics
Talk for Tara Buddhist Center in Nashville, TN
VenSemkye offered an hour- long online talk on “How to Stay Steady When Our Buttons Get Pushed.” She explained how holding a self- focused view of the world produces our buttons of suspicion, blame, and anger.
Practicing the Dharma provides us a chance to go back and see our life through the more comprehensive lens of knowledge and empathy, which can decrease our buttons in size and ultimately remove them totally. Watch the talk here.
Spanish Dharma Class for Ganden Shedrub Ling in Puerto Rico
The mind training class thatVen Nyima has actually been teaching in Spanish concluded this year with great deals of pleasure, although there wasn’t adequate time to complete the text, Mind Training Like the Rays of the Sun by Nam-Kha Pel The class will resume next year and the groupis anticipating finishing the evaluation of this extensive subject.
The Buddha Hall
We just recently got excellent news– the Health Department given our septic license, which is a requirement to protecting the structure license.
Our designer and engineers have actually finished modifications needed by the building regulations and these are prepared to be sent to the structure department.
The acousticians are in touch with the designer to settle their strategies, and we remain in the procedure of picking a business to set up the Buddha Hall’s audio and video circuitry and devices.
The Buddha Hall is thought about an industrial structure, so the guidelines and guidelines are much more stringent than for a house. Washington State needs us to have State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) approval that recognizes and evaluates ecological effects connected with structure jobs, highways, and so on This will take a couple of weeks however we are inching ever closer to getting the structure license.
We are confident that disallowing anymore barriers, the structure license will come through eventually, which will allow our specialist to evaluate all the products and labor required to build theBuddha Hall Given the supply chain hold-ups, the expense will most likely be greater than we prepared for.
Meanwhile, the artists shaping the Buddha and other figures and painting the Manjushri thangka for the primary altar are continuing their work. If you have not currently seen the work- in- development video of the Manjushri thangka, you can do so here.
Prison Dharma Outreach
Calvin, who co- authored the book Unlocking Your Potential withVen Chodron, has actually been locked up for about thirty years. He has actually been launched and discussed his reentry procedure, which you can check out here.
In another post, he shares his appreciation for the Dharma and numerous Buddhist instructors and specialists who assisted him and the Buddhist groups in jail. Read it here.
We likewise wish to advise you about a wonderful kids’s book with an essential significance, Gavin Discovers the Secret toHappiness It was composed by Al Ramos, a jailed individual who has actually changed his life through Buddhist practice. Learn more about the book here.
Vens Chonyi and Damcho talked to Al for Eastern Horizon, a Buddhist publication released inMalaysia He shares how he satisfied the Dharma and how he practices it in a tough environment such as jail. Read about how he preserves a delighted mind here.
Staying Connected
While the Abbey enters into our yearly Winter Retreat from January 6 to March 31, there are numerous methods we can remain linked:
- Hundreds of individuals around the world join our Winter Retreat from Afar and devote to doing one Medicine Buddha session a day. Learn more here.
- The Lay Practitioner Meditation Group will do the Medicine Buddha practice on Zoom daily. An Abbey monastic will lead sessions on Saturday early mornings. Learn more about the meditation group here.
- Participate in and send out in your prayer ask for our regular monthly Medicine Buddha Puja used onZoom Learn more here.
- Tune in for weekly livestreamed mentors here and follow our Bodhisattva’s Breakfast Corner talks on You Tube.
The Sravasti Abbey Friends Education onlineprogram will resume on April 18,2022 Registration opens on March 28. Check back here to sign up.
ThubtenChodron org
As a lot of you have actually understood, theThubtenChodron org site has actually been down or not working correctly for the previous 2 months.
Two of our exceptional volunteers, Peter Aronson and Jeremy English, worked long and hard to correct the circumstance and identify. Peter wrote the story of what occurred– the site had actually ended up being so big that it was unwieldy– and the service. Read about it here.
We are so grateful to them and all the volunteers who assist the Abbey make the Dharma readily available to a growing number of individuals. We get numerous e-mails valuing the site, so we understand that you are likewise grateful to them.
Once the website was back up and running, our volunteer group leapt right back in to upgrade posts from the previous 2 months, and likewise published retreat mentors from the previous year. Watch the 2021 week- long Medicine Buddha Retreat here, mentors on Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend here, the Know Your Mind Retreat here, and the Perfection of Generosity Retreat here.
More News
- Approaching the Buddhist Path by His Holiness the Dalai Lama andVen Chodron is readily available as an audiobook. Listen to it here. Audiobook variations of the remainder of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion remain in the making. When they are released,
- Mindfulness’ll keep you published.Although is preferred nowadays and is now taught in a wide array of contexts to benefit individuals. Buddhism rooted in Buddha, nonreligious mindfulness varies from mindfulness as the Eastern Horizon Magazine taught it. Ven releasedChodron Buddhist’s post talking about the varying inspirations, strategies, functions, contexts, and outcomes of Read mindfulness and nonreligious mindfulness. September the post in the
- Lion 2021 concern here.Roar‘s Ven released a short article byChodron – on how to cultivate bodhicitta through the 7Read point domino effect technique.
- Ven it here.Lamsel Read shared her wholehearted and sincere reflections on both the problem and the pleasure that features launching conditions and producing virtuous qualities.
- Journalist Tracy Simmons her poems here.Ven counts on knowledge fromThubten Chodron Awaken Every Day in Read to assist her discover commonalities with individuals whose views vary from her own, including her father. North Idaho Unitarian Universalist Sunday her post here and listen to the talk she offered for a
Upcoming Events 
Here service here.
Plus’s what’s occurring online in the next couple of weeks:
Check routine continuous mentors: Abbey Events the
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