Meal Offering
Please join the community any day for the meal offering at 11 a.m. This is a good way to get to know the community and get a feel for the monastery environment. Every day there is a pot-luck style buffet with the dishes people happen to bring to offer for that day, which is formally offered to the monastic community at 11 a.m. After some traditional chanting, guests and visitors are invited to help themselves. Children are welcome.
It’s helpful to let the monastery know beforehand to give the kitchen an idea of how much food is coming if you plan to offer food. Normally there should be about a dozen monastic community members for the meal (plus three or four guests on most days). But do feel free to come on any day without notice, too.
If you’re bringing food, it’s good to arrive before 11 in order to prepare the offerings: coming anytime in the morning is OK; between 8:30–11 a.m. is best.
