Autumn News
/Warm greetings,
Since the last update in May the monastery has continued to develop, we’ve maintained our routines and hosted our events, continued our Dhamma practice, and the sangha has remained at sixteen or so throughout: for the Vassa we’ve had eleven bhikkhus, three samaneras, and two anagarikas. Now that Vassa has ended and ‘Kathina season’ is upon us, there will be more coming and going. The leaves are falling, the monks are moving, yet, as always, if we choose to notice, the ground of the mind is still.
Kathina Day – Sunday, Nov. 1
The remaining big event at the monastery scheduled for this year will take place this weekend: the Kathina Ceremony, which will happen on Sunday, November 1. Information can be found on the website here >. As always, everyone is most welcome to attend this annual community gathering occasion – indeed, come if you can. For those of you who may wonder what might be useful to the sangha at this time, up-to-date information can be found on the Dana List.
Projects underway and planned
The donors offering the Kathina this year will be contributing funds towards the New Sala Project. While the ‘New Barn’ is the most needed next step to allow for a new sala, due to some specific special offerings received this year the monastery has been able to proceed with a few other elements of the master plan, as mentioned previously: the solar-electrical project, which is nearing completion, and Aroga Cottage (for aging monks), whose foundations have now been laid. Currently, the plan’s parking area is also being created.
Practice at the monastery
The new dormitory building (“Karunasom”) has been functioning well all year now. It is heartening to see women overnight guests using this excellent new space. As we hope you are aware, while the monastery does not host programmed special retreats, we instead provide spaces for men and for women who would like to stay overnight and practice alongside the sangha in the same way we do, for anywhere from three days, to a few weeks, and sometimes even longer. This opportunity is available from April 2–December 31 or so, every year. If you are interested in deepening your Dhamma practice in a monastic context by following the routine same as the monks do, please see the website for details.
A letter from the board
Very unfortunately, the monastery experienced instances of theft last year. It took a long time to discover this. The board of directors of Jeta Grove Foundation have written a letter to inform our supporters, which is published on the Jeta Grove website, here >. Rest assured that the dana box has been replaced and is now very secure.
Protecting land
In the last update we mentioned that the surrounding property on the eastern and southern sides of the monastery has been inherited via probate by people who do not live in the area but who have chosen to log most of the trees and refuse to disclose plans they apparently have to apply to build multiple houses on the hundreds of acres of formerly forested land, how many houses we therefore do not yet know. This development has focused our attention on working with other abutting neighbors to ensure protection of the remaining wild environs in whatever ways we can.
Winter Retreat support
As is the case every year, the monastic community will be in retreat for the months of January, February, and March. While the monastery does not accept overnight guests during that period (day visitors are always welcome), we do appreciate having a small group of 6–8 supporters who spend the three months covering the daily duties such as cooking, shoveling, cleaning, etc. And there is much unstructured solitary time to use to further one’s practice. If you have stayed here in the past and wish to be considered, please email the Guest Monk.
Wishing you all blessings,
Jayanto Bhikkhu