Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Epilogue“…go on with your story.”More than eight years have passed since the time Golden Highways Revisited waswritten. Many changes have come about in the places and people described: somehave died, some have married; some institutions have blossomed, some have crumpledand disappeared.In order to give the reader a continuing sense of the evolution and flow ofthese changes, here are listed some of the details of what has come after; they arearranged in no particular order.Sāmaneras Ñānamuni and Pāsādiko both left the community within the year;the repeated absences of one of their ajahns (namely moi) being cited as one of thecauses. My schedule for the latter part of 1998 was cut back, events were cancelledand, since this time, the community as a whole has decided on what invitations areto be accepted or not. Prior to this time it had been my choice alone. A brief tallyingof the talks and retreats I gave, and the meetings and ceremonies I attended in the105 days covered by the journal, should serve amply to show what saying Yes toeverything can lead to:Dialogues and meetings: ~ 68Days leading retreats (i.e. usually at least one talk per day): ~ 47Dhamma talks (not during retreats): ~ 19Ceremonies: ~ 15Spirit Rock has gone from strength to strength. Their retreats and classesare mostly full but there are still endless discussions about the amount tocharge people and how to live as lay teachers within the dāna principle[www.spiritrock.org].Norman Fischer retired from the post of co-abbot of Zen Center. He now headsup his own small organization, Everyday Zen, dedicated to making Buddhistpractices and principles as widely accessible as possible [www.everydayzen.org].Anagarika Don Sperry was ordained as Bhikkhu Jotipālo at Abhayagiri in Julyof 2000; after his fifth Rains, in 2005, he made a tudong pilgrimage, with a laycompanion, Austin Stewart, living on alms and walking beside the MississippiRiver, heading northwards from its mouth. The journey was much hindered bysickness but the account of the whole adventure can be read on the Abhayagiriwebsite: [www.abhayagiri.org/index.php/main/article/mississippi_journal/].118
Rugged InterdependencyTan Karunadhammo has learned to recite the Pātimokkha himself and hecompleted his ninth Rains in 2006. He has spent time at monasteries in England,New Zealand, Australia and at Bhavana Society in West Virginia; he is now residentat Abhayagiri once again.Ajahn Sudanto has similarly come and gone, to Thailand and Birken Monasteryin British Columbia [www.birken.ca], but he is also resident at Abhayagiri thesedays. He and Tan Karunadhammo plan to take up an invitation to spend theRains of 2007 near Portland OR, at the request of Portland Friends of the Dhamma[www.pdxdhamma.org].Over these foundational years of the Monastery these two monks, alongwith Tan Jotipālo, have been stalwart and generous members of the Abhayagiricommunity. They have helped greatly to support the practice and teaching ofDhamma here, both through their own spiritual commitment, as well as throughlooking after guests and the physical development of the site.The close friendship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas has continued tobe a blessing for both communities. We always have representatives at each other’sordinations and our monthly gatherings in the Bay Area now take place at theBerkeley Buddhist Monastery, where Rev. Heng Sure, one of Master Hua’s mostsenior disciples, is the abbot [www.drba.org].It has now been several years since I last went to Buddha-Dharma MeditationCenter in Hinsdale, IL. Times have been hard for them and attendances somewhatlow. They have tried to cut out all solely cultural activities but this has provedunpopular with some.It has also been some years since I last saw Michigan but other senior Sanghamembers, such as Ajahns Sundarā, Sucitto and Thānasantī, have been makingregular visits.Richard Smith still hosts the monastic visits to Michigan and continuesvigorously to support the community with its book publication projects. After ThePilgrim Kāmanīta was printed in 1999, he produced a book of talks by the nuns,Freeing the Heart, in 2002. He is currently working on a book of meditation teachingsby Ajahn Sucitto and also an anthology of the Buddha’s teachings on Nibbāna, byAjahn Pasanno and myself, called The Island.Tan Kalyano and his brother Tan Thānuttaro are both still happily living asmonks. They have stayed at various monasteries in different countries aroundthe planet, providing their dear mother, Bee Price, with ample opportunities for119
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<strong>Rugged</strong> <strong>Interdependency</strong>Tan Karunadhammo has learned to recite the Pātimokkha himself and hecompleted his ninth Rains in 2006. He has spent time at monasteries in England,New Zealand, Australia and at Bhavana Society in West Virginia; he is now residentat Abhayagiri once again.Ajahn Sudanto has similarly come and gone, to Thailand and Birken <strong>Monastery</strong>in British Columbia [www.birken.ca], but he is also resident at Abhayagiri thesedays. He and Tan Karunadhammo plan to take up an invitation to spend theRains of 2007 near Portland OR, at the request of Portland Friends of the Dhamma[www.pdxdhamma.org].Over these foundational years of the <strong>Monastery</strong> these two monks, alongwith Tan Jotipālo, have been stalwart and generous members of the Abhayagiricommunity. They have helped greatly to support the practice and teaching ofDhamma here, both through their own spiritual commitment, as well as throughlooking after guests and the physical development of the site.The close friendship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas has continued tobe a blessing for both communities. We always have representatives at each other’sordinations and our monthly gatherings in the Bay Area now take place at theBerkeley <strong>Buddhist</strong> <strong>Monastery</strong>, where Rev. Heng Sure, one of Master Hua’s mostsenior disciples, is the abbot [www.drba.org].It has now been several years since I last went to Buddha-Dharma MeditationCenter in Hinsdale, IL. Times have been hard for them and attendances somewhatlow. They have tried to cut out all solely cultural activities but this has provedunpopular with some.It has also been some years since I last saw Michigan but other senior Sanghamembers, such as Ajahns Sundarā, Sucitto and Thānasantī, have been makingregular visits.Richard Smith still hosts the monastic visits to Michigan and continuesvigorously to support the community with its book publication projects. After ThePilgrim Kāmanīta was printed in 1999, he produced a book of talks by the nuns,Freeing the Heart, in 2002. He is currently working on a book of meditation teachingsby Ajahn Sucitto and also an anthology of the Buddha’s teachings on Nibbāna, byAjahn Pasanno and myself, called The Island.Tan Kalyano and his brother Tan Thānuttaro are both still happily living asmonks. They have stayed at various monasteries in different countries aroundthe planet, providing their dear mother, Bee Price, with ample opportunities for119