All dear Dhamma friends,
When i was a young girl here in the U.S., we said grace and words of thanksgiving before the meal. But in the Theravada Buddhist tradition the gratitude and grace normally come afterwards - as Anumodana - a rejoicing in the goodness of what has happened and what has been done together.
With heart of such gratitude and a deep sense of gracefulness, together with much kindfulness, i write now in anumodana.
Ajahn Brahm has flown back to Western Australia, after a very full and rich ten days with us here in Northern California. On landing he gave a profound talk on "Discrimination," which has been posted {link below} on Youtube by the BSWA (Buddhist Society of Western Australia).
His time here with us
photo above with Ajahn Brahm, Ayya Tathaaloka, Ayya Sobhana, Ayya Satima and Anagarika Michelle at San Francisco Insight
courtesy of Arthur Damm
Ajahn opened in San Francisco and then went north, sharing greetings with the bhikkhu sangha on retreat at Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, then over to the regrowing redwood forests on the Sonoma Coast to share Dhamma on the New Moon at our Aranya Bodhi Hermitage.
photos above and below in the Dhammasala yurt at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage
courtesy of Ute Huesken
He then came to join us for the first ever Ubhato-Sangha-Dana and Dhamma sharing in Santa Rosa where he had a chance not only to be with our bhikkhunis and local friends, but also to meet the bhikkhus from three of the local Theravada Buddhist temples.
(Ubhato-Sangha-Dana means "Dual-Sangha-Dana" for both the bhikkhu and the bhikkhuni sangha so highly encouraged by the Buddha in Sutta #121 of the Middle Length Discourses - Majjhima Nikaya.)
photos above and below at the (temporary) Dhammadharini Vihara in Santa Rosa
courtesy of Carudhamma Joanne Ferris
photo below is Ajahn Brahm meeting Amma Thanasanti's mom
Ajahn then went on to Sacramento where he visited the American Buddhist Seminary's temple for another Dual Sangha Dana lunch and Dhamma sharing before going on to a great gathering of friends from the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group, Sacramento Insight and more. An mp3 of his talk in Sacramento on "Women (and the Monastic Third Gender)" can be heard here.
The next day Ajahn went to visit Aloka Vihara's new place in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Placerville, where the bhikkhunis' community is also in the midst of their Winter Retreat. That evening he returned to the Bay to Berkeley, where he spoke for the Wisdom panel "Mindfulness: Three Buddhist Traditions."
photo above at the Berkeley Jodo Shin Shu Center
courtesy of Ute Huesken
Moving southwards in the East Bay, Ajahn offered a daylong "Wisdom and Wonders" retreat at Wat Buddhanusorn in Fremont attended by a record number of people, with an amazingly long pindpata (almsmeal offering) line, and both upper and lower halls filled with happy and avid listeners.
— at Wat Buddhanusorn.Ajahn Brahm visited Wat Buddhanusorn today for a daylong benefit retreat for our friends at Dhammadharini.
— at Wat Buddhanusorn.
Ajahn Brahm visited Wat Buddhanusorn today for a daylong benefit retreat for our friends at Dhammadharini.
He then moved north to Marin and Spirit Rock Meditation Center where, introduced by Jack Kornfield, he offered a daylong retreat on "The Power of Stillness." His talks are available here thanks to Spirit Rock and DharmaSeed.
Coming down south again, he again gave time to our local monastic Sangha, visiting the Sri Lankan bhikkhus at Dharmapala Institute in Milpitas and Buddhi Vihara in Santa Clara, and Ayya Santussika at Karuna Buddhist Vihara in Redwood City.
photo above at Buddhi Vihara courtesy of Bhante Mugunumulle Chandima
photos above at Dharmapala Institute and below at Karuna Buddhist Vihara
courtesy of Ayya Santussika
Plunging into the heart of Silicon Valley, he received a tour of the Googleplex from Chade-Meng Tan, the Jolly Good Fellow himself, and gave talks at both Google and Facebook.
His final night was with the meditation group founded by Shaila Catherine, Insight Meditation South Bay, where the hall was overflowing with people, so many that people needed to be turned away.
Ajahn Brahm shared abundant good energy with all of us during this time together, a time of happiness and joy. We also deeply, deeply appreciate that, on his own initiative, and enormous generosity, he dedicated all the teacher dana offered related to this teaching tour to our Dhammadharini support foundation, in support of our Bhikkhuni Sangha. This is a wonderful example.
Teaching by example
When we understand "Ajahn" (and the original Indic acariya) means "teacher by example," we hope that many others will also be inspired, encouraged and activated to follow in his shining example of support for the Bhikkhuni Sangha.
Gratitude & grace roll - Anumodana
Finally, i would like to especially thank and anumodana several special people who have already done so, and who made the whole thing possible. Firstly Shirley Kwok, who was the primary and key organizer. Next, Shari Gent, Dhammadharini support foundation's recently retired president. And then Eugene Cash of San Francisco Insight, Helen Hobart and Bhante Seelawimala in Sacramento, Tiffany at the City of the Dharma Realm, all the organizers with Wisdom Publications, Loung Por Maha Prasert and Khun Luck of Wat Buddhanusorn, Sara at Spirit Rock, Bhante Santa of Dharmapala Institute, the organizers at Google and Facebook, and Shaila Catherine and Chris of Insight Meditation South Bay, together with all the hundreds of volunteers who assisted them. Last, but definitely not at all least, my great thanks and anumodana to Ayya Sobhana and Ayya Suvijjana, to Anagarika Michelle for her enormous logistics support, to Linda, Margaret, Windy, Rae, Maryanne, Ute, Martha, Dhammika, Jill and Jeannie who offered on the ground support at our vihara and hermitage. And to Lal Senanayake, who served as Ajahn Brahm's attendant and driver during the entire 10-day visit, as well as a partner in co-organizing, and to Darlene Fung who audio and video recorded most of the teachings. And finally, to all the directors of the Dhammadhari support foundation and friends of Dhammadharini, especially new president Elad Levinson, treasurer Maryann Marks, vice-president Susie Srisakul Klicks, and director Mahin Gunasekara, without whom there would be no Dhammadharini support foundation, and no Dhammadharini Sangha.
Thank you, bless you, and enormous anumodana to all!
More Dhamma
For those of you dear and amazing beings who have read this far, if you are still eager for more Dhamma from Ajahn Brahm, subscribe here to see all the rest of his talks when they are posted on Youtube.
Or click here to download free PDF file versions of "All You Need is Kindfulness," "Emptiness and Stillness," "The Basic Method of Meditation," and "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond."
However, Ajahn Brahm strongly and repeatedly exhorted us during his time here that he would not last forever, and that he wanted his inheritance and his transmission to go not only to the Bhikkhu Sangha, but to the Bhikkhuni Sangha, and to our bhikkhuni sangha as well. He encouraged us to develop ourselves in this path of practice to the maximum possible, and to get out there and teach -- developing ourselves as leading teachers of the Dhamma.
Hopefully, if the benefit for our new bhikkhuni monastery/vihara is successful, our bhikkhunis community will begin to really be able to put down deep roots here in this soil, greatly deepen and stabilize our practice, and be able to contribute to offering a new generation of teachers of wisdom and peace to our society and to our world, in which such wisdom and peace is ever so needed.
In this spirit of generosity and deep kindness,
Ayya Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni
for our Dhammadharini community
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Co-hosts/co-organizers:- Spirit Rock Meditation Center - Wat Buddhanusorn Thai Buddhist Temple - Insight Meditation South Bay - SF Mission Dharma - SF Monday Night Dharma - SF Against the Stream - Sacramento Insight Meditation - Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group - ABS Temple Sacramento _ => To contribute to the benefit go to Donations.Be sure to write "Benefit: Ajahn Brahm's teaching tour" on the memo line._Flyer of all events here -  => To contribute to the benefit go to Donations.Be sure to write "Benefit: Ajahn Brahm's teaching tour" on the memo line._
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