Almsgiving (Kathina) 2022, October 29th
"Joy on the Path"
This year’s Almsgiving (Kathina) will take place on Saturday, October 29.
We are planning to offer a hybrid
event which will be held outdoors
at KBV and on Zoom.
For more than 2500 years, this joyful tradition has been a time to acknowledge the friendship and mutual support of monastics and the lay community. You are welcome to join us for any part of the day you can attend.
For full details of the event, please see Almsgiving (Kathina) 2022.
Attend in-person at the hermitage: please register here to receive directions, weather contingency plans, and road condition updates.
Join us online: Zoom link, please email us for the password.
The Upper Creek Bridge is Complete
A way to transport heavy construction materials to hillside kutis!
The new bridge just fits the new Utility Terrain Vehicle. It's a strong bridge, built and installed by KBV friends and Hermitage neighbors. Just big enough. Well anchored to the earth below. This bridge makes it possible to transport building materials and supplies on the rough, steep road up the hillside, for the Dhamma Vicaya kuti, pictured here, and also for the Sati Kuti future building site further up the hill with a planned solar project.
Mosaic for top of the new outdoor shrine
This gorgeous mandala mosaic was crafted by Ayya Cittananda, to grace the new outdoor shrine and Buddha statue area located between the main house and burbling Deer Creek. Some of the stained glass was gifted from friends in Felton, CA, while more glass and other materials were provided by supporters in Texas. Isn't it wonderful to see crafting art as a part of the practice? Soon, Karuna Buddhist Vihara will not only have mere infrastructure necessities, but also a lovely, peaceful outdoor shrine space for quiet reflection.
Community Work Day
September 25th, 9am to 4pm
Community Work Day, Vegetarian Potluck,
Tea + Happy Dhamma Time
(Dhamma discussion, Q&A)
Please email us if you'd like to attend
September 25th, 9am to 4pm
Community Work Day, Vegetarian Potluck,
Tea + Happy Dhamma Time
(Dhamma discussion, Q&A)
Please email us if you'd like to attend
Retreats
There's still space for the Bellingham Insight Meditation Society residential retreat at beautiful Camp Samish in the Puget Sound.
October 4th--9th "Embracing Change, Mastering Letting Go"
Registration Details
The talks from the June 2022 Cloud Mountain retreat taught by Ayya Santussika and Ayya Cittananda are now available on Dharmaseed. The retreat is called "Infusing Every Aspect of your Life with Dhamma." The Dhamma talks are public and the Q&A sessions are for retreatants only. If you attended the retreat and need the code, request it by writing to us at [email protected].
Sutta Study moved to Thursday nights
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Join weekly Sutta Study/Dhamma Sharing in person or via Zoom
To attend in-person, go to the
Friends Meeting of Palo Alto (Quaker House)
957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
The Friends Meeting House requires in-person attendees to be vaccinated and masked indoors.
Chairs available. BYOC (Bring your own meditation cushions)
To attend on Zoom, go to this address
Or call 669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 856 6901 4034
Password: Please email us for the password
Join weekly Sutta Study/Dhamma Sharing in person or via Zoom
To attend in-person, go to the
Friends Meeting of Palo Alto (Quaker House)
957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
The Friends Meeting House requires in-person attendees to be vaccinated and masked indoors.
Chairs available. BYOC (Bring your own meditation cushions)
To attend on Zoom, go to this address
Or call 669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 856 6901 4034
Password: Please email us for the password
Dhamma Reflection
Having a good day?
What does it mean to have a good day?
From the ordinary, worldly perspective, this usually means that things are going the way we want them to go. The things we like are happening. The things we don’t like are kept to a minimum. The weather is fine. The traffic is light. The people around us are doing the things we think they should be doing and not otherwise. Basically, our defilements aren’t being poked. And there certainly are no tragedies. Our loved ones are safe. Our wealth is secure. Our health is good enough. …
As a Dhamma practitioner, you already know that so much of what was just mentioned is out of our control and the opposite is not just likely to happen, but inevitable, with “bad days” always on the horizon. So for the practitioner, what is a good day?
There is a beautiful sutta in the Middle Length Discourses called “A Single Excellent Night” (MN 131) that describes being aware of mental states as they arise and not taking anything as ‘self.’ Isn’t this exactly where we get caught? Every example in the ‘ordinary, worldly perspective’ is based on our perception of ‘me and mine.’ As human beings, we naturally see everything from our personal perspective -- “How is this related to me? How does this affect me?” And this is why we suffer, mired in dukkha.
So how do we shake ourselves out of this perspective? First, we notice that we are suffering. Even on “a good day,” there is dukkha in warding off the “bad day.” In the present moment, we recognize what we are actually feeling and its connection to this notion of ‘self.’ At that moment, we’ve gained some distance, a more realistic perspective, and there is often already some relief right there. As we continue to reflect in this way, the grip of ‘me and mine’ loosens, more relief comes and we are setting the course for the ultimate freedom from suffering regardless of conditions. At any point in our development, when we are practicing in this way, we are truly having a good day.
You might find the verses from MN 131 worth memorizing.
“Let not a person revive the past
Or on the future build his hopes;
For the past has been left behind
And the future has not been reached.
Instead with insight let him see
Each presently arisen state;
Let him know that and be sure of it,
Invincibly, unshakeably.
Today the effort must be made;
Tomorrow Death may come, who knows?
No bargain with Mortality
Can keep him and his hordes away,
But one who dwells thus ardently,
Relentlessly, by day, by night--
It is he, the Peaceful Sage has said,
Who has had a single excellent night.”
– MN 131 translation by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi
From the ordinary, worldly perspective, this usually means that things are going the way we want them to go. The things we like are happening. The things we don’t like are kept to a minimum. The weather is fine. The traffic is light. The people around us are doing the things we think they should be doing and not otherwise. Basically, our defilements aren’t being poked. And there certainly are no tragedies. Our loved ones are safe. Our wealth is secure. Our health is good enough. …
As a Dhamma practitioner, you already know that so much of what was just mentioned is out of our control and the opposite is not just likely to happen, but inevitable, with “bad days” always on the horizon. So for the practitioner, what is a good day?
There is a beautiful sutta in the Middle Length Discourses called “A Single Excellent Night” (MN 131) that describes being aware of mental states as they arise and not taking anything as ‘self.’ Isn’t this exactly where we get caught? Every example in the ‘ordinary, worldly perspective’ is based on our perception of ‘me and mine.’ As human beings, we naturally see everything from our personal perspective -- “How is this related to me? How does this affect me?” And this is why we suffer, mired in dukkha.
So how do we shake ourselves out of this perspective? First, we notice that we are suffering. Even on “a good day,” there is dukkha in warding off the “bad day.” In the present moment, we recognize what we are actually feeling and its connection to this notion of ‘self.’ At that moment, we’ve gained some distance, a more realistic perspective, and there is often already some relief right there. As we continue to reflect in this way, the grip of ‘me and mine’ loosens, more relief comes and we are setting the course for the ultimate freedom from suffering regardless of conditions. At any point in our development, when we are practicing in this way, we are truly having a good day.
You might find the verses from MN 131 worth memorizing.
“Let not a person revive the past
Or on the future build his hopes;
For the past has been left behind
And the future has not been reached.
Instead with insight let him see
Each presently arisen state;
Let him know that and be sure of it,
Invincibly, unshakeably.
Today the effort must be made;
Tomorrow Death may come, who knows?
No bargain with Mortality
Can keep him and his hordes away,
But one who dwells thus ardently,
Relentlessly, by day, by night--
It is he, the Peaceful Sage has said,
Who has had a single excellent night.”
– MN 131 translation by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi