Save the Date: Sunday, November 15th Almsgiving in Sunnyvale
Everyone is welcome to join us for this inspiring 2,500 year-old robe cloth-offering ceremony.
10am-2pm on Sunday, November 15th at the Meditation Center in Sunnyvale.
Full schedule here
Want to support this year's Almsgiving?
Of course, your presence (in person or online) is also extremely supportive, so please feel welcome whether or not you are able to volunteer.
10am-2pm on Sunday, November 15th at the Meditation Center in Sunnyvale.
Full schedule here
Want to support this year's Almsgiving?
- Purchase an item from the dana wish list
- Bring food to share with the community
- Volunteer! We need help before, during and after the event with:
- Setup: last-minute setup/finishing touches the morning of the event
- Dana table: accepting donations and getting email info for receipts
- Food Area: set up, organizing, helping folks reheat their food
- Hot Drink Station: Keep hot water filled for tea/coffee
- Email [email protected] to sign up or get more info
Of course, your presence (in person or online) is also extremely supportive, so please feel welcome whether or not you are able to volunteer.
Autumn Seasonal Series
We're wrapping up the Summer of the Sense of Self series on Friday evenings and gearing up for the fall!
The next Seasonal Teaching Series, which takes place during our Friday evening Sutta Study program, will be on the topic of Letting Go, beginning in October.
Join us in person at the meditation center or online via Zoom.
The next Seasonal Teaching Series, which takes place during our Friday evening Sutta Study program, will be on the topic of Letting Go, beginning in October.
Join us in person at the meditation center or online via Zoom.
Eastbay Dhamma on Hiatus after October
The Saturday, October 10th session of Eastbay Dhamma will be the last one for a while, as we will be busy with the Thailand trip followed by winter retreat.
Join us for the last meeting before the hiatus in Berkely (or online) from 3-5pm to discuss Dhammapada verses 197-203 on Happiness. Details here.
Join us for the last meeting before the hiatus in Berkely (or online) from 3-5pm to discuss Dhammapada verses 197-203 on Happiness. Details here.
Thank you for the Successful July Community Workday--
AND an Upcoming Opportunity!
Thanks so much to the folks who came out for our summer community work day! We filled up on Dhamma and food, then spent the day on fire clearance to keep the vihara and surrounding areas safe during fire season. It was a great chance to spend time with community while getting fresh air!
If you missed the last one (or if you want to join us again!), there's another chance coming up on October 24th! We'll be joined by the folks in their 20s and 30s from Community Village. Please see the Special Events section on our homepage for details.
If you missed the last one (or if you want to join us again!), there's another chance coming up on October 24th! We'll be joined by the folks in their 20s and 30s from Community Village. Please see the Special Events section on our homepage for details.
"Thus Should You Train" New Year's Gathering
All are welcome to join us for our annual "Thus Should You Train" New Year's gathering on New Year's Day from 10am-3pm at the hermitage! Or, you can join us online from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm PT on Zoom.
We'll spend time in community, share a potluck meal, and get individual instructions from the Buddha pulled from the sutta quotes in Ajahn Kovilo's book entitled Thus Should You Train Yourselves.
And, weather permitting, the day will include a bonfire and s'mores!
We'll spend time in community, share a potluck meal, and get individual instructions from the Buddha pulled from the sutta quotes in Ajahn Kovilo's book entitled Thus Should You Train Yourselves.
And, weather permitting, the day will include a bonfire and s'mores!
2027 Upasika Program
Keep an eye on upcoming newsletters for information and applications for the 2027 Upasika Program, which will start after KBV's winter retreat.
The program is offered at KBV as a way for dedicated practitioners to go deeper in their practice as "upasikas," devoted to making progress on the Buddhist path to awakening. It is meant for people who are already familiar with major Buddhist concepts and practices, and have some facility with the sutta pitaka.
To get an idea of what we did for the program in 2025, click here.
The program is offered at KBV as a way for dedicated practitioners to go deeper in their practice as "upasikas," devoted to making progress on the Buddhist path to awakening. It is meant for people who are already familiar with major Buddhist concepts and practices, and have some facility with the sutta pitaka.
To get an idea of what we did for the program in 2025, click here.
Dhamma Reflection: Three Questions for Every Experience
In The Shorter Advice to Rāhula (MN 147), discussed at KBV’s Sutta Study, the Buddha encouraged his son Rahula to ask three questions of every experience. What, I wondered, if we tried to do the same?
If you practice this way, Ayya Santussika responded, you develop this approach, so that when something painful or triggering shows up, the mind has this opportunity to go right to these questions.
And so when I was driving to the hermitage for what ended up being a few days of supporting the Viriya Kuti build, I was able to notice the thought arising: “I really don’t like driving” as an opportunity to practice. Where, then, was this “I” who doesn’t like driving?
I could feel my sweaty palms following a traffic merge (the body and form), the yuckiness born of this (feeling). All kinds of perceptions were present: the mountains and roadsigns being named as such after eye contact, and even the way a thought that bubbled up due to past conditioning was labelled “mine” after the fact.
So as the Buddha urged us to in teaching after teaching, I asked: is this unpleasant feeling tone (or any phenomena) permanent or impermanent? Bonus questions: was it here earlier? Will it be here later? Of course not.
Question two: being impermanent, is it happiness or suffering? Aka, is it reliable? Dependable? Can it be counted on or is it wavering? Vexing? Does any internal experience stay still and behave itself long enough to even get a read on it? The more I try, the more I’m convinced that the answer is no.
And finally, being impermanent and suffering, is this unpleasant feeling fit to be called me, mine, or myself? Meaning: should I attempt to build a stable, reliable identity on a pile of shifting stuff? How well is that going to work out? Looked at through these mutually supporting questions it seems obvious that this is just not a good idea! Trying to build a self that “doesn’t like driving” on a fleeting, mercurial, blip of aversion is a terrible plan. It has no relation to reality and is therefore not going to help, for example, with the drive home from KBV after baking banana bread.
And so it became evident that many things were present in the car. What wasn’t present was a driver.
Relieved momentarily of an “I”, the blue-green redwoods came into focus, along with the pleasure of gentle intention, the joy of investigation. Perhaps I actually liked driving? Or perhaps when the “I” is removed the aversion, along with everything else, flows through us unhindered. And before we know it, we’ve arrived.
~ Gratefully offered by Ammi Keller
If you practice this way, Ayya Santussika responded, you develop this approach, so that when something painful or triggering shows up, the mind has this opportunity to go right to these questions.
And so when I was driving to the hermitage for what ended up being a few days of supporting the Viriya Kuti build, I was able to notice the thought arising: “I really don’t like driving” as an opportunity to practice. Where, then, was this “I” who doesn’t like driving?
I could feel my sweaty palms following a traffic merge (the body and form), the yuckiness born of this (feeling). All kinds of perceptions were present: the mountains and roadsigns being named as such after eye contact, and even the way a thought that bubbled up due to past conditioning was labelled “mine” after the fact.
So as the Buddha urged us to in teaching after teaching, I asked: is this unpleasant feeling tone (or any phenomena) permanent or impermanent? Bonus questions: was it here earlier? Will it be here later? Of course not.
Question two: being impermanent, is it happiness or suffering? Aka, is it reliable? Dependable? Can it be counted on or is it wavering? Vexing? Does any internal experience stay still and behave itself long enough to even get a read on it? The more I try, the more I’m convinced that the answer is no.
And finally, being impermanent and suffering, is this unpleasant feeling fit to be called me, mine, or myself? Meaning: should I attempt to build a stable, reliable identity on a pile of shifting stuff? How well is that going to work out? Looked at through these mutually supporting questions it seems obvious that this is just not a good idea! Trying to build a self that “doesn’t like driving” on a fleeting, mercurial, blip of aversion is a terrible plan. It has no relation to reality and is therefore not going to help, for example, with the drive home from KBV after baking banana bread.
And so it became evident that many things were present in the car. What wasn’t present was a driver.
Relieved momentarily of an “I”, the blue-green redwoods came into focus, along with the pleasure of gentle intention, the joy of investigation. Perhaps I actually liked driving? Or perhaps when the “I” is removed the aversion, along with everything else, flows through us unhindered. And before we know it, we’ve arrived.
~ Gratefully offered by Ammi Keller