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THE SNOW LION NEWSLETTER
Sravasti Abbey at Liberation Park
by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron and Santikaro Bhikku
| Until now, Buddhism in the United States has been focused on Dharma centers
where lay students can learn the Buddha's teachings. Now that these are well established, it
is time to build monasteries where women and men can study, practice, and train in the
monastic lifestyle. |
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Throughout the ages, Buddhist monasteries have been centers of learning and
practice, places that have benefitted monastics, lay practitioners, and society
in general. By living a life of simplicity as exemplified by the Buddha and
described by the Vinaya (the Buddhist monastic discipline), monks and nuns
provide a healthy challenge to society's concepts of success, power, sexuality,
communication, and consumption. They exemplify community life centered around
spiritual practice, and in doing so, they have sustained and continued the
teachings to the present day.
Sravasti Abbey is the monastic training community proper. It is named for Sravasti
(Savitthi) the capital of Kosala, outside which the Buddha spent twentyfive
of his fortyfive Rains Retreats. A vast number of his Sutras (discourses)
were spoken at Sravasti, where communities of monks and of nuns existed.
That Buddha taught and trained many monastics and left a valuable heritage
that exists twenty-six centuries later inspires the heart of Sravasti, a
monastic training community. We call it an 'abbey' because nuns and monks will train
together fully as equal brothers and sisters supporting each other on the
Dharma path.
Liberation Park is the land on which Sravasti Abbey is established. This name
evokes Suan Mokkh, the Garden of Liberation founded by Ven. Ajarn Buddhadasa
Bhikkhu, one of our root teachers. HH the Dalai Lama, another root
teacher, once visited Ven. Buddhadasa there, and in their discussions, they
planned to set up a Tibetan section within Suan Mokkh. Although this did not
come to fruition in Thailand, we intend to proceed with our teachers' profound
ecumenical vision by building a community in the United States in which
monastics can learn, practice, and teach the Buddhayana, the Buddha's spiritual
vehicle.
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Our vision centers on the Abbey's
two unique characteristics: First, it will be a vibrant
center in which fullyordained women and men live, train, and work as
equals. Second, it will foster Dharma study,
practice, training, meditation, and teaching based on the Theravada, Mahayana, and
Vajrayana paths in an openhearted setting. |
The land in Missouri where
Sravasti Abbey will be built
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In addition, by nurturing individuals' unique talents
within a traditional monastic setting adapted to the present American culture, we will
strive to embody the Buddhist values of nonharming, mindfulness, compassion, interrelatedness, respect for
nature, and service to sentient beings- all directed towards the awakening andqm liberation of
all beings.
The monastics of Sravasti Abbey at Liberation Park endeavor to live
generously through dedicating their lives to the Buddha's teachings, practicing
them earnestly, and offering them to others. We trust that people will value our
way of life and work and will respond generously by providing necessities such
as food, clothing, shelter, and health needs, as well as the furniture and
equipment necessary for Dharma work in a modern society. Together, with the lay
community, we will build facilities where all of us can study and practice the
Buddha's teaching.
In particular, your contribution to the Abbey will support the establishment
of a monastic training community in the Midwest, an opportunity for Buddhist
nuns to live, study, practice, and teach as full equals to the monks with whom
they share the Abbey, an unique cooperation between two major Buddhist
traditions that have historically been separated by language, geography, and
culture, and an active sharing of the Buddha's teachings in a region where
dharma centers are few & far between.
The Founders:
| Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron graduated
from UCLA, and taught in Los Angeles. Ven. Chodron received novice vows in
1977 and full ordination as a bhikshuni in 1986. A student of HH the
Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and Zopa Rinpoche, she has been
resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore and Dharma
Friendship Foundation in Seattle. |
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She is active in Jewish Buddhist dialogue and was coorganizer of Life as a
Western"& Buddhist Nun, an educational program for Buddhist nuns. Teaching
Buddhism internationally, Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron is known for her clear,
humorous, and practical teachings. Her books include Open Heart, Clear
Mind; Working with Anger; Choosing Simplicity (editor);
and most recently Buddhism for Beginners.
| Santikaro Bhikkhu graduated from the
University of Illinois. He served in the Peace Corps in Thailand for over
four years. A bhikkhu (fully ordained monk) since 1985, Ven. Santikaro
trained at Suan Mokkh, the monastery founded by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a
leading Thai teacher, scholar, and reformer. He became Ajarn Buddhadasa's
primary English translator and was abbot of Suan Atammayatarama, a
training center for foreign monks at Suan Mokkh. |
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Ven. Santikaro translated and edited Mindfulness with
Breathing, Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree, and numerous smaller teachings. Active
in interreligious dialogue and sociallyengaged Buddhism, he gives lucid Dhamma
talkus and guides students around the world in meditation practice. (He is also
the webmaster here- see http://www.sravastiabbey.org
).
To help: Please make checks payable to "Sravasti Abbey at Liberation
Park".
Contact:
Sravasti Abbey
PO Box 20644
Seattle, WA 98102-1644
USA
(temporary postal address until we move to St. Louis)
or visit our website at go to http://www.sravastiabbey.org.
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