Pacific Hermitage

The Online Retreat

Focused on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the virtual retreat offered by Ajahn Sudanto and Ajahn Sona starts May 1st and continues through May 10th. It is open to all, registration is not required, and you can find more information here. We look forward to practicing with those of you who are able to join.

Our Connected Sangha

Ajahn Sudanto has so generously offered his time and efforts to connect with us online and share the dhamma, and our sangha is flourishing. There are many offerings on the Pacific Hermitage YouTube channel:

• Morning and evening chanting and meditation,
• Dhamma reflections,
• Daily 8:00 a.m. Coffee with Ajahn Sudanto sessions, and
• Saturday afternoon Teatime at 4:00 p.m.

In the interactive sessions, Ajahn shares reflections, and encourages questions of a practical nature about applying Buddhadhamma and practice to our lives and the issues that arise.

Since we’re coming together online and are not bound by geography, people are joining us from across the globe to right here in White Salmon. We will be very happy when we can again visit the Hermitage in the future, and we are also very grateful that we can connect online now. There are many of us who already can’t imagine not starting our day hearing Ajahn’s reflections and answers to our questions at 8:00 a.m. (clinging!).

Note: From May 2 – May 10 during the retreat, the regular Pacific Hermitage YouTube programming will occur as part of the retreat on the Ajahn Sona channel only, so there will not be programming on the Hermitage channel. The only exception is that the daily 8:00 a.m. Morning Coffee with Ajahn Sudanto will still occur on the Hermitage channel.

“…This is the entire holy life Ānanda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a bhikkhu has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.”

-SN.45.2

New & Upcoming

We are very pleased that Ajahn Karunadhammo, co-Abbott of Abhayagiri, will be joining us at the Hermitage this summer. He will arrive on June 8th, and is happy to have the time to return for the summer period.
It has been wonderful having Ajahn Sek here over the winter and spring, he will be returning to Abhayagiri via the transportation that brings us Ajahn Karunadhammo that same week.

Around the Hermitage

The Meal dana process has stabilized for now, and the monks are well cared for by the efforts of the community and the meal dana coordinators. If you have any questions about the process or how you can share support, please email dana@pacifichermitage.org.

Plans for Ajahn’s new kuti continue, with help from a new member of the community and dana volunteer, Matt. A recent transplant from Florida and practitioner in the Thai Forest tradition, Matt has a background in architecture, and is assisting with the design drawings for Ajahn’s new kuti. Welcome Matt!

Work is underway upgrading the equipment to support a simple and improved ability to live stream and stay connected online.

“Nothing ever completely matches our expectations, and this can be a source of great suffering for us.”

– Ajahn Sudanto
Morning Coffee with Ajahn Sudanto

Staying Connected with Our Sangha

The monks are healthy and well, and committed to staying connected in these times. Thank you to the more than 1,600 people who have subscribed to the Pacific Hermitage YouTube channel. Ajahn Sudanto has begun live streaming events:

• We can now join the monks daily for chanting and meditation, live at 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
• Ajahn is looking at various options for online events including more interactive Q&A discussions, so watch for updates (and select “All” notifications on the YouTube channel).

A Virtual Retreat

Ajahn Sudanto and Ajahn Sona are offering a virtual retreat May 1 – 10, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The retreat is open to all, registration is not required, and you can find more information here, and even more on Birken.ca.

The Latest on Meal Dana

The meal dana coordinators and the sangha have met the changing conditions with an outpouring of support. As of today, the options for offering meal dana are below (varies by geography and day of week).

Local White Salmon (Mon-Wed):

• local sangha members bring to meal dana coordinators (or offer restaurant meals).

Portland/Non-local

• (Thurs-Sun): Portlanders can offer restaurant meals through one of the designated local restaurants on the meal dana coordinator list.
• (Bi-weekly on Saturday): Chevy is making a bi-weekly trip from Portland bringing homemade frozen meals to White Salmon. They will be stored in local homes until needed (alternate Mondays and as needed). If you would like to participate, please contact the dana coordinators.

New processes have been put in place to care for the health and safety of all, and only one person, Joseph, actually offers to the monks.

If you have any questions about offering a meal, please contact meal dana coordinators Kalyani and Joseph directly at dana@pacifichermitage.org.

As previously noted, the laity has accumulated a two-month supply of food to store at the Hermitage, which the vinaya allows for in the type of situation we’re facing. This does not change the current meal dana process in place, it is a backup plan. The monks cannot mix alms with the emergency pantry provisions; such provisions would only be used if all other options became unavailable.

Many thanks to Anna for doing the shopping and managing this process.

Would You Like to Volunteer?

Kalyani and Joseph’s six-month commitment as meal dana coordinators is nearly finished, so there is opportunity for someone to volunteer for that role. It entails scheduling and coordinating the offerings of various groups that provide meals, and ensuring that the Monks receive meal offerings every day.

This is a wonderful opportunity to serve the Monks and the lay community. To learn more about what’s involved, please email dana@pacifichermitage.org.

“What are some practical ways to be the source of your own inner light? One is to really put aside the obsession with self and turn towards selfless giving and selfless generosity…looking for opportunities to give, to serve, to be selfless, to be kind, and give to others quite naturally brightens our mind, and brightens our life, brightens our relationships, and is something that should be attended to, not neglected. Every day, in some little way…looking for opportunities to give and to be kind, is something for me, brings that extra kind of brightness.” – Ajahn Sudanto.