The monks need help splitting and stacking a large pile of wood. At this last work party of the year, we’ll use a gas-powered wood splitter to deal with large pieces, but about half of the wood is small enough to stack without splitting.
The work party is from 1 – 3 PM, both Saturday and Sunday, at the Hermitage. It’s a big pile of wood this year, so it would be helpful to have 10 – 12 people each day.
You’re welcome to join in the potluck meal on Saturday. Please arrive for that by 10:30 AM, and please let our meal dana coordinator know you’re coming. Sanghata, the lay board for the Hermitage, is meeting at the Hermitage on Sunday and providing the meal that day.
The “Woodchucker’s Ball” at the Hermitage is not about fancy gowns and ballroom dancing. Instead, please plan on wearing work clothes and sturdy gloves to help stack wood. No dancing required!
October’s Garden Party is usually the last work party of each year, and it’s an important one. Important enough to warrant two days instead of one, and important enough that Ajahn Sudanto likes to give it it’s own name, “The Woodchucker’s Ball.”
There will be plenty of cutting, splitting, stacking and chucking (?) of wood. The monks rely on a wood stove to heat the main building, so this work is a very critical task. Please consider helping out with the wood gathering or several other lighter tasks to prepare the Hermitage for winter.
You can
come for any part or all of the activities.
Information: contact the hermitage
Potluck Meal* — Arrive at 10:30 am (please tell dana coordinator if you’re participating) Work Party — About 1:00 – 3:00 pm Tea, Chat, Relax — Until 4:00 pm
*On Sunday, October 6, Sanghata will provide the meal for the monks. Sanghata, Board of Stewards for the Hermitage, will hold a meeting at the Hermitage for several hours that day.
PFoD Visit Oct. 18 – 20 Includes Walk to Feed the Hungry & Sunday Sila
The regular Friday night and Saturday morning monastic visit with Portland Friends of the Dhamma will extend also to Sunday and include two additional events: Walk to Feed the Hungry (Saturday) and Sunday Sila.
Friday — Casual tea (5:30 – 6:30 pm) and meditation / Dhamma talk (7 – 9 pm) Saturday — Meal offering (11:00 – noon), then Walk to Feed the Hungry (noon – 1 pm) Sunday — Sunday Sila meditation and Dhamma talk (10:00 – 11:30 am)
Visiting monks from Temple and Abhayagiri Monasteries at the 2019 Pah Bah.
This year’s Pah Bah was another lovely gathering on Saturday for a half-day of meditation and the Sunday meal offering and Pah Bah ceremony. Luang Por Pasanno led the retreat and ceremony, and a total of 13 monastics shared in the event.
We’ll include a more details and photos in an upcoming web post. To make sure you receive email updates or mailings, please fill out the “PACIFIC HERMITAGE LIST SIGN-UP”.
Sanghata, the board of stewards for the Pacific Hermitage, thanks everyone for their incredible generosity.
The Pah Bah (literally “forest cloth”) offering is an event organized by lay people to gather together to offer cloth, appreciate the monks’ dedication, and to request teachings on the Dhamma. It offers an opportunity for all to gather together as a Buddhist community in the traditional season of providing monks’ requisites and celebrating their role as bearers of the Dhamma.
Sept 7 Garden Party | Sept. 20 PFoD | Sept. 21 & 22: Retreat & Pah Bah (see update in Pah Bah article below)
Garden Party is September 7
Come to the Hermitage to share in a potluck meal and help finish yard work and preparations for our monastic Pah Bah guests. You can come for any part or all of the activities. Information: contact the hermitage
Potluck Meal — Arrive at 10:30 am (please tell dana coordinator if you’re participating) Work Party — About 1:00 – 3:00 pm Tea, Chat, Relax — Until 4:00 pm
Note: Bingen is having it’s Huckleberry Festival that weekend and traffic through Bingen on Hwy. 14 may be disrupted for a bit that morning by the festival parade. If you take Dock Grade Road from Hwy. 14 to White Salmon, you’ll avoid the parade.
Annual Pah Bah: Join us September 21 & 22
The big news for September is always the Pah Bah weekend, including a half-day meditation retreat on Saturday and the Pah Bah meal offering and traditional ceremony on Sunday. Details and schedule here. Twelve monks will join be here for the weekend, including Luang Por Pasanno, Ajahn Jayanto, Ajahn Karunadhammo, Ajahn Sek and Ajahn Caganando. Information: pahbah@sanghata.net
UPDATE: There will be a Children’s/Family Area downstairs during Sunday’s Pah Bah ceremony. No adult supervision or organized programs are planned, but there will be books, toys and games.
Friday Night at PFoD on September 20
The Pacific Hermitage monks will be joined by Luang Por Pasanno, Ajahn Jayanto, and several other visiting monastics from Abhayagiri and Temple Forest Monastery for their regular visit to Portland Friends of the Dhamma. Information at PFoD website. Note: Friday only. Saturday activities are cancelled, due to the Pah Bah retreat.
Water System Upgrades Underway
There has been quite a bit of trenching and laying of conduit over the past few weeks. The Hermitage water system is getting an upgrade. The new system will improve water flow to the existing building and landscaping, increase water storage capacity, allow for a back-up system and provide water for the future Abbot’s kuti and Retreat House.
North American Abbots Meeting September 4 – 11
Ajahn Sudanto will be away September 4-11, attending what is now a regular annual event. This gathering of abbots or senior monks from North American monasteries is hosted at a different monastery in the U.S. or Canada each year. This year it will be at Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Northern Ontario, Canada.
A lay community gathering to support the Pacific Hermitage.
Honored Guests
We’re honored to have Luang Por Pasanno back with us this year for the Pah Bah. Abbot Ajahn Jayanto and Ajahn Caganando from Temple Forest Monastery will also be joining us, along with Abhayagiri’s Co-Abbot Ajahn Karunadhammo, Ajahn Sek, and several more monastics from Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
Location: Mtn. View Grange, 1085 N Main Avenue, White Salmon, WA Saturday, September 21: Meditation retreat with the monks (half-day) Sunday, September 22: Almsround, meal offering, Pah Bah ceremony More information:pahbah@sanghata.net
Everyone is welcome. Come for any or all activities. It’s free. Donations are welcome, but not required.
Schedule for the Weekend
SATURDAY: Meditation Retreat
1:00-5:00 PM: Meditation Retreat Upstairs at Grange (door on Main Ave) Monks will lead sitting and walking meditation and offer Dhamma reflections. Chairs will be available, but please bring your own cushions if you want to sit on the floor.
SUNDAY: Family-Friendly, Food, Friends and Pah Bah Ceremony!
UPDATE: There will be a Children’s/Family Area downstairs during Sunday’s Pah Bah ceremony. No adult supervision or organized programs are planned, but there will be books, toys and games.
8:30-9:15 AM: Alms Round Jewett Blvd & Main Ave, White Salmon The monks will walk almsround starting on E. Jewett Blvd. at about 8:30 AM, then north on N. Main Ave., arriving at the Grange about 9:15 AM. All alms food will be put on the meal offering table.
10:30 AM: Meal Offering/Potluck Downstairs at Grange (door on Estes Ave) Please arrive no later than 10:30 AM, if you’re bringing food. Bring your food ready to serve, in your own serving bowl/plate, with your own serving utensil. The meal will be offered to the monks at about 11:00 AM. Please plan to take home any leftovers.
1:00-3:00 PM: PAH BAH CEREMONY Upstairs at Grange (door on Main Ave)
The Pah Bah ceremony includes the offering of robe cloth and material goods as well as monastic chanting and Dhamma reflections by senior monks. No meditation. Other languages may be spoken, but English will be the predominant language. This is a family-oriented event and you are free to come and go as you please. Chairs will be available. Please bring your own cushion if you want to sit on the floor.
A Pah Bah is a traditional Thai ceremony, originally to offer cloth for monks’ robes. In modern times, it has also become a gathering of friends (old and new!) for a potluck meal and offering needed material goods and monetary donations. Pah Bahs are initiated by members of the lay community, and Sanghata, the board of stewards for the Hermitage, helps organize the event. Children are welcome.
Volunteers appreciated — Help would be appreciated for setting up and taking
down chairs, tables, tents, etc. at these times: Sat. 9:00 AM –
noon, Sun. 9:00 – 10:30 AM, and Sun. 3:30 – 5:00 PM.
Contactpahbah@sanghata.net if you’d like to
help or have additional questions.
Offering Support for the Pacific Hermitage
Support comes in many shapes and
sizes — offering alms food or meals, material goods, transportation, gardening
skills, etc. Visit the Pacific Hermitage Support page
for more information. See below and visit Sanghata for
information on offering monetary support.
Financial offerings are welcome and
necessary — The Hermitage is funded entirely
by donations. Since Thai Forest Traditions monks are not allowed to
receive or handle money, donations and all financial matters are entrusted to a
lay board of stewards. For the Pacific Hermitage, that board is
Sanghata. They help you support the monks so the monks can focus on
practice, study and offering teachings.
For information about Sanghata,
Hermitage finances, or different methods of offering donations, please visit
the Sanghata
website, send an email, or
stop by the dana (donation) table at the Pah Bah. Regular monthly
offerings, small or large, are especially helpful for Hermitage planning and
budgeting.
Dana list (needed items) — To offer material goods, check out the dana list, oremailus for information. Please do not offer the items listed as “Not needed.” There is little storage space at the Hermitage, so excess quantities are given away. Gift cards are a helpful alternative. Hermitage stewards use them to buy items when they are needed. Amazon, Home Depot or Ace Hardware cards are most useful.
Pacific Hermitage Mailing List
Are you on our mailing list? Is your information current?
Please use the form on our website pages to sign up for event notices, informational emails and postal mailings. If your contact information has changed, you’ll need to fill in the form again.
