2018 Pah Bah Weekend: September 15 & 16

Events

Join us Saturday, September 15 for a half-day meditation retreat and Sunday, September 16 for the Pah Bah potluck, celebration and kids program.  Ajahn Karunadhammo, Ajahn Sek and several other monks from Abhayagiri Monastery will join Ajahn Sudanto for the weekend.  This is a free, family oriented event.  All are welcome!

Location:  Mtn. View Grange, 1085 N Main Avenue, White Salmon, WA.
Information:  Schedule and map below
Email:  pahbah@sanghata.net

Pah Bahs are initiated by members of the lay community to offer support to a monastery.   Sanghata, the board of stewards for the Hermitage, helps organize the event.  Everyone is welcome.   It’s free.   Donations are welcome, but not required.  Come for any or all of the activities.   Click here to see a three-minute slide show of a past Pah Bah!

Your Generosity Will Help Build an Abbot’s Kuti — Donations received for this year’s Pah Bah will help the Hermitage build a dedicated Abbot’s kuti (meditation hut).  The new kuti will be in a more secluded location and will incorporate a year-around walking path that is protected from inclement weather.  Any donations beyond what is needed for the abbot’s kuti will be held in reserve for future projects.

Schedule for the Weekend

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
1:00-5:00 PM:  Meditation Retreat
Upstairs at Grange (door on Main Ave)

Join Ajahn Sudanto, Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Sek for sitting and walking meditation, and Dhamma reflections.  Chairs will be available, but please bring your own cushions if you want to sit on the floor.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
8:30-9:15 AM:   Alms Round
Jewett Blvd & Main Ave, White Salmon

If you’d like to offer food to the monks while they are on alms round, they will be downtown on E. Jewett Blvd. at about 8:30 AM, then will walk north on N. Main Ave., arriving at the Grange about 9:15 AM.  All food will 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 a dish, and please 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) 

Children’s program, offering of robe cloth and material goods, some chanting, and reflections offered by senior monks.  No meditation.  Other languages may be spoken, but English will be the predominant language.  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.

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.  Contact pahbah@sanghata.net if you’d like to help or have additional questions.

Offering Support

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, or email us 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.

Map:  Grange and Extra Parking

Click on the map below for a clearer picture.

  • Grange:  1085 N Main Ave, White Salmon, WA 98672
    –  Downstairs entrance (for meal offering) is from Estes Ave.
    –  Upstairs entrance (for retreat and Pah Bah) from Main Ave.
  • Extra Parking at ICE:  If there’s no parking at the Grange, you can park at ICE, 1265 N Main Ave, White Salmon, WA 98672.  This company is located a couple of blocks north of the Grange.  Please:  NO SMOKING anywhere on their property.

Grange Map

2018 August News and Events

Events, News

UPDATE:  August 11 Half-day of Meditation has been cancelled.  All other regular monthly events (Garden Party and PFoD visit) and Tuesday night sits are on.  The monks will participate in an August 18 Walk to Feed the Hungry in Portland.  And, calling all woodswomen and woodsmen!

Could Use a Little Help in the Forest

Forest maintenance work earlier this year has left some cut wood that needs to be gathered and brush that needs to be pulled together into piles.  If you’re interested in helping, please come to the August 4 Garden Party or email the Hermitage to set up another day and time.  Your help would be much appreciated!

Regular Events

  • AUGUST 4 — Garden Party at the Hermitage. Time:  10:30 am – 4:00 pm.  You can come for any or all of the activities.  It’s a great way to see the Hermitage, help out in the yard, get to know some folks and have some fun!
    • 10:30 am:   Potluck meal (Tell the meal dana coordinator if you’re coming.)
    • 1 – 3 pm:   Yard work and other chores
    • 3 – 4 pm:   Tea and chat (until 4 pm)
  • CANCELED:  AUGUST 11 — Half-Day of Meditation

  • AUGUST 17 & 18 — Monks at Portland Friends of the Dhamma (PFoD) Friday evening, Saturday morning for the meal offering and Saturday afternoon for the Walk to Feed the Hungry.   The walk is in support of Buddhist Global Relief, chaired by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, which undertakes projects that provide food aid to people afflicted by malnutrition and starvation.  Click here for more information about the Portland schedule.
  • TUESDAY NIGHT SITS — Community Meditation, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, at Yoga Samadhi, White Salmon, WA.  Cushions & chairs available.

 

 

 

Ajahn Sucitto & Bhante Rahula in Early July

Events, News

Dates to Remember:  

  • JULY 3:  Monks will be back from Abhayagiri.
  • JULY 3 – 6:  Ajahn Sucitto at Yoga Samadhi (7/3) and Hermitage.
  • JULY 4 – 8:  Retreat with Bhante Rahula — REGISTRATION CLOSED.
  • JULY 9:  Bhante Rahula at Hermitage for meal.

Ajahn Sucitto Visits Hermitage July 3 – 6

Ajahn Sucitto is a senior monk of the Ajahn Chah tradition, former abbot of Chithurst Monastery, and a beloved and gifted teacher and writer.  He’ll arrive at the Hermitage on July 3, in time for the mid-day meal and will lead the regular Tuesday night meditation that night at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon, 6:30 – 8:00 PM.

Please check the Calendar for any changes to his daily schedule during his visit, and contact the meal dana coordinator if you would like to offer a meal during his stay.

Ajahn Sucitto plans to stay at the Hermitage until after the meal on July 6, then visit Portland Friends of the Dhamma that evening.  Learn more about Ajahn Sucitto by visiting his website.

Bhante Rahula Visits Hermitage July 9

Bhante Rahula will join the monks at the Hermitage for their meal on July 9.

Please contact the meal dana coordinator if you would like to join in the meal offering or have questions.  See previous post for more information about Bhante Rahula.

(Note:  The July 9 visit replaces the visit we previously had scheduled for July 3.)

 

A Wealth of Dhamma Talks and Videos Available

Free and Available!  There are many audio and video Dhamma talks from the Ajahn Chah lineage available online.  You can search for specific teachers, browse monastery websites for talks or reflections, or search YouTube  for teachers or monasteries.  Some teachers, such as Ajahn Sona, have their own YouTube channels.