UPDATE: The monks will now return 1/12 or 1/13, due to weather related problems.
Ajahn Sudanto and Tan Kondañño will soon leave a cold and snowy Birken Forest Monastery (British Columbia) … and return to a cold and snowy Hermitage! (In fact, we’ll have to see if this weather allows them to return on Jan. 11th.)
A warm welcome to both!
Meet Venerable Kondañño
Welcome to Tan Kondañño! He will be staying at the Hermitage at least through the end of Winter Retreat. Originally from Pittsburgh, Tan Kondañño’s first exposure to the Dhamma was in the late 90’s at Mt. Baldy Zen Center, CA. After a short stint with Zen, he began attending Goenka Vipassana courses, and in 2009, he moved to California to help develop the Northern California Vipassana Center. In 2011, he began visiting Abhayagiri Monastery to diversify and deepen his practice. He ordained there as a Bhikkhu on June 5, 2016.Honoring Monastic Winter Retreat (Dec. 1 – Feb. 28)
During the monastic Winter Retreat, monks live in greater silence and focus more on meditation and study. It’s a time for them to recharge and deepen their practice.
We gently ask folks to honor the monks’ Winter Retreat. One way to do this is by curtailing unnecessary speech. Good news, though — Tuesday night meditation in White Salmon still offers a venue for Dhamma questions and discussions, so please feel free to bring your questions there!
Offering Alms and Meals
Another gentle reminder, this time about offering food. The monks eat one meal each day from food offered to them each morning. This type of support is needed daily.
Food may be offered to the monks as alms or meals. While several local families regularly offer food to the monks while they walk on alms round through White Salmon (nearly every morning), and various friends in the region bring meals to the Hermitage, more support is always needed and welcome. The monks rely primarily on alms food during the week and meals offered on the weekends at the Hermitage.
For some, offering food to the monks is simply a joyful act. For others, it may reflect their appreciation for the teachings or just being able to connect and talk with monastics (quite a rare situation in the US!). In any case, offering food is an act of generosity that truly gladdens the heart … of both giver and receiver!