Greetings,
Aranya Refuge organizers are encouraged by the positive response to Aranya Refuge’s Spring Monastery for a Month, held from March 16 to April 15, 2024.
The temporary monastery was held at Earthspring Sanctuary, a retreat centre 40 minutes from Victoria, BC. Earthspring provided a suitable wilderness refuge for our visiting Wat Metta monks, Ajaan Peter and Taan Will.
There were 35 overnight guests and 17 day visitors. Most weeks, we were at full capacity. The number of participants was slightly higher in comparison to Aranya Refuge’s November 2022 Monastery for a Month when Taan Ajaan Geoff and Taan Mike were our monks-in-residence.
Ajaan Peter and Taan Will alternated leading the morning chanting and meditation gatherings. In the early evening, Ajaan Peter answered questions and led the evening chanting and meditation. Both Ajaan Peter and Taan Will played dhamma talks from Taan Ajaan Geoff that reflected the questions from participants.
Some highlights:
For the first time, Aranya Refuge marked Songkran, a celebration of the Thai New Year. This was led by Salisa Suddhisanont from Langford, BC. Two Buddha statues were bathed with scented water. Participants were then invited to pour the scented water over the monks’ hands. The water was then offered to trees outside of the sala.
A black bear visited twice. See the video of a determined bear here. The day we departed, the caretakers removed all garbage from the premises to discourage further visits from the bear. You can read Taan Ajaan Geoff’s instructions for “bear awareness” at the bottom of this email.
Most evenings, we went to sleep with a chorus of frogs. Listen here.
Here are some more photos and videos from the month.
Aranya Refuge organizers appreciate all the participants who helped ensure the monks and guests were well-fed, and that other monastery operations ran smoothly. We cleaned, made areas more orderly, and did our best to deal with mice and ants. 🐁🐜
We are also very grateful to those who offered food, groceries, services, and financial dana. The Board also wishes to thank the volunteer Registration team: Suzan Denis, Cameron Young, Irfan Pirbhai, June Fukushima
Plans for 2025 Winter Monastery (for 2 Months)
To continue our exploration for establishing a Vancouver Island monastery, the Board of Directors will organize a two-month temporary monastery in Feb and March 2025.
We will rent two houses in Sooke, BC on adjacent properties. One house will be for the monks to reside, and the second house will be used for the sala, kitchen, dining, and rooms for overnight guests. Sooke is one hour west of Victoria, BC.
A creek runs through the property, and a forested area is within walking distance.
This option allows for more Wat Metta monks to come, and there will be a longer period of time for guests to visit the monastery. The costs are within our budget.
Registrations for the 2025 monastery will open in the fall of 2024. More information will be shared in future updates. If you have questions, please contact us at info@aranyarefuge.org
August 17-18 Teachings from Taan Ajaan Geoff
Topic: Stream Entry
Aranya Refuge and the Victoria Insight Meditation Society will co-host a weekend of teachings from Taan Ajaan Geoff. Registrations will open July 22, 2024 through the Victoria Insight Meditation Society.
A large meeting room at the University of Victoria has been rented. Our intention is to make this a hybrid retreat so that participants can join via Zoom.
Anumodana for supporting the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
Aranya Refuge Board of Directors:
Taan Ajaan Geoff
Jacqui Balfour
Brock Brown
Russ Callaghan
June Fukushima
Irfan Pirbhai
Now, the Buddha realized that simply giving instructions in generosity, virtue, and meditation would not cover every situation in life. It’s important that you also learn the skills to judge for yourself what is skillful in the areas where clear-cut rules don’t apply, or two good general principles would pull you in opposite directions. So he also gave instructions on how to train yourself to judge situations wisely for yourself.
I’ll give an illustration of this principle. If you ever go to Alaska, you’ll discover that there are bears. Most of the people who encounter bears in Alaska have no previous experience with bears. They don’t understand bears’ habits or the etiquette of bears. Bears do have their etiquette, you know. So, in order to train strangers in how to deal with bears, the Alaskan government used to post big signs around the state, entitled, “Bear Awareness.” It's a joke in English that doesn’t work in French, because the word “bear” in “bear awareness” can also be “bare.” The signs listed ten points to remember when encountering bears. I can’t remember all ten, but the first nine gave specific do’s and don’ts. For example, if you see a bear, do not run away. Even if the bear runs at you, do not run off. Instead, raise your hands so that you look large to the bear—bears have very poor eyesight—and stand your ground. At the same time, speak to the bear in a calm, reassuring voice, to let the bear know that you mean it no harm. If the bear attacks you, lie down and play dead. Usually the bear will lose interest and walk away.
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
A Healthy Sense of Self, May 24 2011
