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Abhayagiri Monastery

Abhayagiri Monastery: Encyclopedia - Abhayagiri Monastery

Abhayagiri is the name of a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in Redwood Valley, California. It is located approximately 15 miles north of Ukiah. In Pali, the name means "Fearless Mountain". The seeds for the monastery's existence were laid in the 1980s when the senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho, developed a following through periodic visits to California. The Sanghapala Foundation was set up in 1988, for the purp ...

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Abhayagiri Monastery - External link

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Abhayagiri Monastery: Encyclopedia - Abhayagiri Monastery

Abhayagiri Monastery

Abhayagiri is the name of a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in Redwood Valley, California. It is located approximately 15 miles north of Ukiah.

In Pali, the name means "Fearless Mountain".

The seeds for the monastery's existence were laid in the 1980s when the senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho, developed a following through periodic visits to California. The Sanghapala Foundation was set up in 1988, for the purpose of creating a branch monastery of Ajahn Chah's lineage.

The monastery's grounds were deeded to the Sanghapala Foundation by the followers of Venerable Hsuan Hua as he approached his death, a Chinese Mahayana teacher and abbot of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas located in Ukiah. Followers of Venerable Hua offered 120 acres of land to the followers of Ajahn Chah, in the mountains of Redwood Valley. It is on this ground that the monastery now sits.

As of June 26, 2005 there are 11 monks in permanent residence. There are two abbots (Ajahns Pasanno and Amaro), one Samanera, and one Anagarika. In addition, teachers from locations as diverse as rural Thailand and urban Britain are hosted periodically.

The daily schedule, in keeping with the tradition, is very rigorous. Most residents (temporary lay residents and permanent monastics alike) rise well before sunrise, usually no later than 4:30 in the morning. There is a morning puja at 5:00 that lasts an hour and a half, followed by a half hour chore period and a breakfast of oatmeal. Three hours of physical labor follow breakfast, ending at lunch. Following lunch is free time to be used for studying, meditating, and/or walking the extensive network of handmade trails that wind about the mountainside. After time for personal practice, at approximately 5:00, evening tea is served, followed occassionaly by a Dhamma reading and later by another puja. On Lunar Observance days (which mark the four moon quarters) evening puja lasts until 3:00 the following morning.

Male residents live in kutis, comparatively primitive shacks nestled in the forest, whereas female residents (currently, there are no nuns) live in a house that was donated to the monastery, increasing the property owned by the Sangha.

Currently, a number of large construction projects are underway at the monastery in order to provide more rooms for the laity, extra bathrooms, and other necessities.

The monastery offers a wide variety of books and audio cds on Theravada Buddhism for free distribution, which can be obtained off the website, by mail (if the requester includes shipping costs) or in the Guest House of the monastery proper. It also publishes a newsletter, Fearless Mountain, also for free distribution. It can be obtained electronically from the monastery's website or in printed form via mail or again at the monastery itself.