We are delighted to welcome you to our new “responsive design” wesite.   Many thanks to Pam Johnson, Mary Helen Fein and Rev. Leon Kackman who worked so very hard to make this possible.   We are working out the inevitable bugs, so please let us know when and where you encounter them.   Please contact the Webmaster with your comments and concerns.

In spite of a drenching rain over the weekend, we welcomed 35 guests to the Feeding of the Hungry Ghosts Retreat October 27 – 30.  This offering of merit to those who have died in difficult circumstances includes the Segaki ceremony on Saturday, October 29.  Because of the rain, the usual Segaki Toro ceremony held on Saturday night was cancelled.  The weekend ended with the Founder’s Ceremony on Sunday, October 30, a lovely offering of gratitude to Rev. Master Jiyu’s teacher, Venerable Keido Chisan Koho Zenji, in whose name she founded Shasta Abbey in 1970.

Over the weekend of November 4-6, we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Rev. Master Jiyu’s death.  Monastic guests included Rev. Master Phoebe and Rev. Master Seikai from Pine Mountain Temple, Rev. Master Meido and Rev. Clairissa from Wallowa Buddhist Temple, and Rev. Oriana, from Eugene Buddhist Priory.  More than 70 lay friends attended the Saturday evening event honoring Rev. Master Jiyu’s life and the Sunday festival, a reflective ceremony of remembrance and gratitude.  Rev. Master Haryo, Head of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, was celebrant for that ceremony.  He offered the Dharma Talk, Reflections on Rev. Master Jiyu.  We are so grateful to Rev. Master for her legacy of Dharma, training and community.

Rev. Master Jisho, Rev. Vivian, and Rev. Lambert attended this year’s Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering, an annual gathering of about 40 monks across Buddhist traditions from all over North America.   This year the gathering was held at the Land of the Medicine Buddha, a center of the Federation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, in Soquel, CA, located in a steep canyon covered in redwood forest.  The theme was Monasticism 2080:  Sustaining Western Monasticism.  Talks were given daily on how Buddhist monasticism might be kept a live and vital institution, True to the Source, so that it will continue to be the lodestar for Buddhists of all traditions and walks of life. Talks were often followed by small group discussions in which we could explore themes more deeply.  There was also time to relax together, watching movies together, some of which showed traditional Buddhist monasteries in modern China.  There was plenty of time at meals and on walks for informal conversation and the cultivation of friendship, as well as the opportunity to learn a little of each others’ scriptures.  Those who attend find that this contact with the wider Sangha of monks is quite uplifting to our own faith and practice.

The informative booklet, Serene Reflection Meditation has been out-of-print for some time. We have just made available through Lulu.com, a print-on-demand publisher, a new edition of this excellent introduction to our practice. It contains most of the old articles and some new ones as well. Articles include teachings on how to bring the Buddha’s Teaching into all aspects of our lives and how we can live in harmony with ourselves and all living beings.  You can download this book for free here.  Currently you can  purchase a paperback copy through Lulu.com.  There will be copies of Serene Reflection Meditation in the Guest House that will be available for reading there. You can also purchase a copy at our Buddhist Supplies shop when you are visiting the Abbey.