August, 2019
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
On April 19, 2019, Rev. Trahearn Platt received Dharma Transmission from Rev. Master Meian.
On June 13 and 14, 2019, we had postulant entry ceremonies for Mike Summers and Arunima Dhar.
We wish all three well in their training.
In mid-June Rev. Vivian returned from a six-month stay at Throssel Abbey, and at the end of June she left Shasta Abbey, first to lead a retreat at the Bear River Meditation Group, and then to spend some time in retreat at Wallowa Buddhist Temple. We had a farewell community tea in which we expressed our gratitude for her many years of training with us. We wish her all the best as she takes this next step in her training.
MONASTIC GUESTS
Rev. Valeria Allison of the Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in Canada spent several months with us over the summer, and for three weeks in June we welcomed Ven. Woo Sang Sunim, a monk in the Korean Zen tradition. She is presently enrolled in the chaplaincy program at the University of the West, affiliated with Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles. We appreciated both monks’ help in various monastic offices.
CEREMONIES
On May 25, 2019, we had a blessing ceremony for Susan Rathbun’s new service dog, Drake. She and her partner came from Klamath Falls for the event. On June 8, 2019, we held our annual Great Compassion Vigil, to which we invite our local Mount Shasta community. The ceremony offers prayers for peace and harmony in the world; Rev. Helen, the Prior at the Redding Zen Buddhist Priory, played the organ and brought several Priory members with her for the service.
RETREATS
Our summer retreat program began on June 16, 2019, with Rev. Master Meian’s week-long Teachings from the Lotus Sutra Retreat. Each day she offered a talk on a theme from the Scripture: faith, skillful means, parables, prediction of Buddhahood, Buddha Nature, and the Bodhisattva. July saw the third year for our three-week lay intensive: we had seven to eight guests who joined our lay residents for a total of 12-14 participants. All seemed to find it meaningful and helpful and expressed a wish to return. During the lay intensive Rev. Master Kodo offered an extended week-end retreat on The Merit of Lay Training in Troubled Times, which was well-attended. Then in August Rev. Master Serena along Rev. Master Oriana from the Eugene Buddhist Priory jointly offered a week-long retreat on The Mind that Seeks the Way.
GROUP VISITS
We hosted several group visits over the summer.In June Saul Bardofsky and the international Dervish Healing Order of Sufis took a break from their summer camp at College of the Siskiyous in Weed to join us for lunch. As usual on their annual visit, they chanted The Heart Sutra and danced around Rev. Master Jiyu’s stupa. As Saul was instrumental in helping Rev. Master Jiyu locate and acquire the Abbey property, the group feels a strong connection to the monastery.
Sufi friends at Stupa
On July 20, 2019, we were visited by long-time friend Rev. Heng Sure, four monks, and forty lay people affiliated with Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The group stopped in for lunch on their way home from a summer camp in western Oregon.
On August 3, 2019, we hosted an annual visit of Vietnamese devotees from the San Francisco Bay Area. As usual they brought an abundance of offerings and the sheer joy of being here. We joined them in chanting and bowing in the Buddha Hall, Rev. Master Meian gave a short Dharma talk, and then we all had a meal together in the picnic area. We are always touched and humbled by their devotion, faith, and long-time commitment to the Buddha Way.
11th GLOBAL BUDDHISM CONFERENCE: “What’s After Mindfulness?” Urban Retreat.
Several Abbey monks participated in this event held on the University of California Berkeley campus June 29 – 30, 2019. This was the first time the Conference has come to the US and was envisioned as “a big Dharma and Sangha Dana offering to our diverse greater Buddhist community and seekers…” Berkeley Buddhist Priory and Shasta Abbey shared an information booth; Rev. Master Ando, with Rev. Dilys’s assistance, led a workshop on “Buddhist Chanting to Western Sacred Music”; and Rev. Master Kinrei offered a short talk on meditation and led a meditation period afterwards. Both events were well received and attended.
Chant workshop at global conference
SHASTA ABBEY PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT
Shasta Abbey Press is pleased to announce that Rev. Master Jiyu’s book How to Grow a Lotus Blossom is back in print. It is available through Lulu.com.
BUDDHA HALL CUPBOARDS
In August we installed new beautifully crafted cupboards on the south side of the Buddha Hall. These enable us to offer lay trainees the opportunity to stay at the monastery in a fashion similar to monks living in the meditation hall. As part of a driveway widening project at the Fugen Hermitage, Rev. Master Chosei felled the trees and milled them for lumber to construct the cupboards. Entailing many hours of finish work, Rev. Master Jisho and a number of lay sangha helped complete the project.
