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Aug ’24: Monastic Retreat, New Photo Album, Upcoming Events & More!

Aug 21, 2024 | Newsletters

This summer has brought with it a series of celebrations, all displayed in the new photo album on the Clear Mountain website. As the season’s activity settles, Clear Mountain’s monastics are entering a month of retreat, complete with increased Zoom meditation session times, and a new mid-day Zoom meditation open to all.

 

Several exciting events are currently scheduled for when monastic retreat finishes in September, including a 5-day residentail retreat on Samish Islant with Bellingham Insight co-led by Ayya Anandabodhi and Ajahn Kovilo, an afternoon outing co-hosted by both Clear Mountain Monastery and Forterra, and a retreat in Winthrop, WA guided by Ajahn Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo. You may read the update on the website here.

 

As summer stills, we look forward to autumn’s harvest!

 

May all beings be well.

From mid-August until mid-September, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho will each take a month-long period of retreat. The Buddha praised periods of solitude as special opportunities to cultivate formal practice, and such periods represent a central support for the monastic life. The monastics will still be present for Saturday Gatherings, Wednesday Evening sessions, and new Sunday “Mission Majjhima!” study group sessions, but access to them outside of those times will be limited.

 

For the month-long period of retreat, morning and evening Zoom meditations have been extended, and a new, midday meditation session added. Click this link or the button below to learn more!

Summer brought Clear Mountain many occasions to celebrate, from the annual Robe Offering Ceremony, to visits from monastic brothers and sisters! The community even got to welcome Ajahn Kovilo back to Seattle after his graduation from Dharma Realm Buddhist University – Sadhu!

Join Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho for an afternoon of meditation and teachings as part of a collaboration with Forterra Land Trust, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm on Saturday, September 21st, at Hazel Wolf Wetlands in Sammamish, WA (24733 248th Ave SE
Sammamish, WA 98075) after Clear Mountain’s usual Saturday gathering.

Join Ayya Anandabodhi & Ajahn Kovilo for a five-day residential retreat, hosted by Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS) on Samish Island, Tuesday, Sept. 24th to Sunday, Sept. 29. Note that Clear Mountain’s weekly Saturday gathering in Seattle will still be held as usual with Ajahn Nisabho hosting.

The Buddha described many routes towards cultivating the spacious heart and mind, from developing a sense of boundless compassion to the perception of infinite space. Ajahn Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo will offer talks, meditation instructions, and interviews. Join for two days of meditation and teachings, 9 am – 5 pm on Saturday, Oct. 5th, and Sunday, Oct. 6th, at the Twisp Valley Grange in Twisp, WA (344 W 2nd Ave, Twisp, WA). Note that Clear Mountain’s weekly Saturday gathering in Seattle will still be held as usual with Ajahn Kovilo present. To learn more, click this link or the button below. To register, email cascadehermitage@gmail.com.

Clear Mountain happily invites you to join in “Mission Majjhima!”, an online, ongoing, onward-leading (opanayiko) sutta study series meeting every Sunday from 5 – 6 pm PT. Each week – over the course of 152 weeks – a new 9-minute video will be premiered at 5 pm as part of the 9-Minute Majjhima playlist on the Clear Mountain Youtube Channel, featuring Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho discussing each of the 152 Discourses of the Majjhima Nikāya, the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (full schedule & translations here). Immediately following each week’s YouTube premier, all are invited to join the discussion of that week’s Sutta via Zoom (link). To maximize the quality of the group discussion, we recommend that participants read the week’s sutta ahead of time. Discussion may also occur at other times on Clear Mountain’s Discord server. The full event listing may be found here.