July 2022
Greetings from winterly Wat Buddha Dhamma, 10 Mile
Hollow, Wisemans Ferry, NSW 2775, Australia; www.wbd.org.au
Here in the southern hemisphere we are
experiencing Winter, which is also the time of the traditional Buddhist 'Rainy
Season'. Fortunately, at Wat Buddha Dhamma winter is not too extreme, with most
mornings around 3 – 5C and sunny afternoons in the upper teens. Ironically, it
is also the dry season.
This year we may only have a small
Sangha due to some health issues and a serious delay in receiving a requested
visa.
I have been reminded that it has been
nearly 6 months since my last Blog update. I will not claim it as an excuse,
but part of the reason was that not much has happened in the last 6 months –
'nothing to write home about', as the saying goes. The other part of my delay
is that, for the early half of that time, I have been quite preoccupied with
applying the finishing touches to my book. Now, with the final comments from my
diligent proofreaders, Theresa and Grant, the enduring patience of Sharon for
layout and Melinda for production of the ebook, it is now ready for reading.
Copies can be downloaded from the monastery website: www.wbd.org.au/news/book
In March, we were once again 'flooded
in' with both the ferry down and the northern route along the river under water
for ten days. Ari, one of our long term lay women, was eager to leave for a
flight to Sri Lanka. The only option, other than walk 10 km over the hills, was
to hire a helicopter for an airlift out. This was doubly helpful as it allowed
some fresh vegetables to be flown in and Yuliana as a replacement cook to join
us in our maroonment! Shortly after, several of us were obliged to have a
picnic lunch in the park next to the ferry dock and had to clear debris off the
picnic tables before eating. Various forms of debris, including an old mattress,
clothing and driftwood indicated that the area was about two meters under water
at some point. We are happy to live nearly 100 meters above the river level!
And … just as I am uploading this blog,
we are once again ‘flooded in’. No big problems for us. The weekend retreat has
had to be cancelled, some of the tracks are more washed out and the low lying bridge
to the old garden has once again washed away – this time 100 meters downstream.
One of our guests is marooned here while another guest, who hiked in from
Wisemans Ferry five days ago, decided to hike our over the hills to Mangrove
Mountain – 4 ½ hours in the rain!
With the lifting of the Covid
restrictions it is now possible to travel. I thus stirred myself from inertia
and three of us took a road trip to Victoria. The main reason was to attend the
Grand Opening of the Dhamma Sala at Vimokharama Monastery in the Dandenong
ranges, east of Melbourne. This project has been in progress for the last eight
years and Ajahn Hasapanyo and his disciples have done a superb job of
re-establishing the site as an ongoing monastery after the original house was
burned down.
Our trip to Victoria also allowed us to
visit Ajahn Sudhammo at the new monastery, Nigrodarama, just north of
Melbourne. Unfortunately, he was not able to extend his visa before it expired
and has now returned to Thailand to re-apply for a return whenever it is
granted. Ajahn Bom, another monk from Ajahn Dtun's monastery in Thailand, is
keeping the place warm over the southern winter.
On the return journey we followed the
coastal route which involved an overnight stop at a camp ground where we were
able to view the sunrise over the Tasman Sea. Australia is such a huge country
– continent actually – that it really requires many days to appreciate the
natural beauty and diversity of the landscape. It takes more than a few hours
to absorb the effects of majestic rocky headlands pounded by the crashing surf
or the endless expanse of pristine, sun-drenched beaches.
Ajahn Khemavaro has made good use of the
opportunity to travel with visits to Thailand, Indonesia and USA, as well as
several trips to various Buddha in the Bush properties. After a rereat in
Brisbane, much interest was expressed in establishing a local Vietnamese
Theravada monastery. With much enthusiasm and energy a 360 acre property was
located one hour west of Brisbane and the down payment was quickly raised.
Dhammachakkha Forest Monastery will be the first Vietnamese Theravada monastery
in Australia, although still in the early stages of development.
One of the teachings of Ajahn Chah which
I have been reflecting upon recently was triggered off by a discussion I had
with one of our recent guests. This is the teaching that Dukkha
(unsatisfactoriness or suffering) is our teacher. The more I contemplate this
simple teaching the more profound it becomes. If I had only heard this teaching
when I was young it would have saved me so much (unneccessary) suffering!
Most of us, unfortunately, waste so much
time and energy denying, avoiding or trying to escape from suffering. If we
could just transform this energy into studying suffering we would not only save
a lot of wasted effort, but learn some valuable lessons in the process.
Of course, Ajahn Chah was giving this
teaching within the context of the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths.
These truths tell us that suffering is a fundamental reality of life and this
experience has a definite cause which can be brought to an end through a
detailed practice of spiritual development.
I think the main reason why most people
do not try to study suffering is that they do not know that there is a path of
practice to transcend suffering – the Eightfold Path. Without a way out,
suffering seems like a very unpleasant deadend. And, while not exactly easy, by
studying suffering we can gradually learn to free ourselves from this
self-created condition.
The tools are now within our hands.
Wishing you
all good health, well-being and the peace of Liberation.
Australia Rock -- can you see the outline of Australia?
