Ajahn Brahmali Retreat & New Year Dhamma Galore!

Happy belated New Year greetings!

I hope you are well and that the new year provides an occasion to pause, breathe and reflect upon some of the things you have been grateful for in 2020. Looking back, we may recall a kind word or deed that lifted our spirits at a time when we were low, or perhaps recognise qualities that we have developed or strengthened within. Whilst entering a new year cannot in and of itself be a cause for change, it can invite us to lay down burdens or patterns that no longer serve ourselves or others and ask: "What do I truly wish to bring forth ~ into the world, into my life and into this moment right now?"

I had hoped to send this letter out a little closer the start of the year; however I have been fully engaged with teaching and only just finished organising the retreats and talks I am sharing with you here! We also welcomed some new volunteers to our organically-growing team and are delighted to have Ishani (as a second bookkeeper), Sue (as a new trustee), Madhu (in admin), and Reny, Leonie and Shirley, as additional co-hosts for Zoom Bhikkhuni! Thanks to all those who wrote in to us about the latter ~ we will definitely engage more of you as we go.

In this letter then, you will find Ajahn Brahmali's Jan 16th talk ~ and his 8-day May retreat (assisted by me, Ven Canda), several day retreats with me and Ajahn Brahm, my New Year Retreat videos, and news of an exquisite hibiscus wood statue that has been offered to Anukampa, of the Venerable Arahati Patacara Theri, (an enlightened bhikkhuni in the Buddha's day), along with the story of her Awakening. So, get a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy!

In an auspicious series of events, the above statue of the Great Arahati Venerable Patacara Theri was gifted to us for our current Residence and future Monastery. Described as "an exceptional one of a kind statue, simple and refined, carved from an ancient hibiscus tree," the statue was made in Bali, by Ida Bagus Anom, a father of two grown sons, who today I learned "...lives very simply, is modest, gentle and likes to laugh. His community would like him to become a priest and his presence is important at ceremonies. His energy, as well as the energy of the deities comes through in his carvings and.. joy arises when he knows the statue has come alive." I am told that joy happened for him with "our" Patacara, and I find the statue remarkable not only as a work of exquisite craftmanship, but for the profound serenity her features convey.

I saw her by chance in a post by Ayya Tathaaloka Theri, our senior-most Western Theravada Bhikkhuni living in the USA. Though I have seen many wooden and brass statues of female deities or goddesses (such as Tara and Kwan Yin), this was the first time I had laid eyes on a statue of one of the Awakened Bhikkhuni disciples whom I have read about in the early Buddhist texts ~ let alone one of such elegance! Seeing her immediately deepened my sense of connection to our historical bhikkhuni lineage and, as I imbibed the peace in her smile, I was struck with a visceral and spiritual clarity I had never before experienced, about why representation matters.

So, how did she come to be with us? Amazingly, the proprietor of the statue, Victoria, was known to Ayya Tathaaloka. When Ayya kindly explained that we were interested in whether the statue is available and told Victoria about Anukampa's aims, Victoria felt inspired. She wrote to Ayya: "I wanted her not be bought casually. I actually resisted making her available but she has a job to do! Thank you so much for helping her find the right home!"

Furthermore, Victoria decided to forgo any profit to help the emergence of the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha in Europe and the UK. Things continued to fall quickly into place, as offers of help poured in from American supporters (the retail outlet is in the USA), both known and unknown to me. My deepest gratitude goes out to our American friends Carudhamma Jo Ferris and Suruttama Ron Browning, who sponsored the statue, and to Deva, Garry and Ann, who sponsored her swift and safe transportation. Patacara found her new home in Oxford on 30th December and I felt such reverence and joy upon unpacking her, that I paid my respects all teary eyed!

The date of her arrival felt significant too. Ayya Tathaaloka, who is also a renown Buddhist historian, wrote to say: "How amazing that she arrives today on the very full moon anniversary of great Arahati Sanghamitta Theri and Arahati Anula-devi arriving in Anuradhapura with the southern branch sapling of the Bodhi Tree and a thousand strong newly-ordained Bhikkhuni Sangha ~2,270 years ago today. Both Patācārā and Sanghamittā were such outstanding proponents of the Dhamma and Vinaya-based Bhikkhunī life."

So, who was Venerable Patacara, and what can we learn from her life?

It may surprise you to know that Venerable Patacara was the teacher of another Venerable Canda (!) in the time of the Buddha, as well as over five hundred bhikkhunis, all of whom realised nibbana due to Patacara's superb teaching skills, which in my opinion may have developed at least in part as a consequence of the immense suffering she overcame to find peace.

The following is excerpted from a book "Stories Of The Elder Nuns (Bhikkhunis)" by Venerable Anandajoti Bhikkhu:

This nun disciple’s story is certainly one of the most memorable in Buddhist literature, and is also one of the most celebrated... Patacara was (re)born in a good family home in Sāvatthī. Against all family conventions, and outside of marriage she had a liaison with one of the household’s workers, fell in love and eloped, rather than marrying the man her family had arranged for her.

When she became pregnant she decided to go back to her family for help with the delivery, but her husband kept putting off the time for departure, and departing late she eventually had the child on the way. She therefore returned home with the child. A second time the same thing happened, and she gave birth on the road.

Just then a great storm blew up and she asked her husband to prepare a shelter, which he did. But as he went to get materials for a roof he was bitten by a cobra and died. When she discovered the body in the morning, she lamented but decided to continue to her parent’s home.

On the way, while crossing a ford, one of her children was snatched away by a hawk, and the other one was swept away by the current and drowned. She made it to the city, but only to find that her family home had collapsed during the storm, and all inside were lost and were awaiting their cremation. This meant that within one day she had lost husband, children, parents and siblings.

At that point she lost her mind completely, threw off her clothes and went around naked and senseless, until one day she met the Buddha who suffused her with loving-kindness and admonished her, whereat she regained her senses, covered herself up and listened to his Dhamma teaching.

The Buddha taught her with a memorable verse and she attained the First Stage of Awakening and ordained. In a story which is not included in this commentary, but is brought in here from another, while contemplating the fading away of water in the ground she gained insight, realised that life was impermanent, and attained Liberation.

Later the Buddha appointed her as the one who was foremost in bearing the discipline in mind. The connection of her story to her position is presumably because of her conversion from being a woman who refused to abide by the rules of society to one who later became the most diligent in Discipline.

She therefore appears as the counterpart of Ven. Upāli, who answered the questions on discipline at the First Recitation.

In The Therigatha (available for free download), she proclaims her Awakening:

5.10 Paṭācārā

Ploughing the fields,
sowing seeds in the ground,
supporting partners and children,
young men acquire wealth.

I am accomplished in ethics,
and I do the Teacher’s bidding,
being neither lazy nor restless—
why then do I not achieve quenching?

Having washed my feet,
I took note of the water,
seeing the foot-washing water
flowing from high ground to low.

My mind became serene,
like a fine thoroughbred steed.
Then, taking a lamp,
I entered my dwelling,
inspected the bed,
and sat on my cot.

Then, grabbing the pin,
I drew out the wick.
The liberation of my heart
was like the quenching of the lamp.

Translated by Bhante Sujato and Jessica Walton :-)

This afternoon I want to talk about loving kindness. Really, we have been talking about loving kindness over all three days because all these [wholesome] qualities are so interrelated. Somebody asked yesterday whether there is a place for cultivating and developing certain qualities ~ not only through the way we observe and relate, but as developments of the mind ~ and of course the answer is: “Yes.” That place is in the third and fourth factor of Right Effort: to maintain the wholesome states that have arisen and to increase them, bring them to fulfilment. I believe you cannot ever bring metta to fulfilment, in the sense that you can never have too much, so it is something that we can pursue to a great extent. The great teachers in the world ~ certainly, the ones I have known ~ are characterised by the power of their loving kindness, by the unconditionality of their love. It is the kind of love that really asks nothing in return. It is utterly amazing to meet people like this, who just give; who just love for the sake of loving; wanting nothing back from you at all, except of course they hope for your happiness. But even if you are not happy after years of them teaching you, they do not get upset, they do not get impatient or complain!

A snowy winter morning and sunrise in Lancashire, by Paul Michael Burton

Metta or loving kindness is one of the Brahma Viharas - the others are compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. The word brahma in this case is like a divine abiding. The word vihara means abode, so they are like divines resting places for the mind.

I wanted to read out a little quote by Thich Nhat Hanh. He is not someone I consider one of my teachers in the sense that I do not read him a lot, but sometimes I come across these quotes and they are so beautifully expressed. For anyone who is not aware of who he is, he is a Zen Master, very elderly now, maybe 94, and he may not be alive for much longer. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, so a great monk and an engaged Buddhist. He say:

“Your true home is something you have to create for yourself. When we know how to make peace with our body, take care of and release tension in our body, then our body becomes a comfortable peaceful home for us to come back to in the present moment. When we know how to take care of our feelings, how to generate joy and happiness and handle a painful feeling, we can cultivate and restore a happy home in the present moment. And when we know how to generate energies of understanding and compassion our home will become very cosy and a pleasant place to come back to. Home is not something to hope for but something to cultivate.”

This is the beauty of the mind; because it is malleable, because it is constantly changing, we have the possibility of influencing it and creating the inner home we feel can be a peaceful abiding; a Brahma Vihara for us to come back to again and again. And, with this cultivation of metta as a quality, I find that it starts to seep into the rest of my life and reinforce the right intentions. So, on the one hand you can infuse your awareness with metta and use metta as a way of relating, but also when you cultivate metta formally that feeds back into your intentions, that everything you do seems to be more readily coming from the place of metta. During my rains retreat (it was a summer retreat in the English climate zone!), I noticed that I was developing quite a lot of metta and that was translating into a much softer, more forgiving inner dialogue with myself. Maybe other people have noticed this too, but I find when I am a bit on edge or feeling a bit rushed, I tend not to take care of my surroundings as well, (the Residence gets a bit messy, things get a bit neglected), whereas when I am in touch with myself and I have got a lot of metta I tend to go that bit further to really take care of myself and my environment. It is nice to notice how much space metta gives you for that, and how taking care of the heart translates into taking care of everything around you, including the people around you as well.

I also feel that metta can be fuelled, enriched, or even caused by gratitude. Gratitude is a beautiful quality that is really encouraged by the Buddha to develop in our heart... read the full article here, for more stories about metta and instructions on loving kindness meditation.

In the company of friends, on Christmas day in rural Oxfordshire ~ friendship is a precious gift

"May we be at ease in our bodies, feeling the ground beneath our seat and feet,

May we be attentive and gentle toward our own discomfort and suffering,
May we be attentive and grateful for our own joy and well-being
May we move towards others freely and with openness
May we receive others with sympathy and understanding."

Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project

16 Blenheim Close

Shepreth

Royston, SG8 6PT

United Kingdom

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Next Up: "The View That Frees"

Ajahn Brahmali, Sat 16th Jan: 12 - 1.30 pm GMT

Regular - and Novel - Zoomi Bhikkhuni Teachings!

(January to March)

Three Upcoming One-Day Retreats:

~ with both Ven Canda and Ajahn Brahm!

1. "Rejoicing in Mudita" Ven Canda: Sat, Jan 23rd: 9.30 - 16.30 GMT, for Oxford Insight

2. "Power Mindfulness" Ven Canda: Sat, March 20th: 9.30 - 5pm GMT, for Bristol Insight ~ N.B. this is extremely likely to be moved online!

3. "The Calm In The Eye Of The Storm" Ajahn Brahm & Ven Canda: Thurs 25th March, 8.30 am - 5pm GMT

A New Arrival At Our Oxford Bhikhuni Residence!

~Lessons from Ven Patacara's Life and Awakening

Ajahn Brahmali & Ven Canda Retreat: 16th - 23rd May

"Why?"

(Suffering & It's End)

"At Peace Through Metta & Gratitude"

by Ven Canda, transcribed by Lia Lalli from a talk on 31st Dec 2020

At Peace With Experience: NY Retreat Videos

Ven Canda, 29th to 31st Dec 2020