2004 Gallery
Meditation Hall Exterior Completed – September 2004
The photos are of the front, as seen coming up the drive way and then of the other three sides…Isn’t it gorgeous? Once we make the outside neater (e.g. empty the kerosene into the tank so the barrels aren’t there, grade the gravel, etc.) it’ll look even better. We’re still working on the inside, so photos of that will follow.
Venerable Jendy Enjoys First Visit – August 2004
Ten people from Chi Yuan Temple in Seattle, headed by Ven. Jendy, visited the Abbey in August. Venerable Jendy is a member of the Sravasti Abbey Advisory Board
Panchen Otrul Rinpoche Visits The Abbey – July 2004
Rinpoche was teaching in Coeur d’Alene and we invited him to visit. Although his hosts had told us that he wanted to rest that day, when he heard about the abbey, he decided to come. We were very happy! He and Ven. Margery, his assistant, are doing incredible work in Mongolia helping people there.
Khensur Rinpoche Blesses Abbey Land – June 2004
On June 13, 2004, in conjunction with an Open House for supporters and neighbors of Sravasti Abbey, Khensur Rinpoche blessed the Abbey land.
To purify and bless the environment, we took a mirror to a high point on the property. We did this because it’s hard to go everywhere on the property physically to purify and bless it.
The reflection in the mirror reminds us of emptiness and dependent arising, and at the same time, serves as the image of the land. In the upper meadow, we then turned the mirror around, 360 degrees, thinking that every part of the land was now reflected in it.
We then returned to the abbey where Khensur Rinpoche invoked all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas onto the “land” in the mirror. We made offerings to them, and so forth, to accumulate positive potential. Then, because Khensur Rinpoche wanted to see more of the land, we drove him around. During the drive, the mirror was again turned, this time returning the purified and blessed image to the actual environment.