Dear Friends,

The polar vortex has reached our corner of Washington State, bringing icy temperatures with simultaneous bright blue clear skies and sun.

Looking at the Milky Way at night expands our minds to think of so many different life forms on our planet and in space. We wish all of them well, especially those who lost their homes in floods and fires.

We are also experiencing the shock waves from the change in administration in the U.S. May we increase our compassion and wisdom to bring temporary and ultimate benefit to all beings and to ward off alarm and despair.

Enjoy scenes of Abbey life.

Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron and the Sravasti Abbey Community

PS—Late-breaking news: We have the Buddha Hall occupancy permit! See Ven. Chodron’s announcement.

2025 Vajrasattva New Year’s Retreat

About 50 people packed into Chenrezig Hall’s dining room to welcome the new year with a five-day Vajrasattva retreat. Ven. Sangye Khadro skillfully led us through the Vajrasattva practice, then taught nine sessions on Lama Tsongkhapa’s most concise lamrim text, Three Principal Aspects of the Path.

She shared Tsongkhapa’s unflinching description of the threats of cyclic existence, which helped to fuel our purification practice. Then she carefully explained his verses on the power to overcome it by developing bodhicitta and the wisdom realizing the ultimate nature.

The text and her clear teachings gave us plenty to think about, beginners and long-time students alike. She also fielded many questions, some of which spilled over into the bhikshuni-led Q&As and group discussions. All teaching sessions are on YouTube.

To support people’s learning, newcomers were led in the Vajrasattva sadhana, while experienced meditators enjoyed silent sessions. All sessions were enhanced with analytic meditations related to the day’s teachings.

 Although the Buddha Hall was still not quite finished, Abbey residents and guests were able to welcome 2025 with 108 ceremonial rings of the new Buddha Hall temple bell.

We ended with prayers for the Dharma to flourish, for peace in the world, and the hope that this Vajrasattva retreat is our last one in the dining room!

See more photos from the retreat.

2024 Singapore Teaching Tour Wrap-Up

Ven. Chodron’s teaching tour in Singapore concluded with a series of teachings on the four immeasurables of love, compassion, equanimity, and joy at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery.

She led a daylong retreat on Living in the Modern World with Love and Compassion. You can listen to part one of the talk here and part two here. Her final talk on Facing Difficulties with Joy and Equanimity saw a full house that rejoiced in the opportunity to receive weeks of teachings from a beloved teacher.

We’ve also posted a Q&A session that she gave at a private home during the teaching tour. We’ll let you know when her Pureland Marketing teachings are up. Watch her other Singapore teachings on this YouTube playlist.

 During the trip, Vens. Chodron, Damcho, and Konchog had a chance to make many offerings. Several people offered them many socks, so they brought about half of them back to the Abbey and gave the rest to nuns at a Sakya nunnery in Nepal (pictured at right). See the thank you video they sent.

They also made offerings to a nunnery in Myanmar that works to improve the nuns’ education and runs a school for children. A monk who invited them to lunch at his temple in Taiwan also runs a Montessori school in a rural village in India; they were happy to contribute to that too.

They made offerings to their hosts at temples in Taiwan and Singapore and gave gifts to the Friends of Sravasti Abbey Singapore and Pureland Marketing volunteers at a grand lunch to celebrate the Abbey’s 21st anniversary and Pureland’s 26th anniversary. May both organizations flourish for eons and benefit sentient beings!

Buddha Hall

The biggest news—we received the occupancy permit for the Buddha Hall on January 29!

Thanks to each one of you who gave time, talent, offerings, prayers and mantra recitations to bring the vision of a Buddha Hall at Sravasti Abbey to life. The Abbey re-opens in March. Come join us in the Buddha Hall!

Infratructure

Although work slowed down over the winter holidays, it picked up in the new year. The good news is that our septic system received approval by the county health department and our HVAC system is now heating all the various rooms in a balanced manner.

When we’re in a building, we tend to take these infrastructure issues for granted, but in construction they are often complex and can either hold a project back or let it continue smoothly.

Furnishing

Meanwhile, we have begun furnishing the Buddha Hall. Ven. Semkye has found some very nice used furniture for the teachers’ wing and an office. She also found some large, comfy chairs for people to curl up and read in the library.

And, listen to this: Ven. Ngawang bought 39 seven-foot double bookshelves for the library in good condition at a public auction for $200! Yes, you read that right. The shipping cost was a bit more—$6,000, but all together it was a bargain.

We had a community “swarm” to unload them from the two huge trucks that managed to get up the hill to the Abbey on the icy road and arrange the shelves in the library. We had a lot of fun doing this, and there was good cheer in the cold weather. Enjoy the photos.

 Pujas

The community has already been doing our fortnightly Guru Pujas and monthly Tara Puja in the Buddha Hall. It’s wonderful to practice together there.

Several monastics are learning a morning and evening chant done in Chinese monasteries which are performed with the large bell and drum in the Main Hall. The drum is stirring, and chanting—done in English to Chinese Buddhist melodies—is moving.

The lyrics of the prayers speak of compassion and peace in society, as well as good weather and good crops in the environment. They remind me (Ven. Chodron) of one of the lines in Shantideva’s dedication, “May people think of benefiting each other.”

May we take those few words, so short but so difficult to practice, into our hearts, and may they influence our actions.

Chenrezig Winter Retreat

While negotiating all the activity and excitement with the Buddha Hall, the simultaneous Chenrezig and Vajrasattva retreats carry on. Most people are doing several meditation sessions daily, while enjoying a feast of teachings on dependent arising, emptiness, and bodhicitta from Gen Rinpoche Geshe Thabkhe, Ven. Chodron, and Ven. Sangye Khadro, respectively.

Watch Bodhisattva’s Breakfast Corner talks by Abbey residents on the Chenrezig Retreat YouTube playlist.

For everyone, but especially people doing Retreat from Afar, watch Ven. Chodron’s beautiful short commentary on the request prayer to 1000-armed Chenrezig.

2025 Retreat from Afar

Two hundred-eighty-nine people from 41 countries are participating in this year’s Chenrezig Retreat from Afar (RFA). It began January 4 and runs through March 22.

Practicing at home, retreatants commit to do at least one Chenrezig practice session daily for up to three-months. They receive a weekly e-teaching related to the practice with readings, links to more resources, and opportunities for group meditation practice.

Between 40-70 people have been gathering on Zoom with the Lay Practitioner Practice Group on Saturdays, where an Abbey monastic leads the early morning practice.

In addition, 89 people in prison are doing the RFA. The Abbey supports over 1,000 men and women in prisons across the USA, sending letters, books, malas, and a quarterly newsletter, in addition to the opportunity to join in RFA. You can support the prison project, especially costs of mailing retreat practice materials, on the Abbey Donate page. Select Prison Dharma Fund from the dropdown menu.

Learn more about RFA and sign up for the remaining two months of retreat.

Live International Teachings

Ven. Sangye Khadro returns to Singapore in March for teachings at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, where she was resident teacher for 11 years, and at Buddhist Library. She’s there March 1- 25. See the schedule and registration at Abbey Events.

Ven. Chodron is also preparing for a month-long teaching tour in Europe in April, preceded by a stop at Shantideva Center, NYC. Some details are still in the works, so watch our website.

Here’s the general schedule. She begins at Institut Vajra Yogini in Marzens, France April 4-6, then heads to Switzerland for teachings in Geneva and Bern April 10-13. From there, she goes to the Maitreya Instituut centers in Amsterdam & Loenen, Netherlands April 16-18.

Ven. Chodron completes her trip in Germany April 22-28, giving teachings at Tibetan Center Hamburg and Semkye Ling Retreat Center, and a talk at the Miao Fa Center in Berlin. Venerable teaches in English. Most talks will have simultaneous translation in the appropriate languages. Check each center’s website for registration and translation info.

Online Teachings & Podcasts

  •  Wisdom Podcast: A recently released Wisdom Podcast episode features an edited version of Ven. Chodron’s interview with Wisdom Publications CEO Daniel Aitken on the release of Vajrayana and the Culmination of the Path, Volume 10 of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion. The unedited Dharma Chat is also posted.

  • Leadership is Not an Identity, It’s a Role: Ven. Chodron gave an interview with leadership coach Dr. Roslina Chai on The Wise Companion podcast in 2024. Read about it on Linkedin and listen to the podcast. They continued their conversation in person in Singapore at a dialogue on Compassion at Work.

  • Buddhist True Network Korea (BTN Korea) interviewed Ven. Chodron at the Abbey many years ago and broadcast it on their TV station to expose their viewers to the spread of the Buddhadharma in other countries. They recently posted it on their YouTube channel. The interview is interesting, and as a bonus, you’ll see what the Abbey looked like before Chenrezig Hall and the Buddha Hall were built. If you look closely, you’ll see some of the nuns before they ordained.

  • Taking the Ache out of Attachment: Pureland Marketing in Singapore has posted Ven. Chodron’s talk on attachment from her 2023 Asia teaching tour.

  • Women of Wisdom: In 2002, Tse Cheng Ling hosted Women of Wisdom: Heart Advice for a Compassionate World, a series of talks with five Western nuns in the Tibetan tradition who shared their experiences in seeking a meaningful life. They recently published Ven. Chodron’s talk, Working with Anger. You can also listen to Ven. Sangye Khadro’s talk, Balancing the Spiritual and Material.Ven. Chodron and Ven. Sangye Khadro will join many prominent women teachers in the lineup for Tse Chen Ling’s new Women of Wisdom series, beginning in March. Check it out.

  • What is Buddha Nature?: Tse Chen Ling also posted a two-part talk by Ven. Sangye Khadro from 2021 on Buddha nature and the methods to gradually bring about the transformation to buddhahood. Watch Part 1 and Part 2.

“I Was Transported”

Sharon’s lovely note in response to a Bodhisattva’s Breakfast Corner (BBC) video affirms that the presence of a Buddhist monastery in USA is having a good effect. She wrote:

I want to share my thanks to those who created the BBC, Sravasti Abbey Highlights of 2024 and Late 2023, that popped up for me this morning. I woke with a heaviness in my heart. As I started into the day, I checked to see what was new on BBC and found this wonderful video offering 5 minutes of lovely, calming and encouraging images.

I was transported to the beauty of the Abbey grounds, the seasons, all of the beloved creatures, the amazing progress on the Buddha Hall and of course, the steadfast teachers and models of the Dharma way that mean so much to so many of us!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your commitment to monastic life and the creative ways you share your lives and teachings with the lay community upholds us all in so many beautiful ways.

More News

  • All ten volumes of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion by H.H. the Dalai Lama and Ven. Chodron are now listed on H.H. the Dalai Lama’s website, along with other books by His Holiness that you may want to read.
  • Personal development website Balanced Achievement featured Working with Anger by Ven. Chodron and How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path by Ven. Sangye Khadro among its top ten Buddhist books of 2024. Read their recommendations.
  • We enjoyed month-long visits from Ven. Jampa, who trained at the Abbey for 10 years before returning to Germany in 2022, and Ven. Karya, who took ordination at the Abbey as a member of the Dharmadhatta Community in Virginia, where she still resides full-time. We happily welcomed our Dharma sisters for retreat time with the community.
  • 84,000, a web-based non-profit dedicated to translating the Tibetan canon into modern languages, has just published English translations of three important chapters in the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya (or Discipline). These chapters present the three essential rites necessary for a fully qualified Buddhist monastic community: Posadha (confession and restoration of precepts), Pravarana, (requesting feedback), and Varsa (rains retreat). The Abbey does all three rites in English using texts translated from the Chinese Dharmaguptaka tradition. 84,000’s new translation is a treasure for Buddhist monastics everywhere.
  • Ven. Chonyi comments on the homily Bishop Mariann Budde delivered at the U.S. inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral with thoughts on Kindness and the Conscience of Society.

Upcoming Events

Here’s what’s happening in February & March:

Jan 4 – Mar 22: Chenrezig 2025 Winter Retreat from Afar, online

Feb 8: Lunar New Year Tara Puja, online with the Abbey community

Feb 16: Medicine Buddha Puja, with Abbey monastics on Zoom

Mar 1-25: Singapore Teachings with Ven. Sangye Khadro, live in Singapore

March 2: Unlocking Your Potential with Ven. Thubten Chodron on Zoom for Tushita Meditation Centre

March 5: A Peaceful Heart in a Complex World with Ven. Thubten Chodron on Zoom for Tushita Meditation Centre

Mar 5, 12, 19 & 26: Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds Pt. 2, with Ven. Sangye Khadro on Zoom for Tse Chen Ling

Mar 8 & 9: Seven-Point Mind Training Pt. 1, with Ven. Chodron, on Zoom and live at the Abbey, followed on Saturday by special Buddha Hall Move-In Offering Service Saturday

March 10: A Zillion Reasons to Love Sentient Beings with Ven. Sangye Khadro on Zoom for Tushita Meditation Centre

Mar 15 & 16: Seven-Point Mind Training Pt. 2, with Ven. Chodron, on Zoom and live at the Abbey, followed on Saturday by special Buddha Hall Move-In Offering Service Saturday

Mar 16: Medicine Buddha Puja, with Abbey monastics on Zoom

Mar 23: Kathina & End-of-Retreat Celebration 2025, with the Abbey community, live at the Abbey

Mar 28-30: Shantideva Center teachings with Ven. Chodron, live in NYC

Plus weekly teachings online:

Check the Abbey’s Events Page for more talks, retreats & courses!