Come practice with us in the Buddha Hall!
October-November 2024 Update
Young Construction is working steadily through their long punch list— the document that lists the final tasks to be completed before a project is considered finished. “Finished” in this case only refers to the building contractor’s work, which leads to receiving the occupancy permit from our county’s Building Inspector. That landmark achievement will allow us to move in and begin the joyful work of furnishing and finishing, turning the building into a functioning Buddha Hall.
Current activities include continued extensive work to mitigate erosion around the Buddha Hall’s steep hillside location. The audio-visual (AV) sub-contractors are busy. They’re connecting systems and installing equipment to support crystal clear audio and video recording and streaming in every teaching space. Plus there’s touch-up painting, woodwork finishing, and testing HVAC and septic systems.
Since the beginning we have noted that the Buddha Hall is “built by the people and for the people.” So much support has brought us ever closer to completion. Thank you! Now, you’re invited to join us to practice together in the Buddha Hall soon.
Your continued support is welcomed as we work toward the occupancy permit. Watch for updates.
A Spiritual Home for All Beings
Envision a temple nestled against a forest in North America. A refuge for people from all countries and walks of life. A learning center for love, compassion, and wisdom. A place to cultivate peace. That’s the vision for Sravasti Abbey’s new Buddha Hall
The Buddha Hall is a new two-story, 17,000 square foot temple and library, the center of spiritual activity at Sravasti Abbey. It will support Sravasti Abbey’s daily meditation practices, regular sangha and chanting rituals, teachings, retreats, pujas, memorials, and special Dharma events.
In the Buddha Hall, we’ll learn to replace anxiety, anger, and fear with love, compassion, and wisdom.
Purposeful Design and Features
Adorned with beautiful Buddha images, the Buddha Hall’s three meditation halls, library, classrooms, and quiet spaces invite us to delve deeply into Buddha’s profound teachings.
The main hall will feature a large, central altar with a ten-foot statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked by smaller statues of Venerable Ananda and Venerable Mahaprajapati Gotami, the first Buddhist nun, who was also the Buddha’s stepmother.
The Buddha Hall’s audio-visual components will greatly improve the quality of streamed and recorded teachings to share on YouTube and other platforms.
The Buddha Hall is built from Faswall, an attractive, long-lasting, green building material made of insulated wood chip and cement blocks. Faswall makes a sturdy structure that is both fire and pest-resistant, ensuring the Buddha Hall will serve monastics and lay followers for hundreds of years.
Join Us
Inspired by a vision to create peace in this chaotic world, hundreds of people have joined in with their offering to bring the Buddha Hall to life. Construction began in 2022. With your help, we aim to finish the Buddha Hall in 2024, and consecrate in 2025.
Roof Ornaments
Deer, Dharma Wheel, and Three Ganjira (spires)
We’ve added a traditional twist to the Buddha Hall with roof ornaments similar to what you see in traditional Tibetan monasteries. The Abbey commissioned master Nepalese craftspeople from Chichhok Solukhumbu Handicraft in Nepal to create the roof ornaments. The three ganjira (spires), two deer, and a Dharma wheel were handcrafted using traditional techniques.
Read more about them >
Dharma Instruments
The Sound of the Dharma
We receive monastic precepts from the Chinese Buddhist tradition, and chant in the Chinese Buddhist style twice a week as part of our evening practice and during monastic rituals. The Buddha Hall will house large Chinese Dharma instruments, made by traditional craftspeople in Taiwan.
Learn more about the instruments >
Library and Learning
Studying the Buddhadharma
The ground floor features a large library for Tibetan, Chinese, and English texts. It also includes a media room, and Dharma classrooms that allow us to both broadcast teachings and receive instruction from afar.
The Posadha Room
Where Ritual Unfolds
Where we’ll give novice ordinations and perform the monastic ceremonies that maintain a virtuous and harmonious monastic community. Keeping these monastic commitments well is the bedrock of a sangha’s ethical discipline and the key to community harmony.
Learn More about the Posadha room >
We’ll Have a Tara Room!
A Special Practice Space
A side room off the main hall, Tara Room, provides space for small-group Dharma teachings, meditation, and contemplation. It’s a place to purify past actions and take refuge in the Buddha’s enlightened activities, a place to reach out to “Mummy Tara.” The entire ambiance with visuals of Tara, beaming joy, will inspire tranquility and devotion as beginning and seasoned practitioners alike share the Dharma.
Learn more about the Tara Room >
Statues
Images of Enlightened Beings
The main altar will feature a ten-foot seated Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked by smaller statues of Venerable Ananda, the Buddha’s faithful attendant, and Venerable Mahaprajapati Gotami, the first Buddhist nun, who was also the Buddha’s stepmother. These statues have been specially made by Peter Griffin.
Read more about the statues >
Teacher’s Wing
Hosting Extraordinary Dharma Masters
Sravasti Abbey has hosted many incredible teachers, including renowned Geshes, Vinaya masters, and western scholars. In the future, visiting teachers will stay in a special wing of the Buddha Hall. In addition to a room for the guest teacher, the wing has a kitchenette, private bath, and room for a translator/attendant. Our guest teachers will have their own spectacular view of the mountains.
Learn from books by Ven. Thubten Chodron.
Sravasti Abbey
692 Country Lane
Newport WA 99156 USA
[email protected]
509-447-5549
Also see ThubtenChodron.org