August 2020
Past moments are gone,
those to come are far away.
Whoever lives in this moment
is a meditator of courage.
– S.N. Goenka
During these challenging times we are fortunate to have been given an invaluable jewel, and its value has only grown over the past months. As old students we recognize that our meditation practice can help us navigate disturbances both inside and out, thus maintaining and strengthening our practice is essential.
Many old students have been staying connected and sitting together via the Virtual Group Sittings. In addition to the morning and evening AT led group sittings, there are longer meditation sittings on the weekends on the zoom platform. They are scheduled from 9am-4pm on Saturdays and 9am-noon on Sundays.
You can find the Zoom links here: https://pubbananda.dhamma.org/virtual-group-sittings/
These virtual teacher led sittings will continue into the future as long as there is a demand. There is also an option for a virtual one-on-one interview with an AT now being offered via Zoom. These interviews usually last about five to ten minutes. The program runs every Wednesday, beginning on August 12, from 8:30-10am and is limited to the first 50 people who sign up, but includes a waitlist. This is a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about your practice that are specific to your experience or may take longer to answer than is possible after group sittings.
You may sign up on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUodeytrz8rGtD6DRldx7qxZz5Q6NnLBF1f
If you are unable to get a spot for the session and would like to contact a teacher to discuss your practice and how to apply it in your life, you may contact an AT at any time via at-[email protected]
Center News
Over the last months the Center management team and Area Teachers have been working on strategies to reopen the Center safely. There are many aspects to be considered including meeting state and federal guidelines and mandates. There is also a team with members from many Centers working together sharing ideas.
In order to provide each student with a private room and bath, we currently have capacity for about eight students and one or two servers. There are two long term servers (LTS) serving on site as well, who live in the male LTS house. In the last months there have been a few courses for old students to work out protocols and procedures. Everything is going very well, and in September two more courses are planned. Preference will be given to applicants who registered for a previous course that was cancelled. These students will be contacted by registration.
When Building Three is opened, we will be able to expand the courses to 16 students with private rooms and en suite bathrooms, as well as individual meditation cells, and hopefully a normal course schedule will resume.
One important thing we’ve learned over the last several months is that thoroughly screening applicants with regard to Covid-19 is extremely important to ensure the health of all those attending, serving, and managing courses. Therefore, you should expect rigorous screening when applying for future courses. All protocols, procedures, and safety measures are available upon request.
Please send any comments, questions, or suggestions to: [email protected]
Zedi Placement
The first zedi is in place above the meditation cells for Building Three. Over 50 old students from around the world joined live, via Zoom, to watch the installation.
The zedis are made in the Burmese style to honor our lineage of teachers who preserved the tradition and technique through the centuries. The video includes more information about the zedis: how they are built, what each stage represents, and their donation to the center.
Dhamma Service
We are always searching for better ways to communicate with the old student community so we have initiated a new email list. This list will be used to advise of service needs at the Center.
If you would like to be notified of service opportunities please send a blank email to: [email protected]
You may unsubscribe from this list at any time.
Building 3 Construction Update
We’ve made a lot of visible progress on Building 3 over the last month. All the walls have been drywalled and painted, the insulation completed, the HVAC is up and running, new sidewalks were installed, and final grading was done.
Now we’re working on finishes – flooring, bathroom fixtures, doors, and electrical fixtures. It won’t be long before the building is ready to use! At that point we’ll have single rooms with private bathrooms and meditation cells for 29 students.
Here is a link to the BBC’s Heart and Soul podcast on the 10 Day course: