September 2023
Go your ways, oh monks,
for the benefit and happiness of many,
out of compassion for the world,
for the good, benefit, and happiness of gods and men.
Let no two go in the same direction.
Teach, oh monks, the Dhamma,
which is beneficial in the beginning,
in the middle, and at the end—
both the spirit and the letter of it.
Make known the Noble Life, which is
fully
complete (requiring no addition)
and pure (requiring no subtraction).
There are beings with only a little dust in their eyes
who will be lost unless they hear the Dhamma.
Such persons will understand the truth.
Dutiyā Mārapāsa Sutta, Saṃyutta Nikāya, IV (I).5
On January 30, 1924, in the old royal capital of Myanmar, an Indian merchant family celebrated the birth of their son, Satya Narayan Goenka. This year marks the centenary of Goenkaji’s birth, and we look back to his long life of service to pay our respect, to gain a better understanding of the technique of Vipassana and for inspiration to practice and share Vipassana meditation. Goenkaji has given each one of us the technique of Vipassana so that we can decondition and purify our own minds. We are so grateful!
For us, as meditators, celebrating Goenkaji’s centenary is not a blind rite or ritual but a fitting opportunity to express and further develop our quality of gratitude towards the person who gave us the beautiful Dhamma. At Dhamma Pubbananda, we will express this gratitude, as a group, during the weekend of October 21st and 22nd, by sitting a 1-day course and by offering a program to recognize Goenkaji and all that he has done to spread Dhamma to millions of people around the world.
As it happens, this is also the 10th anniversary year of the purchase of Dhamma Pubbananda property. We are indebted to all those who have served, and are continuing to serve, tirelessly and selflessly in bringing the dream of our Center to fruition. We will be expressing our gratitude and sharing memories of this journey also at this Old Student Annual Gathering on October 21st.
Here is a link to the tentative agenda: Annual Old Student Gathering Schedule.
The fall Dhamma Service Period is from October 8th to October 20th ending on the weekend of the gathering for the annual meeting. Come join us to prepare the Center for the winter and get it ready for the weekend’s events. You are welcome to come part time.
Register here for all activities: https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/schedules/schpubbananda.
Updated Health and Safety Protocols are available on the website.
Server Needs for Upcoming Courses
at Dhamma Pubbananda
Dhamma Pubbananda is currently looking for Old Students to help serve on the following courses:
10-Day course starting September 20: Full. Males and females can apply for the waitlist.
3-Day course starting October 4: Need 1-2 full time female servers. Males can apply for the waitlist.
Dhamma Service Period October 8-October 25: Need both male and female servers full or part time.
10-Day course starting October 25: Need 3 full time male servers and one full time female server.
10-Day course starting November 8: Need 4 full time male servers and 2-3 full time female servers.
New Service Opportunity -
Monthly Center Work Days
Many people have been asking how they can get involved at the Center. To that end, we’re starting a monthly Center Work Day. The next one will be held on October 8th. This is a day when old students can come to help out with projects around the Center that go beyond what we usually do between courses. These could involve such things as gardening, lawn care, outside clean-up, painting, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, powerwashing or whatever. The possibilities are endless as there’s always something to do around here! Most importantly, this is a great time to meet other meditators like yourself who also have the volition to serve so that the Center is in the best shape possible for students who come to take courses here.
The day will begin with a group sit at 8:00 am and end with a group sit at 6:00 pm. In between, we’ll work, eat, and meditate together, all while enjoying each other’s company. Come for all or part of the day. If you’d like to bring your children, they’re welcome, so long you’re willing to be responsible to supervise them.
In keeping with our COVID policies, everyone needs to do a COVID test at home before coming to the Center.
To register for this event, please send an email to [email protected] to let us know you’re coming.
This will be a monthly event going forward. So, if you can’t make it this month, consider joining us on a future work day. The dates for the next six months are 11/5, 12/31, 1/28, 3/1, 3/31, 4/28, 5/12.
Hope to see you here!
New Long Term Server Residence
Every once in a while, properties around the Center go up for sale. Recently, one of the houses directly across the street went up for sale and was purchased by an old student. They renovated the house and have made it available to us for use as a long-term server residence. As we currently have 3 long-term servers, this makes it possible for each of them to have their own residence. It also makes it possible to have space for a few people to come at the end of the course and stay overnight to help out at the Center on day 10 and/or 11.
Growing the community of meditators around the Center is a goal for our long-term development. Properties in this neighborhood can range in price from about $100-$300,000. If you have any interest in purchasing a house in the neighborhood of the Center for your own use or as a rental, please contact Anand Dhelia at [email protected].