Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Invitation to Almsgiving Ceremony 2015

September 12, 2015

Please join us on International Bhikkhuni Day
for a joyful celebration of generosity and appreciation
for the continued unfolding of Aloka Vihara.

All are invited to attend this community gathering at which we offer our material and financial donations to Aloka Vihara. This year we will focus our support on the “Founders’ Fund” for paying off the loan for the land on which the new monastery will arise.

This year is particularly auspicious as the Almsgiving is falling on International Bhikkhuni Day. Learn more about the 5th International Bhikkhuni Day by visiting Alliance for Bhikkhunis.

An Almsgiving ceremony is a special opportunity for the lay and monastic communities to honor their interdependent relationship with formal offerings of support to the monastic sangha by the lay community.

10:30 am ~ Arrive
11:00 am ~ Meal Offering (bring a ready-to-serve dish to share)
1-3 pm ~ Almsgiving Ceremony & Dhamma Reflections

The Tradition of the Almsgiving

Setting aside a special day each year on which the lay community gathers to make formal offerings to the monastic sangha dates back to the Buddha’s time. Originally, the lay community gifted the sangha with special cloth (the “kathina cloth”) to be used for sewing into robes. Over time, people began to see this ceremony as an opportunity to offer other kinds of sustenance to the monastic community to provide for their “four requisites” of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.

The Almsgiving Ceremony is a blessed opportunity for us laypeople both to reflect deeply on the interdependent relationship between the monastic and lay communities and to follow that reflection into action. Just as the monastics dedicate themselves to sharing the teachings with us both in word and through their way of life, we lay practitioners can dedicate ourselves to offering what it takes to help the community of Bhikkhunis thrive.

We look forward to spending time on the land and with each other, celebrating the continued development of Aloka Vihara.

Details

Date:
September 12, 2015

Venue

Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery
2409 Tolowa Trail
Placerville, CA United States
+ Google Map

Organizer

Friends of Aloka Vihara
Phone
978-340-3160
Email
friendsofalokavihara[at]gmail.com