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October
2006
2549 Number 77
The Forest Sangha is
a world-wide Buddhist community
in the Thai Forest tradition of Ajahn
Chah
CHANGES
 October
in Britain is a time when the turning seasons can help make more
conscious the perpetual nature of change inherent in the natural
world. Another autumn, another year, always now and ever different.
This issue of the Forest Sangha Newsletter represents a number of
transitions, both in its articles and production. The most significant
of these from the perspective of this publication has been a changeover
in editorial duties. ...
Read
on...
Luang
Por Sumedho
Luang Por Sumedho's seventy-second birthday was celebrated in July
27th, 2006, at Amaravati.
Read
on...
On
Strong Roots
Luang Por Sumedho Reflects upon his Evolving Role within the Sangha
he Founded
This
summer marked my fortieth vassa as a bhikkhu, and my thirtieth year
living in England. When I came to Britain in 1977 the idea was to
establish a Theravadan Sangha following the tradition from which
I’d come, the Thai forest tradition as I'd experienced it under
my teacher, Luang Por Chah at his monastery, Wat Pah Nong Pah Pong
in Ubon, Thailand. At that time I had only ten vassas; I wasn't
that experienced or senior but I was more senior than the other
Westerners. That put me in a position of being the head of the Sangha
here, as well as the teacher, and I also became President of the
English Sangha Trust. In every capacity I was looked to for guidance
and leadership, and that lasted for about the first ten years. ...
Read on...
HOW
DOES THE SANGHA DECIDE?
 A
brief history of the Elders’ Council & its meetings
When people come to visit a monastery, one of the things that they
are immediately struck by is the quality of order in which varied
aspects of life – such as standards of dress, and etiquette
around the meal – have a precisely patterned feel to them.
The question thus arises: How and why do they choose to follow this
particular form? ...
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on...
Welcome
to the Desert of the Real
 Adapted
from a Dhamma talk Luang Por Sumedho gave on his 72nd birthday
It seems only a couple of years ago that I celebrated my sixtieth
birthday at Chithurst. Of course, with reflection we can realise
that time is simply a function of perception. Whether it seems a
long time or a short time is really a view we’re having right
now in the present moment. We can notice how our thinking, how our
mental and emotional habits affect consciousness. If I’m sitting
waiting for the bell to ring, it seems to take a long time even
if it’s only a few minutes. Yet I can sit in meditation for
several hours and it seems like a very short time. ...
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on...
Pecfecting
Wisdom in a Work of love
 Ajahn
Vimalo reports that he will have finished his sculpture of the Prajnaparamita
(Sanskrit for the Perfection of Wisdom) by the end of the vassa.
He has been working on the figure on and off for many years, including
a long layoff during ten years of training as a bikkhu in Thailand
and Sri Lanka. He says that he has often wondered if the end would
ever come. ...
Read
on...
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