Upāsikā Day – Sunday, October 1 – Meditation: Can we function without attachment?

Upāsikā Day – Sunday, October 1 – Meditation: Can we function without attachment?

We hope you can join us at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery for the next Upasika Day on Sunday, October 1, a day of community, Dhamma study, meditation, and renewal.

Our theme for the day will be: Meditation: Can we function without attachment? Luang Por Pasanno and senior monastics of Abhayagiri have graciously offered to lead us in an exploration of he four types of clinging, and nekkhama (renunciation, letting go), especially as we experience them, and can lessen the one and increase the other, in meditation.

If you are unable to attend in person, you are invited to join in the live-stream through the following link: https://youtu.be/bTzGU7S5ol4

The readings for the day include three short articles:

Ajahn Munindo, “What is Nekkhama?”, Lion’s Roar, available here: https://www.lionsroar.com/what-is-nekkhamma/

Bhikkhu Bodhi, “The Baslanced Way”, Access to Insight, available here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bps-essay_08.html

“The Attakha Vagga: Octet Chapter,” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, available here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/atthakavagga.html

We hope you will also join us for the daily meal, beginning at 11:00 a.m. It’s customary to bring a dish to offer to the monastics and to share with others. Our material support of the monastery community is an important aspect of our role as upasikas (literally, “those who sit close by”), and our generous offerings of food are a tangible means of extending this support.

Attendance at Upasika Days is open both to those who wish to make a formal commitment to the program and to those who may simply wish to attend for the day. All are welcome. Please spread the word among those who may be interested.

The schedule for the day is as follows:

  • 10:45 a.m. Refuges and Precepts (optional)
  • 11:00 a.m. (sharp) Meal Offering (please bring a dish to share)
  • 1-4:30 p.m. Study/Practice Session
  • 4:30 p.m. Tea with the monastics (optional)

For directions on getting to the monastery, please visit www.abhayagiri.org. And if you’d like to carpool, please feel free to utilize the upasika@yahoogroups.com email group as a means of contacting others planning to attend.

Upasika Program Purpose

  • To enhance individual practice and increase self-discipline through
    making a formal commitment to spiritual training.
  • To deepen both the intellectual and experiential understanding of
    the Dhamma.
  • To have more supportive contact with like-minded people and the
    ordained Sangha.
  • To be better equipped to communicate the Teachings to others.

Upasika Program Guidelines

  • Undertake to live by the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, with
    the Theravada Forest Tradition as the focus of one’s practice.
  • Attend regular gatherings with other Upasikas, either at the
    Monastery or in your own homes.
  • Visit the Monastery and formally take the Refuges and Precepts at
    least quarterly.
  • Observe the Uposatha Days of the full and new moon in some fashion
    appropriate to your living situation.
  • Practice meditation daily.
  • Find some time each year to go on retreat.
  • Attend at least one festival day or communal gathering at the
    Monastery each year.
  • Cultivate a basic working knowledge of the Teachings.
  • Support the Sangha according to your means and abilities.
  • Keep to the training for at least one year after having made the
    formal commitment.

The remaining Upasika Day date for 2017 is:

Saturday, December 9 - Daily Life Practice: Undertaking a Self-Retreat

Please mark them on your calendars!

Hope to see you on October 1.

Kind regards,
Jeanie, on behalf of the Upasika Day planning committee

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