Readings for Sunday, December 1 Upasika Day
Friends,
We hope you can join us at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery for the next Upasika Day on Sunday, December 1, 2019, a day of community, Dhamma study, meditation, and renewal.
Please note that with the end of daylight savings time, we will take refuges and precepts at 10:30, and the meal offering is at 10:45 sharp.
Our theme and topic for the day will be “Meditation: Developing Skill In Reflective Meditation.” Luang Por Pasanno, Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Nyaniko have graciously agreed to lead us in an exploration of the Buddha’s teachings on bringing a specific theme into the mind for reflection during meditation, including choosing and developing fruitful themes and the benefits of this skill.
If you are so inclined, please read in advance:
The Mahanama Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 6:10, available here: https://suttacentral.net/an6.10/en/sujato
Anguttara Nikaya 1:296-305, available inline here: https://suttacentral.net/an1.296-305/en/sujato
The Girimananda Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 10:60, available here: https://suttacentral.net/an10.60/en/sujato
The Meghiya Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 9:3, available here: https://suttacentral.net/an9.3/en/sujato
We hope you will also join us for the daily meal, beginning at 1o:45 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 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:
10:30 a.m. Refuges and Precepts
10:45 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)
This is the last Upasika Day for 2019.
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.