Dear friends,
Here at Dhammapala Monastery we have an eventful springtime behind us. The Vesakh celebration was once again a well-attended, joyful event, also thanks to the help of Ajahn Kongrit, the abbot of Lokuttara Vihara, our monastery in Norway, who, as so often before, offered the Dhamma talk for our many Thai supporters. Anagarika Robert became Samanera Nikkamo and is now staying in our monastery near Lisbon for a few months. Ajahn Khemasiri and Ajahn Viranando led several courses and events outside the monastery, including in Italy and Germany. Here we were able to welcome many new guests for our introductory weekends. These are still almost always fully booked. This year they are mainly led by Ajahn Viranando, although the other community members also take on individual sections. We also had many visitors outside of these weekends, including, as announced, many monks from our other monasteries, most recently, Ajahns Anando and Caganando from Jetavana Monastery in Temple, New Hampshire, and Tan Sihanado from Chithurst in England.
Now summer has arrived. As many of you know, this is the time of the traditional rainy season retreat, which the Buddha introduced during his lifetime to protect cultivated fields from possible damage by his wandering nuns and monks during the sensitive monsoon period. For our Asian monasteries this period has become primarily a time of retreat in which the monastic communities delve more deeply into formal practice and the study of the teachings and monastic rules.
For us in Europe, summer is a rather busy time, with many guests and teaching activities, while our retreat takes place in winter. Nevertheless, we also observe the formal rules of the rainy season retreat, which state that we are not allowed to leave the monastery for more than six nights on certain occasions. At least this year the weather is playing along quite well with the rainy season retreat convention!
Unfortunately, we are not five monks as planned, but only four, because the visa application for Ajahn Mo from Thailand became unexpectedly complicated and the authorities in the end did not have enough time to process our application. At least we have learned now what Swiss Immigration now requires for a longer visit from monks from outside the EU, so Ajahn Mo may be able to come at a later date.
While Tan Manuñño continues to contribute his many talents to Amaravati and Samanera Nikkamo continues to be valued for his friendly, helpful presence at Sumedharama monastery near Lisbon, we have Samanera Jayamangalo from Italy with us until autumn. It is Samanera Jayamangalo’s first visit to us in Switzerland and the joy of the mountains, forests, lakes and streams here is written all over his face. Samnanera Jayamangalo has integrated seamlessly into our community and taken on all of Samanera Nikkamo’s responsibilities. He also brings his considerable skills as a craftsman. In short, the community in our monastery is functioning with much harmony and joy in its busyness this summer. Tan Manuñño and Samanera Nikkamo are set to rejoin us before the end of the year.
In my last blog entry, I raved about how our community is functioning so smoothly and competently that I am hardly needed as abbot here – only to then realize that, when I returned, I actually was unable to take over the helm again as planned. I was diagnosed with cancer immediately after my return from Canada and the United States. A kidney tumor that was surgically removed 16 years ago had apparently left behind sleeper cells that reactivated after a long time and formed several bone metastases.
This type of recurring cancer is not considered curable but treatable. The oncologists at the tumor center in Bern’s Insel-Spital and the hospital in Interlaken are trying to contain the metastases for as long as possible, or, if possible, push them back with the latest therapies and to prolong my life and quality of life for as long as possible.
It remains to be seen how well and for how long the therapies work, but I can at least say that they hardly cause any side effects and that I am doing quite well at the moment. Nevertheless, I am somewhat physically and energetically restricted, so my companions here in the monastery allow me to withdraw more and only contribute as much as I feel comfortable with.
This also means, above all, that you will see (and hear) less of me when you visit the monastery, as the other Ajahns usually take over the task of receiving groups, giving talks or being available for one-on-one conversations. As I said, I am still doing quite well symptomatically and I am trying to make the best of my somewhat restricted situation. I definitely enjoy the extra space I have being allowed to take a back-seat.
I can also say that the many hospital visits are not a burden, but are actually giving me the joy of experiencing and witnessing so much friendliness and competence from the staff there at all levels. It is good to be reminded that the Swiss health system is certainly still one of the very best in the world, which makes it a privilege to be ill in Switzerland and not somewhere else.
Even though the balance of my body has been seriously affected, I am generally feeling pretty good. We know that a body gets older as soon as it is born, eventually gets sick and ultimately dies. The essence of the practice, as I understand it, is to remain as conscious as possible at all times and to adjust to the given reality. The future will show to what extent we here at Dhammapala have to continue to adapt to my situation. We are currently looking into possible options in Kandersteg to rent an accessible ground floor apartment, should the time come when I can no longer manage the stairs in the monastery.
We have also been busy for some time, exploring the possibility of modernizing the staircase in the monastery and installing a stair lift. We have plans from an architect for this, with a cost estimate. The costs would be considerable, however, probably in the region of just above 200,000 CHF. In addition, there would be the cost of converting a room on the third floor, fitting it with an accessible bathroom. Whether this investment is justified, the board of the Dhammapala Association will have to decide.
Regardless of my health, it is of course a given that we are all getting older and it is therefore only a matter of time before one of us can no longer climb the stairs. And the same, naturally, applies to all visitors.
We are looking forward to your visits in the summer and hope to see many of you again at our traditional Kathina celebration on October 20th at 10 a.m. in the community hall here in Kandersteg.
With kind regards,
Bhikkhu Abhinando
