Abhayagiri or Fearless Mountain, in the canonical language of Pali, is a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition situated in Redwood Valley, California. Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. ... Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Monastery of St. ... The Thai Forest Tradition is a loosely organized movement within Thai Theravadin Buddhism, emphasizing meditation and strict adherence to the vinaya over intellectual pursuits. ... Redwood Valley is a census-designated place located in Mendocino County, California. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Origins

About 13 miles north of Ukiah, it has its origins in the 1980s when the UK-based Ajahn Sumedho, foremost western disciple of the Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, started getting requests to teach in California. Visits by either himself or one of his senior monks or nuns resulted in The Sanghapala Foundation being set up in 1988. The monastery's 120 acres were given to the foundation by the devotees of Chan Master Hsuan Hua, founder of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage, before he died in 1995. Ukiah is the county seat of Mendocino County, California. ... Ajahn Sumedho is a widely venerated modern figure of Theravada Buddhism. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... Venerable Ajahn Chah Subhatto (Chao Khun Bodhinyanathera) (alternatively spelled Achaan Chah, occasionally with honorific titles Luang Por and Phra) (17 June 1918, Thailand – 16 January 1992), was one of the greatest meditation masters of the twentieth century. ... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... This article is about the contemporary Buddhist monk. ... The mountain gate to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. ... Talmage may mean: John Van Nest Talmage (1819-1892), US missionary to China Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902), preacher and writer, his brother James E. Talmage, LDS apostle Talmage, California Talmage, Nebraska Stoke Talmage, Oxfordshire town See also Talmadge. ...

Lifestyle

At the time of writing there were a dozen renunciates in permanent residence: two abbots, two anagarikas or postulants, two samaneras or novices and six fully-ordained bhikkhus. Male residents live in small huts nestled in the forest. Female residents live in a house which was separately donated to the monastery. Guest teachers come from the forests of Thailand as well as England. For other uses, see Abbot (disambiguation). ... In Buddhist context, an anagarika is a white-robed student in the Theravada tradition who, for a few months, awaits being considered for Samaneras ordination. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into sangha. ... A Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka In Pāli, a bhikkhu (male) or bhikkhuni (female) is a fully ordained Buddhist monk. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

The daily schedule, in keeping with tradition, is rigorous. Most residents - monastics and lay visitors and alike - rise well before sunrise. Morning puja, as it's known, is at 5am and lasts an hour-and-a-half. This is followed by a half-hour work period, and a spartan breakfast of oatmeal. Three hours of physical labor follow, ending with lunch, which has to be consumed before midday. There follows free for study, meditation and/or walking the extensive network of trails that wind about the mountainside. At about 5pm tea is served, sometimes followed by a Dhamma reading and, later, by a further puja. On Lunar Observance days, which mark the four moon quarters, this lasts until 3am the following morning. A puja as performed in Ujjain during the Monsoon on the banks of the overflowing river Shipra. ... The word dharma (Sanskrit; धर्म in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, Dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. ...

External links

• [1] Abhayagiri official website, offers free audio, books & newsletter.

Coordinates: 39°21′39″N, 123°14′00″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...