Greenville, SC
Ayya Sudinna visited Cambodia in December 2019. Cambodia is predominantly a Buddhist country with Buddhist Temples & Pagodas common throughout. The people are friendly & hardworking. It’s a country that has faced many hardships and is now emerging out of the gloom to take its due place in the international community.
A primary aim of the trip was to stimulate the revival of the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sasana in Cambodia. Ayya Sudinna arrived in Cambodia on the 18th of December, and returned to the Vihara on January 10, 2020. Her program in Cambodia included Fourfold Sangha participation in inaugurating a new Cetiya which contains a Buddha’s relic and commemorative art of ancient Bhikkhunis (the first to feature Bhikkhunis in Cambodia), meeting with the Sangharaja about supporting Bhikkhuni Sangha revival at his invitation, attending a Bhikkhuni Seminar, meeting with nuns, and a visit to the ancient temples in Siem Reap including Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat
The beauty & grandeur of Angkor Wat draws many people from all over the world to Cambodia.
Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to the 15th centuries. Angkor was a megacity supporting at least 6.1 % of the global population during 1010-1220. In addition to the palace, the living quarters of the king & his family, there were many Buddhist temples & cells for Monks built in the 12th & 13th centuries. Some are built entirely of sandstone. There are also ruins of temples dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Below are some pictures from the trip.
Ayya Sudinna will be departing the Vihara on December 16th, 2019 on a trip to Cambodia, arriving on the 18th in Cambodia. She will return to the Vihara on the 10th of January, 2020. The program in Cambodia includes Fourfold Sangha participation in inaugurating a new Cetiya which contains a Buddha’s relic and commemorative art of ancient bhikkhunis (the first to feature bhikkhunis in Cambodia), meeting with the Sangharaja about supporting Bhikkhuni Sangha revival at his invitation, a Bhikkhuni Seminar, meeting with nuns, and a visit to ancient Angkor Wat temple. The aim is to stimulate the revival of the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sasana in Cambodia.
Exciting news!
Ayya Sudinna has a vision for the backyard at the Vihara.
This vision is centered around a new Stupa and would be a place where we can sit on benches, meditate, pay homage to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and/or make offerings to our dearly departed.
One of the Vihara’s co-founders has completed research and found that we can have an authentic Stupa from Sri Lanka fabricated, shipped and installed at the Vihara for approximately $10,000.
Today begins our fundraising campaign to raise these funds and see Ayya’s vision become reality.
If you can please consider a donation to CBV for the Stupa Fund. You can donate to this worthy cause on our Facebook Page
Please note that you MUST have a Facebook Account and be signed in to Facebook on your browser to donate via the previous link. If you do not have a Facebook account, please click on the Donate link in the top menu to find out how to donate directly to the Vihara for this fundraiser.
Let’s do this!!
A few pictures from the non-residential silent meditation retreat held at the Vihara from Friday June 21st through Sunday June 23rd are shown below.
A non-residential silent meditation retreat is being offered from Friday June 21st through Sunday June 23rd. You can attend for all or part of the retreat. There are no accommodations for participants to stay overnight inside the Vihara, however, if you have a tent and sleeping bag you are welcome to camp out in the backyard. Meals will be potluck style with each participant bringing their own food or food to share. While there is no charge for this retreat, donations to the Vihara are welcome.
Date/Time: Friday June 21st, 2019 9:00AM to Sunday June 23rd, 2019 3:00PM
Location: Carolina Buddhist Vihara, Greenville, SC
Please let us know if you are going to attend all or part of this retreat. It’s a great opportunity to deepen your meditation practice.
With summer vacations already beginning, a number of the sangha members who regularly provide meal dana to Ayya Sudinna either are, or soon will be, on vacation. If you would like to provide Ayya with a meal, please look at the Dana Calendar on the website and pick an open date/meal that is convenient for you. When delivering, you may bring the meal the day before or the morning of. Thank you, with much metta.
Sutta Study: June 16, 2019
Sutta Study is scheduled for Sunday June 16th, this is a change from the original date of 6/9. The sutta to be discussed is the Mahasaccaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Saccaka found in the Majjhima Nikaya #36.
Or at this link: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN36.html
Non-Residential Retreat: June 21, 22, 23
More information will be provided in the next few weeks. You can join us for part or all of the retreat, morning, afternoon or evening.
Weekly Schedule:
Monday June 3rd 6-8:00 Pm
Chanting and Meditation with Ayya Sudinna
Wednesday June 5th 6-7:30
Guided Meditation; Refresher for experienced meditators or for those new to the practice. Discussion before and after meditation.
Thursday June 6th 6-8:00 pm
Chanting and Meditation with Ayya Sudinna
Friday June 7th 9:30 – 10:30
Woman’s Meditation
May we all be well, happy and peaceful.
The Vihara held it’s Vesak Day celebration on May 19, 2019. The photos below show some of the decorations and activities at the Vihara on this special occasion.
This most important Buddhist festival is known as either Vesak or Wesak, and is celebrated annually on the full moon of the ancient lunar month of Vesakha, which usually falls in May, or in early June.
At Vesak Buddhists commemorate the birth of the Buddha-to-be, Siddhattha Gotama, his Enlightenment at the age of 35 when he became the Buddha and his final ‘passing’ into Nirvana at the age of 80, no more to be reborn. Buddhist scriptures relate that each of these three significant events occurred on a full moon of the Indian lunar month of Vesakha.
Vesak Day is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha.
When: Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 10 AM – 4 PM
Where: Carolina Buddhist Vihara 113 Woodridge Cir, Greenville, South Carolina 29607
Friends,
The following is the weekly schedule for next week:
Sunday 5/5/19
Sutta Study 2-4:00 pm
Aṅguttara Nikāya, The Book of the Fours, #61. Worthy Deeds. It can be found on page 449. For those who do not have a copy of the Anguttara Nikaya the Sutta can be found at this link
Monday 5/6/19 6-8:00 pm
Chanting & Meditation with Ayya Sudinna
Wednesday 5/8/19 6-7:30 pm
Guided Meditation, instruction and discussion. Refresher for experienced meditators for those new to the practice.
Thursday 5/9/19 6-8:00 pm
Chanting & Meditation with Ayya Sudinna
Friday 5/10/199:30 – 10:30 am
Women’s Meditation
Sunday May 19th (in 2 weeks)
Vesak Day Celebration!
May we all be well, happy and peaceful
Ayya Sudinna recently translated Bhante G’s (Henepola Gunaratana) book Meditation on Perception: Ten Healing Practices To Cultivate Mindfulness into Sinhala from English and received published copies when she went to Sri Lanka. Ayya wanted to deliver the book to Bhante in person so we took a “road trip” to the Bhavana Society Meditation Center in West Virginia. These are some of the pictures that were taken. We also had a “road trip” around Bhavana when Bhante G graciously toured the grounds with us. It was a very special time as there were only 3 people in residence at Bhavana (including Bhante) and Ayya Sudinna, Indira and Roberta were the only 3 guests.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=435695923664473