Events

Work Party! Sunday, March 19

Help clean out the boiler room! 

We recently had a small flood in the basement of our building, and we learned we need a clean and organized sub-basement/supply room to handle these kinds of unexpected events! We’ll meet for a pizza after Sunday Sila (or bring a dish to share!), and then get to work removing items, taking inventory and reorganizing what we have. We will have an organized plan of attack and more information will be coming soon about helpful things to bring. (Gloves, cleaning supplies, etc.)

If you have time and want to pitch in, please rsvp or ask questions by email here. Thank you!!

Daylong with Luang Por Pasanno

Save the date! Please join PFOD in welcoming Luang Por Pasanno on June 11 for a daylong of meditation and Dhamma reflections in support of Portland Friends of the Dhamma. The day will run in person and online from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a meal offering at noon. 

Schedule
Luang Por will lead us in precepts, meditation, and Q & A. Meal offering is potluck. The schedule is subject to change, and more information will be available as we draw closer to the event.

10 a.m. Requesting of the 3 refuges and 5 precepts, followed by meditation and teachings
12 p.m. Potluck meal offering
1 p.m.   Dhamma reflections, Q & A (break as needed)
3 p.m.   Closing Chant

The event will be hybrid, available to both onsite guests at the Portland Dhamma Center and online. No registration is necessary. Come and go quietly as you please.
Zoom Meeting Login (same as Sunday Sila’s link)
Click here to login
Meeting ID: 895 7817 8445

About Luang Por Pasanno
Luang Por Pasanno took ordination in Thailand in 1974 with Venerable Phra Khru Ñāṇasirivatana as preceptor. During his first year as a monk he was taken by his teacher to meet Luang Por Chah, with whom he asked to be allowed to stay and train. He served as abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, an international forest monastery in Thailand, and Abhayagiri, a Forest Monastery in California. In 2018, he stepped back from the role of abbot at Abhayagiri, and now serves as an anchor of wisdom and guidance for the community. 

Support for Portland Friends of the Dhamma
Your support helps us continue hosting these freely offered events, and donations are grateful accepted. Click here to offer dana to PFOD.

Daylong with Ayyā Santussikā Bhikkhunī

Please join PFOD in welcoming Ayyā Santussikā Bhikkhunī, senior teacher and resident of Karuna Buddhist Vihara, on June. 18 for a daylong of meditation and teachings. The day will run in person and online from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a meal offering at noon. More information will be available closer to the date.

Schedule
Ayyā will lead us in precepts, meditation, and Q & A. Meal offering is potluck.

10 a.m. Requesting of the 3 refuges and 5 precepts, followed by meditation and teachings
12 p.m. Potluck meal offering
1 p.m.   Dhamma reflections, Q & A (break as needed)
3 p.m.   Closing Chant

The event will be hybrid, available to both onsite guests at the Portland Dhamma Center and online. No registration is necessary. Come and go quietly as you please.
Zoom Meeting Login (same as Sunday Sila’s link)
Click here to login
Meeting ID: 895 7817 8445

About Ayyā Santussikā
In 1999, Venerable Santussikā made the first of many trips to Thailand to visit her son who was a monk at Wat Pah Nanachat at the time. In 2003 Ayyā formally became a student of Ajahn Pasanno. She received samaneri ordination in 2010 and took the bhikkhuni ordination in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara with Ayyā Sudarshana as her preceptor. In 2012, she was supported to establish the Karuna Buddhist Vihara, a Theravada monastery for bhikkhunis located in Boulder Creek, California, where she practices alongside Cittānandā Bhikkhuni. They currently live at the new hermitage property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Her teachings are primarily based on the suttas of the Pali Canon as they apply to everyday life and lead to awakening.

Dana: Support for Ayyā Santussikā’s livelihood
Ayyā and her monastery are completely supported by our donations (dana in pali). If you would like to help assure her and her monastery’s wellbeing, click here. Thank you!

Support for Portland Friends of the Dhamma
Your support helps us continue hosting these freely offered events, and donations are grateful accepted. Click here to offer dana to PFOD.

Sunday Sila Celebrating Magha Puja

Everyone is welcome to join in a special Sunday Sila event celebrating Magha Puja, one of the three main annual Buddhist festivals. Magha Puja celebrates a gathering that was held between the Buddha and 1,250 of his first disciples, which, according to tradition, preceded the custom of periodic recitation of discipline by monks. On the day, Buddhists celebrate the creation of an ideal and exemplary community, which is why it is sometimes called Sangha Day.

For an expanded perspective, listen to Ajahn Amaro’s Dhamma talk, “Magha Puja, the Quality of Patience.”

At 11:30, all are welcome to participate in a potluck lunch and social. Feel free to bring a dish to share, flowers, or greenery for the altar. Family and friends are welcome to join in any part, and the Sunday program will be in-person and online as usual. Join on Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89578178445

The following Monday, March 6, is the official full moon day, and there will be a meal offering at the Pacific Hermitage. Please contact us through the website for more information on that opportunity.

Donations are essential to the health and welfare of our community and to continue offering teachings and community gatherings without charge. Please consider becoming a monthly donor today! 

Sunday Sila with Gyokuko Carlson

Please join PFOD in welcoming Gyokuko Carlson, founder and former Abbess of Dharma Rain Zen Center, on Feb. 19 for a special Sunday Sila. The event will be hybrid, available to guests at the Portland Dhamma Center and on Zoom. No registration necessary. Meeting ID: 89578178445. Click here to log in.

Schedule
10 a.m. Meditation
10:45 a.m. Dhamma reflections, questions, and sharing
11:30 a.m. Potluck lunch and community fellowship

Support for Portland Friends of the Dhamma
Donations are essential to the health and welfare of our community and to continue offering teachings and community gatherings without charge. Please consider becoming a monthly donor today!

Special Sunday Sila Commemorating Ajahn Chah

Everyone is welcome to join in a special Sunday Sila event commemorating Ajahn Chah on January 15. Jan. 16 marks 30 years since his passing, and there are celebrations in Thailand and throughout the world every year on this date.

We will do our part by decorating the altar, sharing about Ajahn Chah’s life, reading from his teachings, meditating, and taking the precepts together as a community. After Sunday Sila, the community is invited to take part in a light potluck lunch.

Feel free to bring a dish to share, flowers or greenery for the altar, a reading from Ajahn Chah’s Dhamma talks, or a sharing about his influence on your practice. Family and friends are welcome to join in any part, and the Sunday program will be in-person and online as usual. Join on Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89578178445

Read more about Luang Por’s life and influence.

Donations are essential to the health and welfare of our community and to continue offering teachings and community gatherings without charge. Please consider becoming a monthly donor today! 

Holiday Gathering

Everyone is welcome to join in a holiday tea time after Sunday Sila on Dec. 18. Feel free to bring a treat to share, flowers or greenery for the altar, and family and friends to enjoy the time together beginning at 11:30. We will be closed the following Sunday, Dec. 25.

“Words of Peace and Harmony” with Ayyā Santussikā Bhikkhunī

Please join PFOD in welcoming Ayyā Santussikā Bhikkhunī, senior teacher and resident of Karuna Buddhist Vihara, on Jan. 8 for “Words of Peace and Harmony,” a daylong focused on the benefits of skillful speech. The day will run in person and online from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a meal offering at noon. 

Schedule
Ayyā will lead us in precepts, meditation, and Q & A. Meal offering is potluck.

10 a.m. Requesting of the 3 refuges and 5 precepts, followed by meditation and teachings
12 p.m. Potluck meal offering
1 p.m.   Dhamma reflections, Q & A (break as needed)
3 p.m.   Closing Chant

The event will be hybrid, available to both onsite guests at the Portland Dhamma Center and online. No registration is necessary. Come and go quietly as you please.
Zoom Meeting Login (same as Sunday Sila’s link)
Click here to login
Meeting ID: 895 7817 8445

About Ayyā Santussikā
In 1999, Venerable Santussikā made the first of many trips to Thailand to visit her son who was a monk at Wat Pah Nanachat at the time. In 2003 Ayyā formally became a student of Ajahn Pasanno. She received samaneri ordination in 2010 and took the bhikkhuni ordination in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara with Ayyā Sudarshana as her preceptor. In 2012, she was supported to establish the Karuna Buddhist Vihara, a Theravada monastery for bhikkhunis located in Boulder Creek, California, where she practices alongside Cittānandā Bhikkhuni. They currently live at the new hermitage property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Her teachings are primarily based on the suttas of the Pali Canon as they apply to everyday life and lead to awakening.

Dana: Support for Ayyā Santussikā’s livelihood
Ayyā and her monastery are completely supported by our donations (dana in pali). If you would like to help assure her and her monastery’s wellbeing, click here. Thank you!

Support for Portland Friends of the Dhamma
Your support helps us continue hosting these freely offered events, and donations are grateful accepted. Click here to offer dana to PFOD.

Introduction to the Five Precepts, a six-week course

All are welcome to join in this introduction to the Five Buddhist Precepts for laypeople. Running six Mondays from Jan. 9 to Feb. 13, this course is an exploration of the Buddha’s teachings on the five ethical precepts and how they inform our practice today. It is designed to:

  • Introduce the practice of living by the Five Precepts as training for Buddhist practitioners.
  • Introduce lay etiquette and customs supportive to monastics of the Ajahn Chah lineage.
  • Provide a community of support for this exploration, and a doorway to deeper practice.

A progressive practice
Starting with the first precept in week one, by the end of the course, we will be practicing with and reflecting on all five. In the final week of the course, participants will have the option to undertake a traditional ceremony of Requesting the Five Precepts. Those requesting the precepts will be encouraged and supported to live by all five for a period of three months, draw near to the monastic sangha and practice with others living on the precepts.

All are welcome
This course will be taught in person at the Portland Dhamma Center, 1404 S.E. 25th Ave. All are welcome to begin in the first two weeks of class. This course closes to new participants after the second session on Jan. 16. All programs are supported by the generous giving of the community. For more information or to RSVP, email us through the contact page at www.pdxdhamma.org. There is no charge for this course. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Introduction to Meditation, a four-week course

On Monday nights from Nov. 28 to Dec. 19, we will practice the fundamentals of meditation in the Thai Forest Tradition. We will practice sitting, standing, and walking meditation, and cover techniques using the breath, the body, and contemplations. The objective over the four weeks is to establish a sitting practice with lots of tools in our toolbox and learn more about the Theravada tradition. All are welcome to attend, and donations for the center are gratefully received. RSVP is not required but it is appreciated. Please reach out with any questions or to RSVP. Taught by Jessica Swanson.

  • November 28
  • December 5
  • December 12
  • December 19