Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
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Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, or Sītavana (
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
: "Cool Forest"), is a Theravada Buddhist
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in the Thai Forest Tradition near
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. It serves as a training centre for monastics and also a retreat facility for laypeople. Its
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
is Venerable Ajahn Soṇa.


History

Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery has been developed in three distinct phases: In phase 1,
Bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok ...
Soṇa and Bhikkhu Piyadhammo established Birken in a sparse two-room
shack A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction. Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually r ...
in the mountains near Pemberton, BC, along the Birkenhead River in 1994. This was the first monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Canada. During phase 2, the monastery moved to a new location, northeast of Princeton, BC. Facilities were expanded and included running water, electricity, and carpeting, as well as a refrigerator, sink and furnace. It was a significant improvement, but still quite austere. For phase 3, the monastery moved in 2001 to a property south of Kamloops. The resident community then finished work on the main building, and has since been continually enhancing it in addition to adding cabins and improving road access. "Sītavana" was added as an alternate Pali name for Birken in 2007. On November 29, 2003, Birken hosted the historically significant upasampada ceremony, or bhikkhu
ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
, of Ven. Nanda and Ven. Pavaro. This was the first such ordination held at Birken, and the first ordination of Canadian-born bhikkhus, by Canadian bhikkhus, in Canada. Ajahn Pasanno, co-abbot of Abhayagiri monastery, served as their upajjhaya (preceptor) and Ajahn Soṇa as their ''ācariya'' (teacher).


Abbot

Ajahn Soṇa is the monastery's founder and abbot. Born in Canada in 1954, Ajahn Soṇa's background as a layperson is in
classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...
performance. His encounter with Buddhist wisdom as a young man initiated a spiritual journey that led him to become a lay hermit in the Coast Mountain region of BC for several years. He subsequently ordained as a
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
monk in 1989 under Ven. Gunaratana, at th
Bhavana Society
in
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, where his first years of training took place. Ven. Soṇa further trained for over three years at monasteries following Ajahn Chah in northeast
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, especially Wat Pah Nanachat. Upon his return to Canada in 1994 he helped found the original Birken Forest Monastery near Pemberton, BC and, as its spiritual guide, he has since led the monastery through each stage of its growth.


Culture

Birken monks follow the Thai Forest Tradition, which is strictly disciplined and prohibits touching money. Thus, they rely on the people around them for food and other resources. Birken also depends heavily on resident lay stewards, who volunteer their services and live at the monastery full-time. Although the stewards are not monks themselves, they are asked to abide by the
eight precepts In Buddhism, the Eight Precepts (, ) is a list of moral precepts that are observed by Nuns, or Upāsakas and Upasikās (Upasaka, lay Buddhists) on Uposatha (Uposatha, observance days) and special occasions. They are considered to support Buddhist ...
of Buddhism for the duration of their stay. Stewards stay at the monastery for at least three months, and are the primary caretakers for the monks, who are not permitted to ask for help. In Birken's early days, it relied heavily on donations from locals. Since then, it has become more well known, and many Canadians give freely to help support the Thai Forest Tradition in North America.


Location

The monastery is currently located on an property, surrounded by forest, at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of . About 40 km south of Kamloops by road, the property is shared with
moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
,
deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
, the occasional black bear, range
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
, geese and owls. Guests can take a 5–6 km walk around Smith Lake and the
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land on which the monastery is situated.


Facilities

The Birken guesthouse provides nearly . of living space, including a spectacular
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
hall overlooking the surrounding forest and bird sanctuary. This main building has a walking meditation hall as well as a library and eating area in the basement, a large kitchen, guest rooms, and 4 shared bathrooms. Monastics live in individual kutis (small cabins). During some periods, a kuti may be available for guest use. These have
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
heaters, but no electricity, water, or toilet facilities; and are a 2- to 10-minute walk from the main building. Depending on demand, guest rooms in the main building may be private or shared. Men's and women's quarters are separate. Due to its great distance from even a rural city, the monastery has unique arrangements for its
utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
. Birken is entirely
off-the-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical ...
, with 16
solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...
supplying enough power for most of the year; on cloudy days, especially during the winter months, a backup diesel generator is activated as necessary. The Internet is accessed using a
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
connection, which also supports the monastery's
VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...
phone. Water is pumped from a
well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
. Birken also has a
post office box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door-to-door delivery ...
.


Services


Retreats

All of the services provided by the monastery are offered freely, without suggested fee. Birken, like many monasteries of this tradition, is supported entirely by voluntary donations. Many scheduled retreats are held at the monastery annually. These include "Absolute Beginner" weekend retreats; "Introductory" retreats for those with some meditation experience; and 5-, 8-, 9-, and 10-day silent retreats for more advanced meditators. For most of the year, Birken is open for guests to come for periods ranging from overnight to a few days. Day-visits to Birken are also possible (except during scheduled retreats). There are daily opportunities to speak individually with the abbot or one of the monks. Each year Birken has a three-month Winter Retreat - during this time (roughly January through March), limited reservations are taken as the resident community dedicates itself to silent practice. For the remaining nine months of the year, Birken welcomes guests.


Online Monastery

Ajahn Sona no longer travels for teaching engagements, but instead offers extensive online Dhamma teachings on his YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/AjahnSona).


See also

* Buddhism in Canada *
Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Traditi ...
* Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah * Ajahn Chah * Ajahn Amaro * Ajahn Pasanno * Bhante Henepola Gunaratana * Wat Pah Pong, Thailand * Wat Pah Nanachat, Thailand * Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK * Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, UK * Aruna Ratanagiri, UK * Santacittarama, Italy * Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, USA * Bodhinyana Monastery, Australia * Kamloops, BC


References


External links

* * {{Coord, 50, 25, 54.11, N, 120, 11, 6.43, W, region:CA-BC_type:landmark, display=title Buddhism in British Columbia Buddhist temples and monasteries of the Thai Forest Tradition Buddhist temples in British Columbia Thai diaspora in Canada