English – Mosteiro Budista Sumedhārāma

The Theravada Buddhist Monastery finally has a place in Portugal

Jul 012012

A monastery has been established so as to support monks in their monastic practices and life style, and also to give an opportunity to all who would like to practice the Buddhist path.

The monks (Bhikkhus) practice formal meditation and Pujas (devotional practices) as part of their daily routine, these periods will be open to all who wish to participate.

The times of the meditation periods are from five until six in the morning and then about fifteen minutes chanting, the evening meditation puja starts at seven thirty and lasts until eight thirty.

People are more than welcome to arrive at six thirty either to talk to the monks or just sit quietly in the meditation room.

The resident monks in Lisbon are: Ajahn Vajiro (senior monk – English), Tan Subaddho (English) and Tan Kancano (Portuguese).

Please remember that this is a mendicant tradition so the monks depend on the community of lay people for their daily nourishment, the daily meal takes place between 10.30am and 11.00am and whoever wishes to contribute with food can so do it. It would be preferable to call the monastery the day before or sooner, to best organise the event.

The opportunities for participating in the monastery / Vihara are as follows:

5:00 – 6:00 – Morning meditation

10:30 – 11:00h – Meal offering/Dana

18:30 – 19:30 – open space for question and answers

19:30 – 20:30 – Evening meditation

21:00 – retiring time: the monastery closes the daily activities

Should anybody need to talk with us at any other time during the day do not hesitate to give us a call then we can arrange a convenient time. Every Saturday around 5 p.m. a bhikkhu (monk) will be available for a time of informal meeting.

Although this space is a now reality, it is however temporary since we hope sometime in the future to find a more rural area, where we can build a monastery so all can make use of a more natural and open environment.

Anumodana

The Portuguese Sangha

address:

Budismo Theravada da Floresta

Quinta do Pinhal, EN 116

Pinhal de Frades

2655-420 Ericeira

e-mail: mosteirotheravada@gmail.com

website: www.sumedharama.pt

Next Steps

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Feb 192012

The monk’s arrival to Portugal is getting near and the necessary preparations to this event are already in place.

Ajahn Vajiro (at the moment in New Zealand) will return to the United Kingdom at the beginning of July and depart to Portugal with two other monks: Ven. Subhaddo and Ven. Kancano.

They will be accompanied by Julian Wall, a friend and supporter of the Sangha, who has made himself available to join this adventure.

The plan is to depart from England on the 13th of July; the travel will be done by car, taking the ferry departing from Portsmouth and arriving in the port of Bilbao in northern Spain.

They will then head towards ‘Santiago de Compostela’ entering Portugal through ‘Gerês’; a visit to ‘Bom Jesus de Braga’ is also scheduled.

Hence, we can expect our pioneers to arrive in Lisbon around the 18th of July, where they will determine the Vassa (this is the period that corresponds with the rainy season in Asia). During this time the monks stay at one place without going out for long periods.

This year the Vassa will start in the beginning of August and it will last until the end of October.

And so the Sangha starts living in Portugal…

The Project

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Oct 122011

The monastic trust ‘Budismo Theravada da Floresta’ (Forest Theravada Buddhism) was officially recognized as a Religious Collective Corporation under the ‘Lei da Liberdade Religiosa’ (Law of Religious Freedom), in July 2010. Its main objective is to share the teaching of the Lord Buddha (Buddha Sasana) through the establishment and maintenance of a residence for Buddhist monks (bhikkhus), in Portugal.

The monks who have been invited to start this community follow the traditional training of the Buddhist scriptures (the Vinaya) within the Thai Forest Tradition of the monastery Wat Nong Pah Pong, which was founded by Ajahn Chah. This tradition was brought outside of Thailand by Ajahn Sumedho and other western disciples including Ajahn Vajiro, who will be the senior monastic in residence. The contact the lay people and others have with the monastic community will be a way that generosity, virtue and wisdom may grow in people and through that in society as a whole. In this way beings may be freed from suffering.

The mendicant monastic life depends on the goodwill of people for its material needs. We hope from July 2012, to have some monks resident inPortugal. At first they will stay somewhere temporary. In the medium and longer term we are looking for somewhere more suitable as a monastery with space for monks to live and for other people to visit for shorter or longer periods.

If you would like further information or would like to help please contact us.

Thank you.

The Trustees

E-mail: mosteirotheravada@gmail.com

Welcome

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Sep 182011

The ‘Mosteiro Budista Theravada’ (Theravada Buddhist Monastery) was officially recognized as a religious corporate Order in Portugal under the name “Budismo Theravada da Floresta” (Forest Theravada Buddhism – Religious Community) Line of the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho.

The website www.sumedharama.pt aims to promote effectively the existence of Theravada Buddhism in Portugal, and prepare with the help of all, the definitive establishment of the monastery in 2012, to essentially promote the teaching of the Lord Buddha, as well as the history of the Forest Tradition and its current development in Portugal. More news will be given soon.

We thank you,

The Portuguese monks,

Bhikkhus Kancano, Dhammiko and Appamado

Amaravati, September 1, 2011

Prah Ajahn (Luang Por) Sumedho in Portugal