Next Sunday, May 18th, the celebrations will take place. Vesak in Sumedharama, thus commemorating the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana of Buddha Gautama. We will be with you on this day. Luang Pô Pasanno.

   Programme:

10 a.m. – Taking of the Precepts, followed by Parittas (Songs of Protection)

10.30 a.m. – Rice ceremony (pindabat) and meal offer

11 a.m. – Lunch

12.30 p.m. – Luang Pô Pasanno Give a Dhamma Lecture

1:30 p.m. – Stupa Circum-ambulation

Directed by Ajahn Dhammiko

This retreat will take place in the house of St. Ignatius Retreats, in Sintra, Portugal.

It is organised by Helena Gallis.

Registration is now closed.

O Asalha Puja It celebrates the first structured speech the Buddha delivered after his enlightenment and is celebrated on the full moon of July (the full moon of the eighth lunar month of the Indian calendar). This discourse is called ‘Dhammacakkappavattana sutta’ and it was with it that ‘the wheel of the Dhamma was set in motion’ (here Dhamma means teaching). It contains the essence of the Buddha’s subsequent teaching, addressing the ‘Four Noble Truths’.

It was at the end of this discourse that Venerable Kondanyo understood the essential part of the teaching and that the Buddhist monastic order began.

This day is also known as Dhamma Day and is an opportunity to deepen the Buddha's teachings. It also marks the beginning of vassal.

No Saturday, 20th:

 After the usual 7:30 p.m. meditation, there will be a Dhamma lecture by Ajahn Vajiro followed by a Circum-ambulation to the Stupa.

No Sunday 21st:

9.30 a.m. – arrival (you can bring a plate to share)

10 a.m. – Request for the 5 precepts and Songs

10.30 a.m. – Rice Supply Ceremony

11 a.m. – Meal

12h – Stupa Circum-ambulation

Everyone is welcome

It is with great joy that we announce that Luang Pô Sumedho will be in Sumedharama from 1 to 14 June.

Luang Pô Sumedho was the first Western monk to ordain himself in the Thai Forest Tradition – Ajahn Cha Lineage, and the founder of the many monasteries of this tradition in the West.

Luang Pô Sumedho has a close connection with the Monastery Sangha in Portugal and the name of the Monastery – Sumedharama – was thus chosen in his honour.

During his stay in Sumedharama, Luang Pô Sumedho will give two Dhamma Public Lectures, in days 2 and 9 June, both at 3 p.m.

On the night of December 31, 2023 we will have a New Year's Eve in Sumedharama.

After the usual puja/meditation at 7:30 p.m. there will be a Dhamma Lecture and space for questions and answers. Everyone will then have the possibility to remain in meditation until midnight, when we will sing songs, thus peacefully celebrating the entrance to the New Year 2024.

There is no need to make an appointment, everyone is welcome to celebrate this passage in this way, with an introspective and recollective attitude.

The celebration ends shortly after midnight.

Everyone is welcome to participate in this occasion, celebrating the presence of the monastic community in Sumedharama. This year we will have as our special guest Ajahn Vinīta, a monk from Sri Lanka who lives in the Amaravati Monastery in England.

Programme:

9.30 a.m. – Arrival at the Monastery (bring a meal to share)

10 a.m. – Request for the five precepts, followed by songs

10.30 a.m. – Rice supply (Pindapat)

11 a.m. – Dinner for monks and lunch for the lay community

12:0030 –  Procession and Offer of the new Buddha Rupa (image of Buddha)

12.45 p.m. – The community offers the traditional monastic habit

1 p.m.15  – Ajahn Vajiro gives a lecture by Dhamma

From 2.15 p.m. – more informal time with everyone and the monastic community.

In the rainy season (Vassa), in Asia, (the period corresponding to summer in Europe) the monks undertake to stay in a certain place for three months.

The story goes that at the end of this period, the Buddha allowed the monks to look for fabric with which they could patch up their old habit or even make a new one. The fabrics that the monks collected consisted of rags that had been thrown away. Over time people, realising this need, began to hang fabric from the trees so that the monks could ‘find’ them. The custom then developed so that not only pieces of cloth were left on the trees, but also the habits already made. People saw here an opportunity to make offerings of other requirements to monks, as a gesture of support and appreciation of their practice. The ceremony was called Kathina, which is the name of the loom that monks use to sew their habits with the fabrics offered.

In this same ceremony the monks offer lectures on the Dhamma, and there is also a period where people have the opportunity to meet and talk to the monks more informally. In this event it becomes quite evident the interconnection of the lay community with the monastic community and how both benefit from this dynamic.