A Pacific Hermitage and what it means for the region

Ajahn Sudanto in front of Pacific Hermitage.

It was my good fortune Sunday to spend the day with two monks from Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery and several lay followers who are eager for the establishment of a regional hermitage. Ajahns Sudanto and Karunadhammo and a steward spent the night at Pacific Hermitage, a log house on five mostly forested acres in the hills high above White Salmon, Washington, overlooking the Columbia Gorge.

Their stay is only a brief one, though, as the monks will not take up full-time residency until early July. Ajahn Sudanto, who will be the senior monk at the hermitage, has duties and projects to complete at Abhayagiri before it will be possible for him to relocate. Also, there is much to do yet to prepare the property for occupancy.

Still, it seemed an auspicious day as the monks approached the make-shift altar, lit candles and incense, bowed three times, and chanted a blessing for the first time in Abhayagiri’s branch monastery.

Ajahn Karunadhammo accepts meal offering at the home of a lay follower prior to his first visit to Pacific Hermitage.

The monks of Abhayagiri are of what is known as the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. They are strict followers of the Vinaya, the monastic code of 227 precepts and training rules established by the Buddha. The code is very demanding, describing the precise ways monks are to behave within their own community as well as how they can relate to and interact with the lay community. It’s purpose is not to restrict and control, however. The monastic code provides an unambiguous structure in which a monk can live a holy and blameless life, keeping the Dhamma in mind every moment of the day.

The life of a forest monk is one of seclusion and contemplation. After all, the Buddha instructed his monks to seek solitude at the root of a tree, a cave, or an abandoned hut where they can focus their minds without the distractions of the worldly life. But the Buddha never intended for the sangha to be apart from the rest of humanity. Instead, he established a system whereby the monastic sangha is in complete dependence on the lay community.

Like everyone else, monks require four things: food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. But, because monks may not handle money, they cannot buy anything for themselves. Nor can they ask for anything. Everything a monk has must be offered. Every meal, every length of cloth for the robes, every shelter, every ibuprophen tablet must be offered (there are some exceptions surrounding severe medical needs).

If the community is providing all this support, what then does it get in return? On the surface it would appear that monks have it made, having everything just plopped in front of them. They do not have it made. Very few people can get up at 3:00 AM, chant and meditate for hours, work for several more hours, eat only one meal (even if it’s only a dollop of rice and beans) before noon, then meditate and teach and chant and meditate some more before laying on the floor or a wooden platform for a few hours of sleep. Why anyone would do this is understandable only to a relative few.

Ajahns consult with a lay supporter regarding needs for the hermitage.

But again the question is, what’s in it for the lay community? Two things come to my own mind. One is that I’m providing support to a group of individuals who are living an enviable life. Enviable? Really? Yes. As restrictive as it may seem, a monk’s life is free of just about everything that causes suffering and strife for the rest of us. A pleasurable life really is nothing but an illusion.

The other reason – and for me the more important one – is one of proximity to exemplary teachers. I can’t say too much about this. We’ve all heard the term “practice what you preach.” Anyone who has had a teacher who doesn’t practice what he preaches can appreciate the value in having one who does. So, in exchange for support, forest monks make themselves available to teach the Dhamma – not only through their words, but through the way they live their lives.

I should mention also that the current location is on a yearly lease and is only temporary. There is an ongoing quest for a larger piece of property that will meet more of the criteria of this small community of contemplative monks. Follow this link to another window in the happenings of Pacific Hermitage.