Birken Forest Monastery – DHAMMA scribe

Crossing Over

October 7, 2012 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 9 Comments

When I think back to my first sits four years ago when following my breath felt akin to watching my mind play pinball with every entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica, I marvel at the menu of meditation practices that I now choose from with avid curiosity.

Filed Under: Buddhism, Mindfulness // Tagged: Birken Forest Monastery, Buddhism, Dhamma, encyclopedia britannica, john o donohue, meditation practices, meditation retreats, metta, non-self

The unbelievable lightness of being

March 25, 2012 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 12 Comments

For months I had been in a state of dis-ease with my Buddhist practice, wondering where my beliefs fit into my life and what I held as dear.

Filed Under: Buddhism, Impermanence, Meditation, Non-self, Non-self // Tagged: Ajahn Sona, Birken Forest Monastery, Buddhism, Joni Mitchell, lightness of being, meditation, presence

Time to move

March 5, 2012 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 8 Comments

There’s an enlivened charge for me these days around words. It could be my heightened sense of their proximity and my renewed vows towards my writing. Or maybe it’s the quaking of something that has wanted to emerge for a dozen lifetimes.

Filed Under: Impermanence, Meditation // Tagged: being in the body, Birken Forest Monastery, boredom, five hinderances, Joseph Campbell, labyrinth, poetry, Rumi

Love the one you’re with

February 13, 2012 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 9 Comments

I sank into the massage table, every cell of me ready to be pummeled and coaxed into relaxation. Since this was my first visit to Russell I made sure to tell him I like a very deep massage. Placing his hands on my back, he said he knew why I liked it rough: my body felt like petrified wood.

Oh, that can’t be good.

Filed Under: Uncategorized // Tagged: Ajahn Sona, Birken Forest Monastery, duende, Federico Garcia Lorca, life balance, meaning of life, metta, Rumi, Stephen Stills, writing

Maybe…

September 2, 2011 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 1 Comment

At last weekend’s meditation retreat with Ven. Bhikkhu Sona he told us about a nun in residence at Birken Forest Monastery. Her name is Sister Mon, but he calls Sister Maybe. If Ajahn Sona says “See you tomorrow” or “Have a good day” Sister Mon’s reply is always “Maybe.” Impermanence, or anicca, along with dukkha […]

Filed Under: Impermanence, Meditation, Non-self, Suffering // Tagged: anicca, Birken Forest Monastery, David Whyte, end of life, Impermanence, Sister Mon, Wei Ying-wu

Coasting towards Samadhi

August 30, 2011 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 6 Comments

I was this close to nibbana. Really, I was. This past weekend I had the blissed out experience of being on retreat. I sat and walked and ate with mindful awareness on my breath and the arisings and fallings within me. Ven. Bhikkhu Sona, the abbott of Birken Forest Monastery near Kamloops, BC, came down […]

Filed Under: Meditation, Nibbana, Noble Eightfold Path // Tagged: Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sona, Birken Forest Monastery, meditation, nibbana, samadhi, seven factors of enlightenment

Where, oh where, has my little home gone?

April 2, 2011 By Piyadassi (Tess) | 6 Comments

I’m moving. I gave my requisite 30 days notice this week and I will be heading to bigger, brighter, and quieter pastures. Having lived in a lower north facing suite through this long, cold, wet winter, listening to the seismic thuddery and verbose fits of a toddler, the mournful barking and howling of an ample […]