Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998•Grey skies and the extra day give plenty of time to check in with Mu Soeng,Taraniya, Don Sperry and to prune the vast pile of notes for the study workshop.The hours fly and the work proceeds easily – these kutīs are very conveniently setup: warm, clean, all mod-cons – what else could one wish for? They are the mostrecent (and welcome) addition to the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies’ facilities.The Center was begun a few years ago to serve the increasing demand forinstruction in Buddhist scriptural teachings. It was not that people wanted a collegewhere they could go to get a degree in Buddhism; the intention behind the foundationof the place was much more to answer the interest that there was in Canonicaltexts to help support meditation practice and thereby the liberation of the heart.It’s a vibrant little enclave and quite different in character to its grand progenitor,IMS, just down the road. BCBS is centered around an old stone farmhouse. Itsgentle swath of lawn reaches down to and around the newly constructed meditationhall and accommodation block, and the three kutīs are arranged behind that.The whole array settles far back from the road, up against the margins of thickwoodland and rocky meadows. IMS, in contrast, is a redbrick baronial mansion,complete with pillared portico and antebellum aura. It has a formality that is hardto shrug off.After a chat I find out that Don’s mind has changed about coming to Abhayagiriin May – he still has the intention to be with us but he’d like to spend the summerhelping Tan Punnadhammo out at Arrow River Community Center, his hermitageoutside of Thunder Bay, Ontario.Mellow day, much solitude. Tan Punna has missed his flight (rapping too longover coffee at the airport) and hopes to appear tomorrow. Hi ho.April 3 rd & 4 thThe needle stays in the same groove – grey, somber, cool and notes to pore over.All goes by with ease – Deb in the kitchen is greatly solicitous (giant breakfasts andanxiety over “the night foods”) and is wonderfully kind, Sumi is the other staffmember with Chris – she is an IDEA (Inter Departmental Executive Assistant).Folks for the workshop start to gather: Tan Punna has arrived by 8:30, but afterbreakfast, and has conked out following a night of sitter’s practice at the airport –he missed his bus as well last night, waiting in the wrong place.The workshop is almost fully booked (44 plus Tan Punna and I) which isan encouraging sign, although they say that many/most of their programs arefull these days. They have a good selection of Mahāyāna and Theravāda classesongoing, with Mu Soeng heading up the former, and Andy Olendzki the latter.They are branching out into a week of Vajrayāna this year too. All seems to be flourishinghere and they are constantly refining their courses in other ways: they nowhave a Bhāvana Program which is mostly meditation but with a three hour study31