Sravasti Abbey
Sravasti Abbey
"I am heartened to learn of the establishment of Sravasti Abbey in the USA... I am happy to give (it) my support and encourage others who share this interest to do likewise."
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
About the Abbey
Fulfilling a lifelong vision to support Western sangha, Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron founded Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Washington in 2003 and serves as Abbess.
The Abbey's mission is to nurture a flourishing monastic community where learning and practicing Buddha's ancient teachings cultivate peace in the hearts of the residents and visitors and, by extension, in the world.
While monastic training is the focus, lay visitors are welcome to visit the Abbey. Countless others benefit from the Abbey's Dharma outreach.
Sravasti Abbey is named for Sravasti, where the Buddha spent twenty-five Rains Retreats. It is called an “Abbey” because male and female monastics train together as equals—brothers and sisters supporting each other on the Dharma path. We welcome your interest.
"The flourishing of the Buddha's teachings in a particular place is determined by the existence of fully ordained monks and nuns and male and female lay practitioners. Thus the existence of monks and nuns and the practice of Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic discipline, are very important."
-His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama
Vision
Throughout the ages, monasteries have been centers of Buddhist learning and practice, places that have benefited monastics, lay practitioners, and society.
Sravasti Abbey continues that tradition, providing a quiet environment conducive for Buddhist study and meditation. Fully ordained monastics, novices, and trainees live here.
We welcome visiting lay and monastic practitioners who wish to live, work, and practice in a community setting.
The monastics of Sravasti Abbey endeavor to live generously through dedicating our lives to the Buddha's teachings, practicing them earnestly, and offering them to others. We trust that people will value our way of life and work and will respond generously by providing what is needed to live and to spread the Dharma in a modern society. Together with the lay community, we are building facilities where all of us can study and practice the Buddha's teaching.
The Monastic Tradition
Buddhism began in India with Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment over twenty-six centuries ago. Passed from one generation of practitioners to another, the Buddha's teachings flourished throughout Asia and have recently spread to the West. Since the Buddha's time, monastics have been responsible for preserving the teachings.
By living a life of simplicity as exemplified by the Buddha and described by the Vinaya, monastics provide a healthy challenge to society's concepts of success, power, and consumption. They exemplify community life centered around spiritual practice, and in doing so, they have sustained the Buddha's teachings to the present day.
Until now, Buddhism in the United States has been focused on Dharma centers where lay students learn the Buddha's teachings. Now that these are well established, it is time to build monasteries where women and men can study, practice, and train in the monastic lifestyle.
At Sravasti Abbey
As Buddhism spread from one country to another, it has adapted to new cultural customs and evolved different external forms. In this area Sravasti Abbey is innovative. For example, gender equality and social service are key elements of community life. Most chanting is in English.
We value service as a foundation for study and practice. In addition to regular public teachings at the Abbey, monastics teach in other locations, and the Abbey acts as a resource for Dharma centers. We write Buddhist books and articles and transcribe and edit our teachers' discourses.
Monastics and lay practitioners are trained in leading meditation, discussions, and rituals. We cultivate inter-religious dialogue and offer service to the community through activities such as spiritual counseling and prison work.
By nurturing individuals' unique talents within a traditional monastic setting adapted to the present American culture, we strive to embody the Buddhist values of non-harming, mindfulness, compassion, inter-relatedness, respect for nature, and service to sentient beings—all directed towards the enlightenment of all beings.
The Abbey cultivates happy, well-balanced practitioners and a healthy community through study, meditation, and service. A community that models good communication and conflict resolution skills and is comprised of individuals who live simply and cultivate ethical discipline, love, compassion, and wisdom is an inspiration to society at large.
Sravasti Abbey provides conditions conducive for a strong Western monastic community to study and practice the Dharma.
The Buddha's teachings go beyond culture and historical time; they speak to the essence of human experience. Sravasti Abbey will preserve the meaning of these teachings in an unadulterated way.
Sravasti Abbey trains monastics who will practice and teach the Dharma purely, yet explain them in a Western context.
Living simply as the Buddha did, the monastics of Sravasti Abbey offer a model for society at large, showing that ethical discipline contributes to a morally grounded society.
- Through actively developing their own qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, and wisdom, the monastics aspire to make Sravasti Abbey a beacon for peace in our conflict-torn world.
- Visit our homepage and on Facebook.
Location: Newport, WA, USA
