Any advice on a Monastery?

[DensoToke]

Hello,

I have been thinking about this for years now and believe that I am at the point where I would move on these feelings. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with visiting/being a lay resident at a monastery. I am finding it very difficult where I am to study and get a gasp of Buddhism, and I am unhappy with this. I have spoken to the Shasta Abbey in Northern California, but before I make a decision, I wanted to see if anyone here had any advice.

Thank you,

Denso

[Aloka]

Hi Denso,

From my positive experiences as a lay practitioner visiting Amaravati Thai Forest tradition monastery in the UK, I would suggest you further investigate Abhayagiri monastery in the USA and the possibility of a short stay there.

http://www.abhayagiri.org/main/

with kind wishes

Aloka

[BuddhaSoup]

Hello,

I have been thinking about this for years now and believe that I am at the point where I would move on these feelings. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with visiting/being a lay resident at a monastery. I am finding it very difficult where I am to study and get a gasp of Buddhism, and I am unhappy with this. I have spoken to the Shasta Abbey in Northern California, but before I make a decision, I wanted to see if anyone here had any advice.

Thank you,

Denso

Denso, if you'd like to accentuate the experience by being in Thailand, consider http://monkordination.com

[DensoToke]

Thank you Aloka, I will definitely look into it. Hopefully I can visit and learn from many monasteries across the US.

[DensoToke]

Thank you BuddhaSoup. Honestly, traveling and learning in a foreign country does interest me, but due to money reasons I feel I may be limited state side for a while. Plus I believe I would like to get a better understanding and maturity before traveling outside the states.

[farmer]

You might consider:

http://www.bhavanasociety.org/

They are in W. Virginia, so it is probably driving distance for you.


Good luck!

[DensoToke]

Thanks Farmer, that could actually be a very good option for me as its fairly close and in a familiar area.

[Moth]

http://www.abhayagiri.orgAbhayagiri, also in Northern California. It's part of the Ajahn Chah lineage, the abbot is Ajahn Passano. I'm hoping to ordain there after college, very nice place in regards to both residents and location.

[vissudhisati]

I also recommend Abhayagiri monastery. I stayed there as a visitor for 2 weeks. The experience was so wholesome that i wanted to ordain before the 2 weeks were up.
They are not accessible by the internet. Their website is "www.abhayagiri.org" there are many resources at the website. The monastery is near Talmage & Ukiah on the northern coast of California.
_( )_
Kit

[vissudhisati]

I completely agree with Moth.
Abhayagiri is a wonderful monastery.
I stayed there for 2 weeks, the limit 10 yrs ago for a visitor.
If i had no debt i would not have had to leave.
Resident abbot Ajahn Passano.
_( )_

[spoke]

I would recommend Metta Forest Monastery in Southern California - I flew in all the way from Europe to spend two weeks there as a guest earlier this year, and benefited from the experience tremendously. The monastery practices in the Thai Forest tradition of Ajaan Lee. You can learn more about the monastery (including visitor information) at watmetta.org, and can also read (and listen to) a great deal of material by the monastery's abbot, Ajaan Geoff (Thanissaro Bhikkhu), at dhammatalks.org.

Good luck, wherever you decide to go!

Gadi

[noenlightenment]

the walls are covered thickly with vines
yet who can climb beyond them
and what if you could
can you imagine what lies on the other side

ne

[DensoToke]

I was also wondering if when you do go to a monastery to stay for a while and study is it generally okay to go to another one? I don't think every monastery has they same teachings and messages. Honestly I want to learn from quite a few.