Following the earthquake in Thailand/Myanmar on March 28, many are concerned about the impact on the monastic communities and people there.  One of our members reached out to Ajahn Khema who had returned to his monastery in southern Thailand.  Here is his response:

We felt nothing at Wat Marp Jan in Rayong. But I know 2-3 monks that were in Bangkok at the time. One was inside a hotel during the earthquake. He said the hotel was shaking for about 4 minutes. He decided to go into meditation and prepare his mind for death. He’d rather die with a peaceful heart than in a panic, scurrying to live.

In the end all were unharmed.

When I was first contacted by a family member asking if I was okay, I had no idea what they were referring to. 

It has not been discussed too much at the monastery, at least not in my presence. And I avoid the news as much as possible. So I can’t be much help to you at the moment.

But if I receive any other information I’d be happy to share.

Below I’ve attached a short hand-written Dhamma teaching, you may have already seen, from Ajahn Jayasaro, where he uses the earthquake as a theme.Below I’ve attached a short hand-written Dhamma teaching, you may have already seen, from Ajahn Jayasaro, where he uses the earthquake as a theme.

Also, here’s a link to a documentary Ajahn Kalyano asked me to make for him while I was training at his monastery Buddha Bodhivana Monastery near Melbourne Australia. It took me about 9-months to plan, film, and edit. Please feel free to share with anyone that might be interested.

Monastery:

And a couple shorter ones I’ve made that have been fairly well received as well:

Life of a Buddhist monk:

Bowing:

Best wishes and lots of metta to you and the community!

In the Dhamma,

Khema Bhikkhu

Please join us for two days of mindfulness with Ayyā Medhānāndi and Ayyā Nimmalā at Friends House in Toronto and online via Zoom.

More details to follow.

We’re happy to let everyone know that we have a new location for our Sunday morning meetings. Starting Sunday, October 22, 2023, we’ll be gathering together at the Carrot Commons building, located at 348 Danforth Ave in Toronto. We will be in Room 212, located on the second floor. The entrance to the building is on Danforth Ave., just beside the door to the Book City bookstore. The Chester subway station is right around the corner.

For those with difficulty managing stairs, there is a stairlift that goes up the side of the stairs that can be used. Unfortunately there isn’t an elevator. Washrooms are available on the second floor.

If you are unable to join in-person, we are providing an online option via Zoom.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

We invite all who are able to join our Sunday meetings in-person at our new location at the Carrot Commons in Toronto. If you’re unable to join in-person, we are continuing to provide an online option via Zoom.

Sessions will start at 10:00 am, but please arrive or connect a few minutes ahead of time to be ready when we start.

To join our Zoom Meeting, click on this link: 

TBC Online Zoom Session

If prompted, use this password: 883290

If you haven’t done so already, you may be prompted to install the Zoom application. When the application is finished installing, you will join an online room where our session takes place. You can then click on join with audio and camera.

We hope to see you this Sunday.

Zoom telephone numbers for Canada, if connecting by phone:
(Meeting ID: 741 749 355, Password: 883290)+1 204 272 7920
+1 438 809 7799
+1 587 328 1099
+1 647 374 4685
+1 647 558 0588
+1 778 907 2071

On October 17, 2021 there was a celebratory gathering on Zoom to honour the 10-year anniversary of three Bhikkhunis, Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Nimmala and Ayya Santacitta. They will each have the honorary title of ‘Thera’, meaning ‘elder’, to honour their 10 years in robes.

TBC is very proud of Ayya Nimmala who trained at Sati Saraniya Hermitage in Perth, Ontario but then moved to Vancouver to care for her aging parents. She is the first Canadian bhikkhuni to be ordained in North America.

The video is very long. Some of the highlights include:

• Slide show of 2011 ordination – 0:43
• Talk by Ayya Medhanandi – 1:26:50
• Talk by Ayya Anandabodhi – 1:34
• Talk by Ayya Santacitta – 1:41:10
• Talk by Ayya Nimmala – 1:47
• Pali Chanting honouring the first Bhikkhunis – 2:09

This year’s AGM will be held on Sunday, November 14, at 12 o’clock following the morning session. We will be using the same Zoom link as the morning session.

Here’s the agenda for the meeting and the material for the agenda items. More items will be added as they become available.

• 2021 Draft Agenda
• 2020 AGM Draft Minutes
• TBC Governance Proposal
• Diversity and Inclusivity Committee Recommendations
• 2020 Financial Statements
• Activity Reports:
  • Monastic Sundays
  • Social Media
  • Days of Mindfulness
  • Website

If you have any questions about any of these items, we encourage you to ask them ahead of time to help focus the discussion during the meeting. You can leave your questions or comments for the Steering Committee in the Contact Us form at the bottom of this page.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the survey! We’re very happy with the number of people who responded and greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your responses.

The survey ran from May 2 to May 14, 2021 and was completed by 31 respondents, with a good representation of new and old members of TBC. People were notified of the survey at a Community Meeting on May 2, through Sunday announcements, a website announcement, and direct email to 54 recipients. A copy of the survey can be found here.

The purpose of the survey was to get a better understanding of the will of the TBC community with respect to how decisions get made at TBC, and how the Steering Committee can best support this. In particular, we asked about the division of decision-making responsibilities between the whole community at AGM’s or community meetings, the Steering Committee, and the individuals Leads and Volunteers who provide our programs.

The Steering Committee is using this information to put together a Proposed Governance Model for TBC. The TBC community will have an opportunity to review the proposal and vote on it at the next AGM this Fall.

Overall Decision-Making Model

A strong majority of respondents indicated that their preferred overall model is:

The Steering Committee makes decisions to implement the direction of AGM and Community Meetings

The next most common response was by those who chose the “Other” option and suggested that it should be a combination of the Steering Committee and the Leads that make decisions for TBC.

What Types of Decisions Should Each Level Make?

A series of questions were asked to help identify what types of decisions should be made by the AGM/Community Meetings, the Steering Committee, or by the Leads. There was a range of responses but most common answers fell into these areas:

Type of Decisions to be made by AGM/Community Meetings

• Decisions affecting the Strategic Direction of TBC, such as:
  • Mission Statement
  • Membership
  • Charitable Status
• Approving Annual Budgets
• Changing the start time of our Sunday Sessions
• Having social events

Type of Decisions to be made by Steering Committee

• Decisions about TBC programs, such as:
  • for Sunday sessions
    • Choosing a meeting location
    • Selecting Sunday Facilitators
    • Deciding about remote access
  • for Days of Mindfulness:
    • Choosing a location for Days of Mindfulness
    • Deciding about fees for Days of Mindfulness
    • Deciding about collaborating with other groups
• Decisions about whether to offer new initiatives, such as:
  • Supporting diversity and inclusivity
  • Offering meditation instruction
  • Providing activities to welcome new members
  • Offering a monthly newsletter
• Approving financial expenditures for activities

Type of Decisions to be made by Leads/Volunteers

• For Sunday sessions:
  • Choosing the chants used
  • Selecting the dhamma teachers
• For Days of Mindfulness:
  • Selecting teachers
  • Setting the length of the sessions
• For Communications:
  • providing social media updates
  • making email announcements

Other Questions

• Number of Community Meetings – Most respondents said that would like an annual AGM and 1-3 Community Meetings during the year if needed
• Consultation with the Community – Most respondents said that they were happy with the level of consultation they are currently receiving about TBC decisions
• Other Comments:
  • 3 comments stressed the importance of supporting and empowering individual volunteers and leads
  • 3 comments said there’s a need to balance the work load and protect people from burnout
  • 2 comments spoke about the need to recognize the legal responsibilities and authority of the Board of Directors
  • 2 comments stressed the need for accountability of the leadership to the community
  • many other individual comments and suggestions were made as well and are being considered as we move forward

Video recordings of dhamma talks from recent Days of Mindfulness with Monastics are now available for viewing on the website:

• Ajahn Punnadhammo – May 16, 2021
• Ajahn Viradhammo – April 18, 2021
• Venerable Khemako – August 9, 2020

As well, here are recent recordings of teachings from Monastics at our Sunday sessions

• Ayya Santussika – March 14, 2021
• Ajahn Pavaro – October 18, 2020