Theravada Buddhist Community Wednesday Dhamma Meetings, 6:30-8:30p.m. ESTGroup Facilitator: Upasika Eleanor, Ph.D.Contact: [email protected]

Everyone is welcome. This is a free offering. Please feel free to attend the first and/or second half of the meeting.

On June 1st, we will begin Simple Kindness by Thai Forest female monastic teacher, Ajahn Candasiri.  A pdf copy is available here.

This is a collection of dhamma reflections on the Buddha’s foundational teachings from the perspective of the Thai Forest teachings of Ajahn Chah.

Both new and seasoned dhamma practitioners will benefit. 

Each week, we will read one short chapter from this collection and also a related 1 p. sutta excerpt.  

(Suttas are the Buddha’s discourses recorded in the Theravada Buddhist scriptures, the Pali Canon.)

Our meetings begin with dedications, chanting (optional), and a 45 guided meditation. After a short break, we have a dhamma discussion on the weekly reading (everyone will have an opportunity to share). 

We end with a compassion practice and/or chanting (optional).

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

The Theravada Buddhist Community would like to invite you to

a Day of Mindfulness on Sunday, May 16, 2021

with Ajahn Punnadhammo.

Ajahn Punnadhammo lives and teaches at Arrow River Forest Hermitage and meditation centre near Thunder Bay. He has been studying and practising Buddhism since 1979.

Ajahn Punnadhammo began his studies under Kema Ananda, the founder and first teacher at Arrow River. After this, he went to Thailand and was ordained in the forest tradition of Ajahn Chah in 1990. Between 1990 and 1995 he was based at Wat Pah Nanachat, Thailand. In 1995 he returned to Canada to assume the management of Arrow River Forest Hermitage. Ajahn Punnadhammo is a skilled and popular meditation teacher who leads retreats and shares dhamma on his YouTube channel.

Please join the Zoom meeting around 8:45 AM EDT

Next

To join our Zoom Meeting, click on this link: 

TBC Online Zoom Session

Password: 883290
Meeting ID: 741 749 355

Zoom telephone numbers for Canada, if connecting by phone:

+1 204 272 7920

+1 438 809 7799

+1 587 328 1099

+1 647 374 4685

+1 647 558 0588

+1 778 907 2071

Next

If you would like to make a donation to the Arrow River Forest Hermitage for this event, please use the TBC donation page and include a message that the donation is for Ajahn Punnadhammo’s Day of Mindfulness. 100% of all donations will be given to the Hermitage.
 
No registration is required.  This day includes meditation, mindfulness instruction and Dhamma talks. The chants we’ll be using during the session will be displayed on the Zoom screen at the appropriate times.
 
We look forward to you joining us on Sunday, May 16, 2021.
 
 

Day of Mindfulness With Ajahn Punnadhammo

Sunday, May 16, 2021

8:45 AM – 8:55 EDT. Zoom Check-In

8:55 – 9:00. Announcements and Introduction of Ajahn Punnadhammo
9:00 – 9:15. Opening Chants and Greetings
9:15 – 9:45. Meditation
9:45 – 10:15. Reflections on a Buddhist Sutta or Teaching
10:15 – 11:00. Meditation

11:00 – 12:40 PM. Lunch Break (Zoom will remain open)

12:40 – 12:45. Announcements
12:45 – 1:30. Meditation
1:30 – 2:15. Dhamma Talk
2:15 – 3:00. Questions and Answers
3:00 – 3:45. Meditation
3:45 – 3:55. Sharing of Merit and Closing Chants

TBC is reviewing how we make decisions in our community and is looking for input from current and past members.

Every year people at TBC make decisions about how we want our group to operate.  We have Annual General Meetings and periodic Community Meetings.  Those involved in running an activity make decisions about it, and some activities have Leads to help manage them.  Last year a Steering Committee was established at the AGM to help guide our group between AGM’s.

The purpose of this survey is to get input from TBC participants about how you would like to see decisions made in our community, and to help clarify how the Steering Committee can support this.  We will use this information to put together a decision-making model that will be presented for review and approval at a future Community Meeting.

If you’ve attended TBC in the past or are attending now, we would be grateful if you could spend 5 to 10 minutes completing the linked survey below.

Thanks from the TBC Steering Committee!

To complete the survey, click this link:

TBC Decision-Making Survey

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

• June 7, 2020
• July 12, 2020

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

• Ayya Medhanandi – May 24, 2020
• Venerable Khemako – July 26, 2020

Please join the Theravada Buddhist Community on Sundays from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon for our online meditation session.

Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, we have decided to temporarily cancel our Sunday meditation meetings until further notice. In the meantime we’ll be providing online sessions each Sunday morning using Zoom Meetings.

We will follow our regular Sunday format, with a short period of chanting and bowing, a 45 minute meditation, a monastic dhamma talk and finishing with a short meditation.  Sessions will start at 10:00 am, but please connect  A FEW MINUTES ahead of time to be ready when we start.

We plan to continue to offer this Sunday meditation session until we are back at the Saint George Hotel.

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 online 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

These are the chanting sheets we use Sunday mornings (you can click on them to enlarge):