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Sravasti Abbey
Sravasti Abbey, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for Western nuns and monks in the U.S., was established in Washington State by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron in 2003. Whilst practicing in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, Sravasti Abbey monastics ordain in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. It is situated on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of forest and meadows, 11 miles (18 km) outside of Newport, Washington, near the Idaho state line. It is open to visitors who want to learn about community life in a Tibetan Buddhist monastic setting.
The name Sravasti Abbey was chosen by the 14th Dalai Lama. Thubten Chodron had suggested the name as Sravasti was the place in India where the Buddha spent 25 rains retreat (varsa in Sanskrit and yarne in Tibetan), and communities of both nuns and monks had resided there. This seemed auspicious to ensure the Buddha's teachings would be abundantly available to both male and female monastics at the monastery.
The Abbey was founded in 2003. Its founder, Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, is an American who received novice ordination in 1977 by Kyabje Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama's senior tutor and became fully ordained in 1986. Chodron was first introduced to Buddhism after seeing an advertisement and attending an event regarding Buddhist talks and retreats while pursuing her graduate studies in Los Angeles. On her spiritual journey, she found answers to her existential questions in Buddhism and after being ordained she sought to help others on their path to enlightenment as well through her teachings in the region. Chodron started searching for land around Boise, Idaho to build a monastery but was unable to find a place that had the things which she thought was important in spiritual work and meditation, a place with good views and vistas amongst forest and nature to "look at long distances and be with nature to relax the mind". She was turned onto the chosen site of the monastery by friends who made her aware of its listing, which she would eventually purchase; The monastery was named by the Dalai Lama.
Chodron had lived and studied in India and Nepal for many years, and her teachers included the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. The Abbeys mission is to train monastics to spread their teaching in society and under her guidance, Sravasti Abbey has male and female monastics train together as equals, and uses social service as a key component of community life. At the same time, the Abbey cultivates the traditional Buddhist values of non-harming, mindfulness, compassion, inter-relatedness, respect for nature and service to all sentient beings.
The Abbey has a monastic residence called Gotami House, named after Mahapajapati Gotami who was the first woman to request and receive ordination from Buddha Shakyamuni. The Abbey is notable because it is home to a growing group of fully ordained bhikshunis (Buddhist nuns) practicing Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition. This is notable because the tradition of full Buddhist ordination for women was generally believed to have not been transmitted from India to Tibet, whereas Khenpo Shantarakshita brought the full ordination tradition for nuns and monks to Tibet before the persecution by Udum Tsenpo brought a temporary end to the nun's tradition. Ordained women practicing in the Tibetan tradition usually hold a getsulma (novice) ordination, while full ordination in the Tibetan tradition was revived on 23 June 2022 in Bhutan. Before this date, Thubten Chodron, while following the teachings of her Tibetan teachers, arranged for her female students to seek full ordination as bhikshunis in Taiwan.
The Abbey has regularly practiced posadha (the bi-monthly confession) since 2011.
There is also a residence for guest teachers and a guesthouse called Chenrezig Hall. Guests are welcome to visit the monastery and experience daily monastic life, which includes learning, meditation, tending to the gardens and the surrounding forests.
On October 2, 2006, Jan Howell became the first person to ordain at Sravasti Abbey, taking her sramanerika (novice) and sikasamana (probationary) ordinations with Thubten Chodron as her preceptor in 2006.
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Sravasti Abbey
Sravasti Abbey, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for Western nuns and monks in the U.S., was established in Washington State by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron in 2003. Whilst practicing in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, Sravasti Abbey monastics ordain in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. It is situated on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of forest and meadows, 11 miles (18 km) outside of Newport, Washington, near the Idaho state line. It is open to visitors who want to learn about community life in a Tibetan Buddhist monastic setting.
The name Sravasti Abbey was chosen by the 14th Dalai Lama. Thubten Chodron had suggested the name as Sravasti was the place in India where the Buddha spent 25 rains retreat (varsa in Sanskrit and yarne in Tibetan), and communities of both nuns and monks had resided there. This seemed auspicious to ensure the Buddha's teachings would be abundantly available to both male and female monastics at the monastery.
The Abbey was founded in 2003. Its founder, Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, is an American who received novice ordination in 1977 by Kyabje Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama's senior tutor and became fully ordained in 1986. Chodron was first introduced to Buddhism after seeing an advertisement and attending an event regarding Buddhist talks and retreats while pursuing her graduate studies in Los Angeles. On her spiritual journey, she found answers to her existential questions in Buddhism and after being ordained she sought to help others on their path to enlightenment as well through her teachings in the region. Chodron started searching for land around Boise, Idaho to build a monastery but was unable to find a place that had the things which she thought was important in spiritual work and meditation, a place with good views and vistas amongst forest and nature to "look at long distances and be with nature to relax the mind". She was turned onto the chosen site of the monastery by friends who made her aware of its listing, which she would eventually purchase; The monastery was named by the Dalai Lama.
Chodron had lived and studied in India and Nepal for many years, and her teachers included the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. The Abbeys mission is to train monastics to spread their teaching in society and under her guidance, Sravasti Abbey has male and female monastics train together as equals, and uses social service as a key component of community life. At the same time, the Abbey cultivates the traditional Buddhist values of non-harming, mindfulness, compassion, inter-relatedness, respect for nature and service to all sentient beings.
The Abbey has a monastic residence called Gotami House, named after Mahapajapati Gotami who was the first woman to request and receive ordination from Buddha Shakyamuni. The Abbey is notable because it is home to a growing group of fully ordained bhikshunis (Buddhist nuns) practicing Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition. This is notable because the tradition of full Buddhist ordination for women was generally believed to have not been transmitted from India to Tibet, whereas Khenpo Shantarakshita brought the full ordination tradition for nuns and monks to Tibet before the persecution by Udum Tsenpo brought a temporary end to the nun's tradition. Ordained women practicing in the Tibetan tradition usually hold a getsulma (novice) ordination, while full ordination in the Tibetan tradition was revived on 23 June 2022 in Bhutan. Before this date, Thubten Chodron, while following the teachings of her Tibetan teachers, arranged for her female students to seek full ordination as bhikshunis in Taiwan.
The Abbey has regularly practiced posadha (the bi-monthly confession) since 2011.
There is also a residence for guest teachers and a guesthouse called Chenrezig Hall. Guests are welcome to visit the monastery and experience daily monastic life, which includes learning, meditation, tending to the gardens and the surrounding forests.
On October 2, 2006, Jan Howell became the first person to ordain at Sravasti Abbey, taking her sramanerika (novice) and sikasamana (probationary) ordinations with Thubten Chodron as her preceptor in 2006.