Samita ASBL

Anything new about the new monastery?

Twenty months ago, in March 2015, we started out with just a handful of people (actually, exactly three… ) to found Samita ASBL. Our starting point we knew, but where it would lead us to was completely uncertain. It is…
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How to have a boundless heart

By Ayya Arannadevi The story of Kisagotami is relatively well-known by Buddhists. A young wife craves for a child, and after many years she gives birth to a son. Can you imagine her joy to have a son, after waiting…
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Teaching Weekend in Antwerp

On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 of December 2016 Ayya Vimala had been invited to teach at Ehipassiko Buddhist Centre in Deurne-Zuid close to Antwerp / Belgium. On Friday night Ayya gave a Dhamma talk based on the documentary “The…
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“The recipient determines the message”

(by Maria Backes) My friend Anna mentions this so often: “The recipient determines the message!” – And sometimes she adds: “unfortunately”. With this statement she refers to stories like this: “There is a person at my work who very often misinterprets…
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Feed a Nun!

Ajahn Brahm once remarked that “keeping” a monk or nun is far cheaper than keeping a dog. It is maybe a little doubtful if this is really true, but monastics indeed try to live with little. Monastics live on the basic…
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A “monastic year” in Australia

(by Maria Backes) If you want to do something completely different, something you’ve never done in your life before, go and live in a forest monastery. If you want to finish off with your work, go and live in a…
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Make America Great Again!

It is the morning before the US elections. I put my morning cup of tea down on a sturdy wooden crate next to me. The printing on the side of the crate reads: W.B.R. Welfare Biscuits W.G.C & S (1929)…
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Bhikkhunis can re-ordain

Bhante Sujato wrote an interesting article about the possibility for Bhikkhunis to re-ordain after disrobing: Since I became interested in supporting bhikkhuni ordination, I encountered a series of objections in the form of Vinaya arguments why women could not or…
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