“If you have wisdom wherever you go you will be carefree. The whole world is already just fine as it is. All the trees in the forest are already just fine as they are…”
– Luang Por Chah
Fertile Ground Meditation is a weekly sitting group held on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Astara Yoga and Healing Arts, 1409 Broadway St. in Vancouver, Washington. There is a 30-minute guided meditation followed by optional sharing and discussion. Monks from the Pacific Hermitage are invited to teach several times a year.
All sittings and events are offered on a dana basis and anchored in the teachings of the Theravada Thai Forest lineage of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho. Everything we do is completely voluntary (you do not have to share or discuss), free of charge and open to anyone. A few meditation cushions are available, in addition to chairs. Please bring a cushion or a firm pillow/blanket to sit on if you have one.
The name Fertile Ground comes from a line in the chanting we do in this tradition, which is from the ancient Buddhist scriptures: “The sangha is the most fertile ground for cultivation.” All are welcome.
Jessica Swanson is a Theravada Buddhist lay practitioner who lives in Vancouver Washington. She has been practicing in the Ajahn Chah/Ajahn Sumedho tradition for ten years, and is an Upasika, or “one who sits close by” to the monastics. As an Upasika, Jessica follows the five precepts and takes the monks and nuns of this lineage as her teachers. She coordinates the Upasika Program of the Pacific Hermitage, and serves with the lay community of Portland Friends of the Dhamma.
