Portland Friends of the Dhamma gathered at the Center for the momentous visit by twelve monastics and Luang Por Pasanno in conjunction with Pah Bah for the Pacific Hermitage. We are very grateful to the monastics for their visit and to our community members who gave financial and volunteer dana to make this weekend possible.
Luang Por’s teaching touched hearts and resonated over the course of the weekend. Matthew Grad noted, ” ‘All I’ve ever taught is suffering and the end of suffering.’ Luang Por Pasanno is my touchstone for those words of the Buddha which keep us all on track. Being in Luang Por’s presence after his year away—opening to his simple, direct, profound teachings—I felt as if I were holding an unbreakable thread leading back to the Buddha himself.”
Sanghata Foundation welcomed us in White Salmon for a half day meditation and teaching retreat on Saturday and on Sunday for the annual Pah Bah (Forest Cloth Ceremony). For millennia, Pah Bah, and Kathina for larger monasteries, have celebrated the relationship of mutual appreciation between a community and local monastics, with the giving of dana out of gratitude for the teaching and spiritual support.
Please enjoy this selection of photos from the weekend. You may click on any photo for a slide show.