Letter from the Ajahns and Anagarika Santussika
January 6th, 2010
Warm hearted greetings from the Sisters at Aloka Vihara!
Well, it's hard to believe we have only been in residence here for three and a half weeks! We arrived back in San Francisco on December 12th, returning to the same house we left last February. Although a lot has happened in between, being back in the vihara with friends and supporters has felt seamless, as though we had been away for just a week or so. The people we have come to know during our visits over the past couple of years already feel like old friends. We are all working together to establish this monastery and now, having returned, we can we can continue with this wonderful work. We have a sense of being where we are meant to be, and are delighted to be back in Sunset District.
The two weeks prior to opening the vihara were busier than we had expected. People came to offer the meals almost every day (Anagarika Santussika prepared meals on the rare occasions when no one was booked to come). Several car loads of Dhamma books and CD's arrived from Abhayagiri Monastery with different drivers, so we were able to welcome these new people to the vihara. Already the community is coming together. So many of the furnishings here are from our friends and supporters: rugs, zafus, lamps and kitchenware, furniture, heaters, vases and books, cleaning equipment and office equipment. It is all arriving as we need it, and miraculously, the right people have always appeared when we need to move or install what comes. Three beautiful Kwan Yins have been offered and the exquisite Prajnaparamita image, which arrived in the USA several weeks before us and was stored in a garage until we could receive her. Just a week before she was due to be delivered to the vihara, we were offered a beautiful redwood table, which is the perfect platform for her.
On Christmas day, we were taken to Glide, a gospel church, the kind you could only find in San Francisco. As we arrived, volunteers were offering breakfast to the many homeless people who live in the city. They gave Christmas lunch to over 5,000 people that day. We bumped into a friend there and all came together after the service to share the meal. Later our friends took us on a mystery tour of the city, showing us some of the beauty and history of San Francisco.
New Year's Eve, which was also a full moon and a 'blue moon', saw the opening of Aloka Vihara. Many people came throughout the day; to share the meal, walk with us on the beach, sit in meditation through the afternoon, tour the vihara, and later, in the evening, joined us for chanting, precepts and Dhamma reflections. There must have been around 70 people coming through the vihara, 40 were present for the evening puja and a dozen stayed right through the night. At midnight we inaugurated the Prajnaparamita, by placing four holy relics of Sariputta into her crown and other small offerings.
Now we are settling into a more steady routine, with evening pujas at 7.30pm, Saturday meditation workshops 2-4pm, offering the precepts and a Dhamma reflection on Friday evenings, and late night sits with Dhamma discussion on the full, half and new moon nights until midnight. We are also offering daylong retreats and evening teachings in the wider Bay Area and further afield.
We invite you to come and join us for any of the scheduled events—inside or outside the Vihara. Please see the calendar for details. You can also see new photos of the Opening Day listen to the reflections we gave that evening.
There are many different ways to get involved with the vihara and we welcome your participation in this new venture, in whatever way feels right for you.
Wishing you all blessings for the New Year,
Ajahns Anandabodhi, Metta and Santacitta and Anagarika Santussika
Visit Saranaloka Foundation on 