Help us nurture Saraṇa Vana!

We’re reaching out to invite you to join us caring for the Saraṇa Vana project land. As you may know, we acquired this piece of land with the vision of creating a peaceful sanctuary for practice and community and behind the scenes we’ve been working on the planning and permission stages of the project.

In the meantime, we have been keeping a light presence on Vana with visits for day meditation, and even negotiating some considerable logistical challenges to host, Vinaya Camp . We are also now preparing to hold the higher ordination ceremony of Sāmaṇerī Arindamā on the site in summer, following her sāmaṇerī ordination in 2023 .

When we first bought the land it was quite heavily overgrown with thorny bushes, but we were able to get professional help to clear it in time for Vinaya Camp. Now, coming up to a year later, the land is naturally beginning to regrow. Although very beautiful and full of teachings in its own way, we recognize that if we don’t start to tend to it now, it will become much more difficult to maintain in the coming months.

In turn, we are keen to organize some volunteer sessions to care for the land. For us it will not only be a way to attend to practical needs, but will also be a delightful opportunity for us to share Vana, and the delicious peacefulness we find there, with more of you and offer some nice space for meditation along side a bit of hearty work.

To help us plan these sessions, we’d love to hear from any one interested in joining us. We are aiming to hold the first session towards the end of April and if you are interested please get in touch to let us know your availability, and, for example, any skills, or equipment you have, if you are able to drive (and if so, if you’d be willing to drive others), and any other information that would help us organize this.

As ever, thank you for your sweet support of Saraṇa Vihāra.