Around Bodhinyanarama

Bodhinyanarama, The Garden of Enlightened Knowing, is a Buddhist monastery in the Theravadin tradition in the Stokes Valley above Wellington, New Zealand.

Here's a look around:


And here's a photo essay I did on the concept of life springing from death on the monastery grounds:


The audio here is of the monks chanting in the morning and evening sessions of chanting and meditation. The normal order of events is:

5:15 morning chanting (puja) begins

The following are samples of morning chanting. The opening and closing are always done but the others vary daily, not usually in any particular pattern.

Chanting is in Pali, which is the language the Buddha spoke, and English. First phrases of Pali are chanted and then the English translations.

This is what was chanted the morning of Tuesday, April 27, 1999:

Morning opening

Preliminary homage to the Buddha. This is often chanted before other chanting.


In praise of the Dhamma. The Dhamma (Sanskrit: Dharma) is the set of teachings by the Buddha which lead to Enlightenment.



In praise of the Sangha. The Sangha (the word means "community") is the monks and nuns, including those at this and all other monasteries.




5:30 morning meditation begins (silent)

6:45-7 morning meditation ends, followed by some more chanting and the closing chant

7-7:15 end of morning puja

then in the evening:

7 evening chanting begins

The following are all part of a single chant, a list of the ten teachings which "should be reflected upon again and again by one who has gone forth" and become a monk or a nun. These, as with the other chants, are in Pali and English, alternating.

The days and nights pass by

At the end of my life

The kamma (Sanskrit: karma)

Solitude

Impermanence

7:15 evening meditation begins (silent)

8:15 evening meditation ends, followed by more chanting and the closing chant

8:30 end of evening puja