The Joy of Missing Out: A Monastic Daylong Retreat on Letting Go (In-Person & Online)

Join monastics Ajahn Kovilo, Bhante Suddhāso, Tan Nisabho, and Ayyā Somā for a day of meditation and teachings on letting go Sunday, July 30th, from 9-5 pm at Fauntleroy Church and online. As we develop in the practice, our hearts begin to move from coarse to more refined states. Our relationships and sources of refuge similarly undergo a process of simplification - and this can be cultivated systematically in meditation and daily life. With decades of collective experience in robes, these four monastic teachers help us move from a place of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to one of JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) in which we delight in relinquishing the unwholesome attachments which so easily dominate our lives.

If you wish to attend in-person or online, registration is required. The event is hosted by Clear Mountain Monastery. If you wish to hear about future events, you may subscribe to Clear Mountain Monastery's newsletter or WhatsApp group. To look for or offer a ride to the event, take a look at our Rideshare Board.

Registration (Online & In-Person)

This event will be offered in-person at Fauntleroy Church in West Seattle and online via Zoom. You will be able to choose in-person or online attendance upon registration. If you plan on attending online via Zoom, registration is required in order to receive a zoom link to attend. Due to technological limitations, we are unsure how much interaction Zoom participants will be able to have with those attending in-person. If you have questions about this event, please contact info@clearmountainmonastery.org. Thank you!

Schedule

9 - 10 am: Brief welcome, introduction, and guided meditation

10 - 10:30 am: Dhamma talk

10:30 - 11:00 am: Walking and sitting meditation

11 am - 12 pm: Lunch (Due to Covid-19, participants must bring their own sack lunch or go elsewhere to eat).

12 - 12:30 pm: Rest/ free time

12:30 - 1:00 pm: Dhamma talk 

1:00 - 2:00 pm: Group Q&A

2:00 - 3:30 pm: Walking and sitting meditation

3:30 - 4:00 pm: Dhamma talk

4:00 - 4:30 pm: Walking and sitting meditation

4:30 - 5 pm: Closing comments, and spreading blessings

5 - 6 pm: Informal teatime, Q&A, clean-up, and general hobnobbing with new friends!

Meal

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and to keep the retreat simple , we are foregoing the usual midday potluck this year. Instead, participants will be responsible to either bring their own sack lunch or go elsewhere to get food during the meal break. Due to restrictions, participants may not eat inside, but must take their meal outside, in their cars, or at a nearby restaurant. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Participants may, however, still bring an offering of food for the monastics.

And don't worry, Seattlelites! Beverages may still be consumed inside. Mugs, tea, and coffee will be provided.

What to Bring

• A mask
• A meditation cushion (some spare cushions and church chairs are available for sitting at the venue)
• A blanket if you get chilly sitting still
• A sack lunch (or plan to go get something to eat elsewhere)
• Your intention to practice in community!

COVID-19 Policy

Vaccinations: Highly recommended but we will not be verifying immunization status
Masks: In keeping with Fauntleroy Church's masking policy, all participants will be required to wear masks while indoors.
Social Distancing: 3 feet while inside. Due to shifts in the pandemic, there is a slight possibility this could change, in which case some participants might have to participate in the retreat from a neighboring room where it will be livestreamed.

Donations (Dāna)

All teachings are offered completely free of charge, with no expectation of anything in return. However, those attendees who feel inspired to donate may do so at the event or by clicking the links below. Such contributions help support future offerings and the growth of Dhamma! 

Fauntleroy Church

Those who wish to support Fauntleroy Church, which is offering their sanctuary as a gift, may donate by clicking the link below and specifying that the donation is given as part of Clear Mountain's retreat - https://www.fauntleroyucc.org/

Empty Cloud Monastery (in Newark, with Bhante Suddhāso & Ayyā Somā)

Empty Cloud Monastery is a monastery and retreat center in West Orange, New Jersey, which serves as a home to a wide variety of resident and visiting monastics. Dāna to help support the monastery may be offered at https://emptycloud.org/#suppor...

Clear Mountain Monastery (in Seattle, with Tan Nisabho & Ajahn Kovilo)

Clear Mountain Monastery is an aspiring Buddhist Forest Monastery in the greater Seattle area. Dāna to help support resident and visiting monastics along with future events may be offered at https://www.clearmountainmonas...

Biographies

Ajahn Kovilo

Ajahn Kovilo is an Ohio-born monk who, having been introduced to meditation through the Goenka tradition, first entered the monastery in 2006. After receiving full ordination from Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California in 2010, Ajahn Kovilo spent the next decade training at monasteries in the Ajahn Chah tradition in America and Thailand. In 2020, after a year practicing at a Pa Auk Sayadaw monastery, Ajahn Kovilo enrolled at the Dharma Realm Buddhist University in Ukiah, California where he is currently studying Pali and Sanskrit among other courses. Until the end of his formal studies, Ajahn Kovilo will be participating in the growing Clear Mountain Monastery community remotely and during Winter and Summer breaks. After finishing his studies, Ajahn Kovilo will join the community in person on a more regular basis.

Bhante Suddhāso

Bhante Suddhāso is a Buddhist monk living in New Jersey, USA. He is a practitioner of both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism, with a particular emphasis on the teachings found in the Pāli Suttas and the methods of practice used in Chan/Zen. His teachings focus on incorporating multiple step-by-step meditation techniques, as well as on detailed explanations of the Buddhist scriptures that provide the underlying theoretical framework for Buddhist meditation. Bhante Suddhāso has studied under the direct guidance of some of the most well-respected monastics in Western Buddhism, including Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Vīradhammo, and Bhante Gunaratana. His monastic life began at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where he was trained in Soto Zen Buddhism; during that time, he discovered a deep affinity for the Theravāda Forest Tradition, which led him to receive ordination at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. Since then he has lived at several different monasteries of various Buddhist traditions. In 2019, together with Ayyā Somā, he co-founded Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey, where he currently resides as co-abbot.

Tan Nisabho

After finishing college in 2012, Ven. Nisabho (addressed as “Tan Nisabho” in the Thai custom) left his native Washington to go forth as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He received full ordination the following spring under Ajahn Anan, a senior disciple of renowned meditation master, Ajahn Chah, and spent the following years training in forest monasteries throughout Thailand, Australia, and the US. While staying with some of the lineage’s most respected teachers, he grew to believe the Thai Forest Tradition’s balance of communal life with solitary forest dwelling, careful adherence to the monastic precepts, and focus on meditation represented a faithful embodiment of the original Buddhist path. Moreover, his time with contemporary masters such as Ajahn Anan, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, convinced him that such a path could yield great fruit in the heart even amidst the complexities of modern life. He currently resides in Seattle as part of Clear Mountain Monastery’s aspiration.

Ayyā Somā

Ayyā Somā is an Italian Buddhist monk and co-abbot of Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey. As the co-founder of Buddhist Insights, a non-profit organization connecting people with monastics, she has learned the Dharma through the perspective of monks of all different traditions, and incorporates aspects from all of them in her own practice. Her first encounter with Buddhist monasticism was at Santacittārāma Buddhist Monastery in Italy, in the Ajahn Chah Thai Forest tradition, where she became intrigued by the profound teachings of the Buddha; however, she did not begin to practice seriously until years later, when she attended a weeklong retreat at Bhāvanā Society in West Virginia. The experience was deeply transformative, and inspired her to commit fully to Buddhist practice, planting the seeds in her mind that ripened a few months later in the establishment of Buddhist Insights. She received monastic ordination in 2018 and full bhikkhunī ordination in 2020. Her spiritual path is inspired by the social engagement of Venerable Paññāvatī Bhikkhunī; by the knowledge and wisdom of Ven. Robina Courtin; and by the compassion of Khenmo Drolma.