Dhammapala
Dhammapala is a theravada - Buddhist forest monastery in Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland .
The growing western following ( Sangha ) of the Ajahn Chah , a widely known Theravada forest monk from Thailand , founded monasteries in mainland Europe as well as monasteries in Great Britain. In addition to the branch monastery of this traditional line in Italy , Santacittarama , there is Wat Dhammapala in Kandersteg , Switzerland .
For years, non-ordained friends of the Sangha from Switzerland wanted to found a monastery in Switzerland. In 1988 they invited two monks from the Amaravati monastery to set up the Buddhist center Dhammapala in Konolfingen near Bern . Due to the growing interest in this center, a larger house was bought in Kandersteg in 1991 .
Meanwhile, the monastery is a place of many people Vipassana - meditation practice . Spiritual advice, instruction in Buddhist doctrine and introductions to Vipassana meditation are given there to all who seek it, and free Buddhist literature is also offered. In addition, the monks offer to lead meditation groups in Switzerland and Germany, hold retreats in various places in Europe and hold desanas ( Pali for “ discourse on the Dhamma ”).
For the first seventeen years of the monastery history, the Canadian monk Ajahn Thiradhammo was senior monk and thus also Abbot.Abot Khemasiri (* 1950 in Magdeburg) handed over his office, which he assumed in summer 2005, to Abhinando (* 1966 in Hamburg) in October 2018.
Web links
- Website of the monastery community
- Main portal of the monastic communities in the traditional line of Ajahn Chahs
Coordinates: 46 ° 29 '33.4 " N , 7 ° 39' 41.1" E ; CH1903: six hundred seventeen thousand one hundred and four / 149057