you, it was a very brief introduction!). We also have much gratitude for Ajahn Punnadhammo, who offered us a blessing at our wedding last year.

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1 Summer 2013 RIVER DHAMMA News and Letters from Arrow River Forest Hermitage Contents: President s message Winston Loh 1 Gratitude Essay Ajahn Punnadhamo 2 My Time at Arrow River : A Steward s View Karl Hess 4 Selected Poems on Gratitude Linda Stitts 6 Treasurer s Report Lori Smetaniuk 7 ARFH Annual General Meeting Notice Contact info 8 President s Message Winston Loh Welcome to the latest edition of River Dhamma. The theme for this edition is Gratitude. No matter what our life circumstances are, we always have something that we can be grateful for, and that reflection can often uplift the heart. This spring brought a big change in my life, with the birth of my first child, Evelyn. My wife Sarah and I will always be grateful to Arrow River, the place where we first met (don t let your imagination run away with you, it was a very brief introduction!). We also have much gratitude for Ajahn Punnadhammo, who offered us a blessing at our wedding last year. Work on the library continues this summer, perhaps not as quickly as we were hoping for, but so very appreciative of whatever help is offered by the community. Much gratitude that so many people from near and far have supported this project with enough financial support to see it to completion. Ajahn has been traveling often, teaching the Dhamma at a number of 4 Buddhist sites. We are grateful for these connections, as these teaching trips raise funds that help to keep Arrow River going. Thank you. Please enjoy this edition of River Dhamma, and perhaps pause for a moment to reflect on that which you are grateful for in this life. Best wishes, Winston Loh, President ARFH 3

2 An Essay on Gratitude by Ajahn Punnadhammo The Buddha said that there are two persons hard to find in the world; the person who is helpful without being asked, and the person who is grateful. (AN 2, 119) Kataññutā is the Pali word for gratitude, and it means remembrance (añña - lit. knowing) of that which has been done (kata). Our culture likes to promote the ideal of independence, "the self made man." But if we are honest, we have to acknowledge that whatever happiness and success we enjoy is in large part derived from the kindness of others who have left a helping hand or timely advice along the way. Why is it so difficult to be truly grateful? The commentary to the passage quoted above says that having gratitude is like having a sense of indebtedness, and doing a kind deed is like discharging a debt. We don't like to feel that we are in debt, even when we actually are! Genuine gratitude is hard to come by, it requires letting go of our pride and admitting our inter- dependence with other beings. The way of the Dhamma is to remember the goodness that others have shown us, and to forget any misdeeds done. How easy it is to fall into the opposite, nursing old resentments and forgetting the kindnesses! The Buddha made a special point of the importance of gratitude towards one's parents. "Bhikkhus, there are two persons that cannot easily be repaid. What two? One's mother and father. "Even if one should carry about one's mother on one shoulder and one's father on the other for a hundred years and if one should attend to them by anointing with balms, by massaging and bathing even if one were to establish one's parents as supreme lords and ruler over this great earth abounding in the seven treasures, one would still not have done enough for one's parents, nor would one have repaid them." [AN 4-33, following Bhikkhu Bodhi's trans.] Even if our parents were imperfect, they gave us life and nurtured us when we were small and helpless. We also owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to our teachers along the way. This is true of anyone who shared their knowledge and wisdom but especially so of all those who have guided us in the path to liberation. Anyone who has helped us get even one step forward on the path has done us a service of incalculable value. This remains true even if we have moved on beyond them in our journey, and even if we find reasons to be critical of them. The Buddha remained grateful to his teachers, even when he realized that their path did not lead out of the conditioned world. His first thought after deciding to teach the Dhamma, was to seek out Ālāra Kālāma and Uddāka Rāmaputta who had taught him the higher jhanas. Alas, they had both passed away. Continued 2

3 In the Maṅgalasutta (Snp 2,4) gratitude is listed among the fifty- four supreme blessings of life. teachers used to say, "Don't ever expect gratitude, just do it anyway." And I am grateful to him for that teaching! gāravo ca nivāto ca, santuṭṭhi ca kataññutā. kālena dhammassavanaṃ, etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ. Which translates: Respect, humility, contentment and gratitude. Hearing the Dhamma from time to time, these are the supreme blessings. Finally, it is important to remember the teaching which began this article. Gratitude is hard to find in the world. As one of my Above: Learning Center in October,

4 My Time at Arrow River Forest Hermitage...A Steward s View By Karl Hess I drove to the center and what a drive!; 3 days and four nights. I drew it out to stay with friends along the way. Once I arrived in Canada, or rather once the Canadian government reluctantly let me across the border, I found Ajahn's cabin off the dark, snow- strewn road. He invited me in for tea or hot chocolate. I chose hot chocolate. We chatted while I told him my story about my "past life". He then showed me my cabin, or kuti, that I would be staying in. It was nice and warm there because the current steward had prepared the fire already. So I went right to bed. I chose to go to meditation the next morning and at 7:30 I was situated before Ajahn and the Buddha along with Shawn, who would be doing a silent retreat soon. After chanting and an hour of meditation Shawn began showing me the ropes of stewarding and serving the community. You had to cook, you had to fill water buckets from the well in the sometimes freezing cold, you had to chop wood and carry it inside to fill up the wood crate. Once the meal was ready to be offered at 10:30 you had to lift each dish while Ajahn touched each dish, as goes the protocol. Once we all had our "dinner" we sat down to eat on the floor with Ajahn's blessing. It was me, Ajahn, and Esko (Shawn took his to his private cabin to eat alone). We usually had a nice chat about politics! I learned about Prime Minister Harper and many other things during those meals, including the ability to tune one's American ear to the Finnish- Canadian accent, of Esko. After the meal I would do dishes, empty the muck buckets, chop some wood, fill up the buckets (actually Shawn later on helped me with this. Thank you!), and perhaps, think about what to cook tomorrow. I usually finished between 12:30 and 2. I would go into town and grocery shop, usually about once a week. I had a budget and would have to keep track of the spending by keeping the receipts (!). Time in town was nice. I would go to the library and use the internet, check Pellentesque: out books, go to the laundry mat about once a month, meet people there, meet people at the tea shop Steeper's, go to the book club (held in February and March which is when I was steward... don't be afraid of the cold!). Going into town was also nice because it would break up the week. It is also fun and challenging to buy enough food for the people you are serving at the Hermitage. When I got back to the Hermitage, usually late, I would unload the food (from the "company" truck) using the sled to take it down to the pavilion. Then head off to Kuti number one to light the fire, read or listen to the radio which I brought from home, go to bed, then wake up the next morning around 6:30 and do it all over again. (By the way CBC Radio 2 with Tim Tamishiro is one of the best Jazz radio shows I have heard!) Sometimes earlier sometimes a Consectetuer: little later (I would wake up) depending if I had some baking or some other cooking duty, like trying to cook dry beans that take 4 hours; watch out for them. My favorite part was the cold evenings with the open star- strewn night skies while wolves howled in the distance. You have to experience Canadian cold, and there is nothin like the sound of the wolves howling at the moon. I got into all kinds of reading; readings of Buddhist books, reading of Jack Kerouac from 4

5 4 3 River Dhamma Arrow River Forest Hermitage the library there. I wrote too, mostly poetry and song. Some of it may have went like this... cold winter nights crackling sky soothing fireplace warm apple pie dhamma talks on Sunday people come from town meditate and listen to the words that surround encapsulate the dhamma in thai forest style brown robes and glistening of snow dropped mile thawing in Spring change of seasons Summer 2013 there is no reason to serve just simple serving There is a lot to love about Canada and time spent at Arrow River. Mostly it is the solitude and the chance to reflect. Ajahn, Esko, retreaters, and the community is always there to help when you need it. Thank you Ajahn Punnadhammo. Thank you Arrow River Forest Hermitage. Love, Karl. (mytb.org/krazy- k) Above: Learning Center in June of

6 Poems of Gratitude and Thanks By Linda Stitt THANKS, A LOT Grateful for the loss, grateful for the gain. Grateful for each pain- free moment, grateful for the pain. Grateful for the good, grateful for the bad, for all I ve lost and all I ever had. Grateful for the gift that set me on the path, for the initial step and the ongoing aftermath, - this life, this love, this joy, the jeweled refuges I ve taken. Grateful for the dream, grateful to awaken. THANKS Thank you for this day, this glorious day. This ordinary day of small accomplishments quotidian miracles, minuscule realizations, and minute lessons learned, of sunrise and sunset and moon through my window, for every moment not dominated by pain. Above all, for friends and the love that has sustained me. Thank you for this day. It is sufficient. THANKS, AGAIN Thank you for the magnificence of every moment, the lessons of the flesh, the freedom of the heart. Thank you for the refuge of love. As impermanence sinks its teeth into my heels, nibbles me quite away, what remains says thank you, thank you, thank you... REFUGE Sometimes I am moved to disbelief, to sorrow, to anger, to horror, to despair, when I dwell on the world s suffering. But I remind myself there is still beauty, there is compassion and occasions for joy. There is friendship and service, everlasting grace and countless opportunities for gratitude. And, above all, there is love, no matter how broken your heart, there is love. 6

7 Treasurer s Report By: Lori Smetaniuk In October of 2012 ARFH sent out our annual fundraising letter as a call to raise $37,000 funds for our 2013 operating budget and additional funds of $18,000 to complete the Learning Center ($35,000 total budget). As of July 14, 2013, funds received for our operating budget are $19,086 (52%), while total funds raised for the Learning Center are $33,500 (96%) only $1,500 more to go. The funds represent the dollar value of donations through the generosity of ARFH supporters in Canada, the United States and overseas. The reasons are varied: people who browse through the web site and like what we do; those who come and stay at ARFH for retreats or they have listened to talks given by Ajahn Punnadhammo in Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Minneapolis, and as far away as Knoxville. The unknown quantity that is not reflected in any dollar value is the time spent by volunteers that come to the hermitage to help with the various tasks and chores required to keep the center open and of course to help build our new Learning Center. In Pali the word for gratitude is kataññu which translates as to have a sense of what was done. For ARFH, your gifts of time, money or goods, translates as materials to build a Learning Center, food to support the body, firewood to heat buildings, lawn and trail clearing for access to living quarters, and a place for solitary reflection and meditation. On behalf of Arrow River Forest Hermitage and its Board of Directors, I will express our gratitude with two simple words: THANK YOU for your continued support. Above: The Entrance to the Learning Center, June

8 Arrow River Forest Hermitage Annual General Meeting Date: Saturday September 21, 2013 Time: 1 pm at Arrow River Forest Hermitage Summer 2013 Please come and join us for our 2013 AGM. We will be having a BBQ meal at 11am, if you can bring a dish to share that would be great, but not mandatory. Please RSVP (arfh@xplornet.com) if coming for the meal, so we can prepare accordingly. Ajahn will be offering a Dhamma talk at 7pm. We are looking for volunteers to serve on the board of directors for the upcoming year. For those that may be interested, what this entails is a commitment to attend monthly board meetings where we discuss Arrow River programming, ongoing maintenance issues, future plans, and finances. Board members may be asked to do some additional tasks for the hermitage, such as communications or doing small errands around town. Board members are also expected to check their frequently as we often communicate this way. The President presides at all meetings, and has responsibility for leadership and representation of ARFH to the public. The Vice President carries out the duties of the President in his or her absence. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping the financial records and books, preparing monthly statements for the directors and yearly financial statements for the members. The Secretary is responsible for official correspondence, notices, keeping minutes of meetings, and membership records. Lori, our long term Treasurer has expressed that she could envision stepping away from this position. We are looking for an interested person who has some bookkeeping experience, or at the very least is competent with finances. Lori has introduced the use of a popular computer bookkeeping system with a specific charities module. We are also looking for a shopping researcher. This person would not necessarily need to be a board member. This person would call around town or online, looking for the best price on some of the hermitage s larger expenses. Winston, who has served as President for a number of years has also expressed that he would like to see someone new in this role, if not this year, then perhaps next year. ARFH has been well served over the years by long term board members, we are now seeking to bring in new energy. If you could envision yourself contributing in this way, then we would welcome your nomination Contact ARFH Site 7, Comp 2 RR 7 Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 5V5 arfh@explornet.com